Judas Kiss (1998 film)

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Judas Kiss
Judas kiss poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sebastian Gutierrez
Written bySebastian Gutierrez
Deanna Fuller
Produced byElaine Dysinger
Carla Gugino
Beau Flynn
Daniel Rappaport
Starring Simon Baker
Gil Bellows
Carla Gugino
Alan Rickman
Til Schweiger
Emma Thompson
Hal Holbrook
CinematographyJames Chressanthis
Edited byHoward Smith
Music by Christopher Young
Distributed byBandeira Entertainment
Release date
  • September 16, 1998 (1998-09-16)(Toronto)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.5 million

Judas Kiss is a 1998 American crime thriller film that starred Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Roscoe Lee Browne, Carla Gugino, Simon Baker-Denny, Gil Bellows, Richard Riehle, and Til Schweiger. It was directed by Sebastian Gutierrez.

Contents

The film premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival and won the Critics Award at the 1999 Cognac Festival du Film Policier.

Plot

Coco Chavez and Junior Armstrong are two small-time criminals who make money at blackmail and sex scams. They attempt to break into the big time by kidnapping a computer genius and holding him for a $4 million ransom. To help them, they enlist Lizard Browning and Ruben Rubenbauer who provide firepower and technology. However, during the kidnapping, they accidentally kill the young wife of Louisiana Senator Hornbeck.

Racked by guilt, Coco and the group are pursued by veteran Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Sadie Hawkins and grizzled New Orleans detective David Friedman. The two combative officers enjoy showing up one another during their investigation, as well as commiserate about their jobs and personal foibles. Coco and Junior also have to deal with henchmen hired by the Senator to get revenge on the group.

As the plot unfolds, it appears that the murder may not have been entirely accidental. Detective Friedman's suspicions are raised when Senator Hornbeck threatens the detectives instead of offering assistance. On the cusp of getting away with a nearly flawless crime, the group faces betrayal from within.

Cast

Production

The movie was produced by Bandeira Entertainment. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles, California and on location in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.92/10. [1]

Michael Dequina from Movie Report.com said, "The usual set of twists and double-crosses ensue, with nothing all-too-surprising (or funny; the attempts at humor mostly fall flat) to distinguish it from the winding paths of other similar films". [2]

Derek Elley of Variety wrote "Judas Kiss is a wannabe film noir-cum-policier that's badly in need of a rewrite by James Ellroy". [3]

Awards and nominations

Cognac Festival du Film Policier
Paris Film Festival

Home video

The movie was distributed to home video on both VHS and DVD formats on September 21, 1999 by Sony Pictures. Both home video formats have a runtime of 98 minutes.

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References

  1. "Judas Kiss (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  2. Dequina, Michael (October 24, 1999). "In Brief". www.themoviereport.com. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  3. Elley, Derek (September 18, 1998). "Judas Kiss". Variety .