Next of Kin (1989 film)

Last updated
Next of Kin
Next-of-Kin-Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Irvin
Written byMichael Jenning
Produced byLarry Dewaay
Jeb Stuart
Richard D. Zanuck
Starring
Cinematography Steven Poster
Edited by Peter Honess
Music by Jack Nitzsche
Larry Gatlin (song) "Brothers"
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • October 20, 1989 (1989-10-20)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$15,942,628

Next of Kin is a 1989 American action thriller film directed by John Irvin and starring Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson, with Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Ben Stiller in one of his earliest roles. [1] [2] The screenplay was based on a story of the same title, both written by Michael Jenning.

Contents

Plot

Truman Gates, a former US Army Airborne Ranger raised in Appalachia, migrates to Chicago to become a police officer. Married to Jessie, who is pregnant, he has made the transition from hillbilly to respectable lawman.

When the coal mine closes, Truman persuades his younger brother Gerald to get work in Chicago. Unfortunately, soon after landing a job as a truck driver, his vehicle is hijacked by mobsters and Gerald is killed by Joey Rosellini, the nephew of mob boss Papa John Isabella.

Truman returns to Kentucky for the funeral. His surviving brother, Briar Gates insists on a traditional mountain blood feud, but Truman begs them to let Gerald's murder be dealt with by the law. Briar finds Truman's reluctance to be disgraceful. So, determined to deal with the murderers himself, Briar searches for his kid brother's killer in Chicago.

Meanwhile, Truman tries to solve the crime before Briar can take revenge. Approaching John Isabella, he explains the mountain code. He suggests Gerald's murderer surrenders peacefully to save them both a lot of trouble. John, however, refuses on general principle, and Truman is left to continue his investigation.

After arriving in town, Briar gets a room at a flop house. He gives the front desk clerk his cousin's number back home, asking him to call it if he doesn't return by morning.

Briar immediately goes looking for information on the man who killed Gerald, shooting up a local mob hangout in the process. Truman arrives a little later, Joey, embarrassed by the attack, says he is not pressing charges against Briar, intending to "handle things" himself. When Papa John says things are getting out of hand, Joey dismisses the threat, saying that the Gates family, "plow rocks for a living." John responds, "That's what they said about 'our' people back in Sicily."

Working together for a time, Briar and Truman discover who the hijackers were from a witness. Truman pressures Lawrence, the son of Papa John, to turn state's evidence against Joey. When Lawrence goes to Joey for help, he betrays him. Lawrence's body is found, having been tortured, with Briar's shotgun at the scene.

Joey goes to Papa John who, devastated, sanctions a hit on the supposed culprit. Before he can, Briar breaks into Rosellini's trucking company and engages in a gunfight with Joey's crew and kills two of them before Joey shoots Briar twice. Fatally wounded, Briar dies in Truman's arms.

When the flop house desk clerk hears about the deaths at the Trucking Company on the news, he calls the number Briar gave him.

Even though both Truman and the police know that the evidence against Briar was planted, and that Briar's death was an ambush, there is no proof. Truman resigns from the police force to go after the Rosellini mob himself. As the Gates family gathers together and travels to Chicago to begin a war against the Outfit, Truman goes on the offensive and throws one of Joey's guys through the window of a restaurant. When Joey comes out, he finds "You forgot one," painted on Joey's car, and he vows to kill Truman without Papa John's permission.

Truman lures the Rosellini crew to a darkened cemetery, where an extended battle ensues, including the arrival of the Gates clan (and their hound dogs and rattlesnakes). In the end, Truman has Joey pinned on the ground with a knife to his throat only to be stopped when Papa John arrives with members of the Gates family held at gunpoint. He orders Truman to drop the knife and move out of the way. Having learned the truth about Lawrence's murder, to Joey's horror, he points the gun not at Truman, but at him. The Don tells Joey, "This is for killing my son," and he fatally shoots Joey.

The Gates and Isabella families call a truce. Back at the police station, Truman finds Jessie and tells her, "You're my family."

Cast

Production

Filming

Some of the home scenes and the opening scenes were filmed in the small Perry County, Kentucky coal camp of Hardburly. Others were done at the M.C. Napier High School gym in Hazard, Kentucky and in Letcher County near Carbon Glow.

