After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

After Dark, My Sweet is a low-key con movie about a shady trio that goes in together on a plot to kidnap a wealthy family's young son. Former boxer Kid Collins (Jason Patric) is on the run from his past, speaks slowly but may not be as stupid or crazy as he seems, and unleashes his lightning fists when necessary. He tries to hustle Fay Anderson (Rachel Ward) in a roadside bar, but she draws him into the scheme masterminded (ha!) by "Uncle Bud" (Bruce Dern). Ultimately, none of these three trusts the other, and things gradually unravel, but the tension and verbal jousting, oh boy! Every one of these three characters is great in their extended tete-a-tete confrontations. Even the sexual tension between Kid and Fay took forever to boil over (four steamy times!). This movie is not as good as Fargo or U Turn, both which I give 5 stars, but it surprised me and held my interest better than expected. Roger Ebert called it a "great movie" and it scores 82 on the Rotten Tomatoes scale (that is, pretty good). Enjoy! 4 stars. (9-2-2016)