Reception

Next of Kin received mixed reviews from critics, scoring 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews. Critic Brian Orndorf wrote, "Next of Kin isn't a dazzling picture, but there's personality about it that eases the blow of idiocy, keeping the adventure of Truman Gates, redneck cop, alive and well." It earned a Razzie Award nomination for Patrick Swayze as Worst Actor (also for Road House ), where he lost to William Shatner for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . In Sweden it was retitled Dirty Fighting (in English) to capitalize on Swayze's earlier success with Dirty Dancing . The film has since become a cult classic.

Film critics Siskel & Ebert, in particular, were not impressed with the film including it on their Worst of 1989 show. Roger Ebert described the scene where the women are preparing lunch for the men getting ready for combat as "desperation time at the old screenwriting factory". Gene Siskel mocked the bow and arrow fight at the climax, suggesting that it might have had more impact had it been shot in the daytime instead of night.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack to the film was also released through Columbia Records. Here is the track listing:

  1. "Brother to Brother" - Gregg Allman & Lori Yates - 3:58
  2. "Hey, Backwoods" - Rodney Crowell - 4:11
  3. "Hillbilly Heart" - Ricky Van Shelton - 2:56
  4. "Straight and Narrow" - Ricky Skaggs - 2:51
  5. "Paralyzed" - Sweethearts of the Rodeo - 3:00
  6. "The Yard Sale" - Billy Lawson - 2:24
  7. "My Sweet Baby's Gone" - Charlie Daniels - 3:15
  8. "Pyramid of Cans" - George Jones - 2:31
  9. "Brothers" - Patrick Swayze & Larry Gatlin - 4:10
  10. "Wailing Sax" - Duane Eddy - 3:19

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Neeson</span> Actor from Northern Ireland (born 1952)

William John Neeson is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed seventh on The Irish Times list of Ireland's 50 Greatest Film Actors. Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Swayze</span> American actor, dancer and singer (1952–2009)

Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and looks; People magazine named Swayze the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.

<i>Rob Roy</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Michael Caton-Jones

Rob Roy is a 1995 American historical biographical drama film directed by Michael Caton-Jones. It stars Liam Neeson as Rob Roy MacGregor, an 18th-century Scottish clan chief who battles a sadistic nobleman in the Scottish Highlands. Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Brian Cox, and Jason Flemyng also star. Roth won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the aristocrat Archibald Cunningham.

<i>To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar</i> 1995 film directed by Beeban Kidron

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar is a 1995 American road comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron and starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York City drag queens who embark on a road trip. Its title refers to an iconic autographed photo of Julie Newmar that they carry with them on their journey. Newmar additionally appears in the film as herself.

<i>Darkman</i> 1990 American film by Sam Raimi

Darkman is a 1990 American superhero film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. Based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s, the film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is brutally attacked, disfigured, and left for dead by ruthless mobster Robert Durant, after his girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings, runs afoul of corrupt developer Louis Strack Jr.. After a treatment to cure him of his burn injuries fails, Westlake develops super-human abilities, which also have the unintended side-effect of rendering him mentally unstable and borderline psychotic. Consumed with vengeance, he decides to hunt down those who disfigured him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Lombardo</span> American mobster (1929–2019)

Joseph Patrick Lombardo, also known as "Joey the Clown", was an American mobster and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization. He was alleged to be the Consigliere of the Outfit.

The Irish Mob is a family based ethnic collective of organized crime syndicates composed of primarily ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and have been in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish-American street gangs – famously first depicted in Herbert Asbury's 1927 book, The Gangs of New York – the Irish Mob has appeared in most major U.S. and Canadian cities, especially in the Northeast and the urban industrial, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Chicago.

<i>Southie</i> (film) 1999 American film

Southie is a 1999 American film directed by John Shea starring Donnie Wahlberg, Rose McGowan, Anne Meara, Jimmy Cummings, Lawrence Tierney, Robert Wahlberg, Will Arnett, Shea, and Amanda Peet. The film centers around Danny Quinn, a former "street kid" from South Boston, returning home to find his family deeper into organized crime than when he left, and his struggles to not fall back into his previous life.

<i>Breakfast on Pluto</i> (film) 2005 film by Neil Jordan

Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005 comedy-drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, as adapted by Jordan and McCabe. The film stars Cillian Murphy as a transgender foundling searching for love and her long-lost mother in small town Ireland and London in the 1970s.

<i>Taken</i> (film) 2008 film by Pierre Morel

Taken is a 2008 French English-language action-thriller film written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and directed by Pierre Morel. It stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Katie Cassidy, Leland Orser, and Holly Valance. Neeson plays Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA officer who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter Kim (Grace) and her best friend Amanda (Cassidy) after the two girls are kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers while traveling in France during a vacation.

<i>The A-Team</i> (film) 2010 American action thriller film by Joe Carnahan

The A-Team is a 2010 American action thriller film based on the 1980s television series of the same name created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. Directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Carnahan, Brian Bloom, and Skip Woods, the film stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, and Patrick Wilson. The film tells the story of a Special Forces team who, imprisoned for a crime they did not commit, escapes and sets out to clear their names. The film was produced by Cannell, Tony Scott, and his brother Ridley Scott.

<i>Movie Stars</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Movie Stars is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from July 11, 1999, to June 18, 2000. It stars Harry Hamlin and Jennifer Grant as famous Hollywood actors trying to raise their children.

<i>A Walk Among the Tombstones</i> (film) 2014 film directed by Scott Frank

A Walk Among the Tombstones is a 2014 American neo-noir action thriller film directed and written by Scott Frank, and based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Lawrence Block. It stars Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, and Boyd Holbrook. The film was released on September 19, 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $62 million worldwide.

<i>Run All Night</i> (film) 2015 American film

Run All Night is a 2015 American action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Brad Ingelsby. The film stars Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Common, and Ed Harris and follows an ex-Irish Mob hitman who goes on the run with his estranged adult son after he is forced to kill the son of a mobster boss. It also marks the third collaboration between Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra after Unknown and Non-Stop.

<i>In Order of Disappearance</i> 2014 film

In Order of Disappearance is a 2014 Norwegian action thriller film directed by Hans Petter Moland and starring Stellan Skarsgård. The film had its premiere in the competition section of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival. Cold Pursuit, an English-language remake, also directed by Moland, was released in 2019.

<i>The Commuter</i> (film) 2018 film by Jaume Collet-Serra

The Commuter is a 2018 American action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi and Ryan Engle. The film stars Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, and Sam Neill. It follows a man who is unwittingly recruited into a murder conspiracy after meeting a mysterious woman while on his daily train commute.

<i>Cold Pursuit</i> 2019 film by Hans Petter Moland

Cold Pursuit is a 2019 action thriller film directed by Hans Petter Moland from a screenplay by Frank Baldwin. A co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and France, the film stars Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Emmy Rossum, Domenick Lombardozzi, Julia Jones, John Doman, and Laura Dern. It is a remake of the 2014 Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten), also directed by Moland, and follows a brooding and vengeful snowplow driver (Neeson) who starts killing the members of a drug cartel following the murder of his son.

<i>Honest Thief</i> 2020 film directed by Mark Williams

Honest Thief is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Mark Williams, from a screenplay by Williams and Steve Allrich. The film stars Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney, Jeffrey Donovan, Anthony Ramos and Robert Patrick, and follows a brooding former bank robber who decides to turn himself in to the FBI, only to be set up by corrupt agents.

<i>The Marksman</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Robert Lorenz

The Marksman is a 2021 American action drama film directed by Robert Lorenz. The plot follows a brooding rancher and former Marine, living in an Arizona border town, who must help a young boy escape a Mexican drug cartel. Katheryn Winnick, Juan Pablo Raba, and Teresa Ruiz also star.

<i>Memory</i> (2022 film) 2022 American film by Martin Campbell

Memory is a 2022 American action thriller film directed by Martin Campbell from a screenplay by Dario Scardapane. It is based on the novel De Zaak Alzheimer by Jef Geeraerts and is a remake of the novel's previous adaptation, the Belgian film The Alzheimer Case. The film stars Liam Neeson as a brooding hitman with early dementia who must go on the run after declining a contract on a young girl; Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, Harold Torres, Taj Atwal and Ray Fearon also star.

References

  1. "Liam Neeson on what he learned from Patrick Swayze on 'Next of Kin' film". ABC News. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  2. "Next of Kin | film by Irvin [1989] | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.