In case you didn't know (I didn't know this the first time I saw this film), the "Suicide King" is the gambler's nickname for one of the face cards in a deck of cards. The King of Diamonds is called the "Suicide King" because while all the other face cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks) appear to be holding scepters, globes, etc, the King Of Diamond is holding a sword, and on close examination, he appears to be sticking it in his own ear. FYI.
Anyway, this is the kind of little gem you hope for when you go out to see a crime thriller - strong performances, a quirky plot centering around a battle of wits, effective dialog which not only rings true to the ear (with two exceptions, see below), but also successfully mixes menace, humor, and pathos in equal measure. While this is definitely not family fare, and while I can't imagine the Oprah crowd ever enjoying a movie like "Suicide Kings", anyone with a taste for suspense, noir or thriller material will find much to enjoy here.
The scenario is brilliantly conceived: five callow preppie college kids kidnap a semi-retired crime boss. They hope to force his cooperation in rescuing a second kidnap victim (a young woman who is the sister of one of the boys and the lover of another member of the group. Because Walken's character has been semi-legit for many years, the boys get lucky and catch him off guard. Walken's character ("Charlie") wakes up duct taped to a chair, with one finger already chopped off (to impress on him the urgency of their situation) and pumped full of pain killers.
However, the movie soon makes it clear that the boys have caught a tiger by the tail. Even taped to a chair and physically helpless,Charlie is far tougher, shrewder, and more ruthless than all of his captors put together. Even while slowly bleeding to death, he manages to use his contacts to get the hunt for the young woman under way and turn the members of the group against each other with carefully chosen observations and revelations. The process is fascinating to behold - Charlie can be witty, patronizing, menacing and comforting all in the space of 60 seconds, and you literally fear for these young mens' lives and futures even though they seem to have the upper hand. They aren't street sharks and killers, and Charlie is.
Also impressive is Denis Leary, who plays Charlie's chief strong arm and factotum, "Lono". Leary's rants and ravings are long, involved, quirky, funny, and highly entertaining. There is a running joke involving Lono's new "stingray skin" boots that is almost worth the price of admission by itself. Although I never believed Leary's "dangerous tough guy" image in the movies (he would have gotten his butt kicked at my junior high school), I give him credit. He fairly boils over with restless, angry energy as an actor. This makes his character "Lono" is a lot of fun to watch. Lono is the kind of guy who gripes about the new graphite shafts of the golf clubs he uses to beat the stuffings out of people, and how much better the old metal shafts were for the task.
The movie isn't perfect. The weakest character of the group of kidnappers, "Ira" is written and played so broadly that at times he is quite annoying. It's obvious he is supposed to be the comic relief of the group, and the actor works hard to invest a thankless character with some depth and humanity. And if this were a pure "caper" film,I think the character and the performance would have been fine. But "Ira" is such a whiny schmuck that he saps the movie of some of the energy it has at times. Other people may disagree with me on this one, and I'm not saying he's bad, I'm just saying that he takes things a little too far for this kind of movie.
The other weak point is the second pair of kidnappers, "Heckle and Jeckyl". The two character actors who play them (including Brad Garrett, most recently known for his part in "Everybody Loves Raymond") are obviously old hands at this sort of character, but in the scenes set in their apartment (where they are supposedly holding the girl), they come off as buffoons, sort of like Laurel and Hardy with snub nosed 38s. While they are quite entertaining, it's impossible to take them seriously, and this also detracts from the sense of menace and urgency that is supposed to be driving the situation.
Anyway, aside from those minor caveats, I was really, really impressed by this movie. Anyone with a taste for darkly humored, quirky noir films such as "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Usual Suspects" will find this a worthy entry in the genre, as long as they can overlook those two sub-par aspects.
PS: The DVD reissue of "Suicide Kings" contains two alternate endings which film completists and fanatics will enjoy. The first alternate ending is somewhat sappy and romantic, and doesn't really jibe with the tone of the previous 15 minutes. The second ending is more workable, and has a nice twist. IMO, I think that the grimmer ending they kept was ultimately the most satisfying way to end the film. You may disagree.
Anyway, this is the kind of little gem you hope for when you go out to see a crime thriller - strong performances, a quirky plot centering around a battle of wits, effective dialog which not only rings true to the ear (with two exceptions, see below), but also successfully mixes menace, humor, and pathos in equal measure. While this is definitely not family fare, and while I can't imagine the Oprah crowd ever enjoying a movie like "Suicide Kings", anyone with a taste for suspense, noir or thriller material will find much to enjoy here.
The scenario is brilliantly conceived: five callow preppie college kids kidnap a semi-retired crime boss. They hope to force his cooperation in rescuing a second kidnap victim (a young woman who is the sister of one of the boys and the lover of another member of the group. Because Walken's character has been semi-legit for many years, the boys get lucky and catch him off guard. Walken's character ("Charlie") wakes up duct taped to a chair, with one finger already chopped off (to impress on him the urgency of their situation) and pumped full of pain killers.
However, the movie soon makes it clear that the boys have caught a tiger by the tail. Even taped to a chair and physically helpless,Charlie is far tougher, shrewder, and more ruthless than all of his captors put together. Even while slowly bleeding to death, he manages to use his contacts to get the hunt for the young woman under way and turn the members of the group against each other with carefully chosen observations and revelations. The process is fascinating to behold - Charlie can be witty, patronizing, menacing and comforting all in the space of 60 seconds, and you literally fear for these young mens' lives and futures even though they seem to have the upper hand. They aren't street sharks and killers, and Charlie is.
Also impressive is Denis Leary, who plays Charlie's chief strong arm and factotum, "Lono". Leary's rants and ravings are long, involved, quirky, funny, and highly entertaining. There is a running joke involving Lono's new "stingray skin" boots that is almost worth the price of admission by itself. Although I never believed Leary's "dangerous tough guy" image in the movies (he would have gotten his butt kicked at my junior high school), I give him credit. He fairly boils over with restless, angry energy as an actor. This makes his character "Lono" is a lot of fun to watch. Lono is the kind of guy who gripes about the new graphite shafts of the golf clubs he uses to beat the stuffings out of people, and how much better the old metal shafts were for the task.
The movie isn't perfect. The weakest character of the group of kidnappers, "Ira" is written and played so broadly that at times he is quite annoying. It's obvious he is supposed to be the comic relief of the group, and the actor works hard to invest a thankless character with some depth and humanity. And if this were a pure "caper" film,I think the character and the performance would have been fine. But "Ira" is such a whiny schmuck that he saps the movie of some of the energy it has at times. Other people may disagree with me on this one, and I'm not saying he's bad, I'm just saying that he takes things a little too far for this kind of movie.
The other weak point is the second pair of kidnappers, "Heckle and Jeckyl". The two character actors who play them (including Brad Garrett, most recently known for his part in "Everybody Loves Raymond") are obviously old hands at this sort of character, but in the scenes set in their apartment (where they are supposedly holding the girl), they come off as buffoons, sort of like Laurel and Hardy with snub nosed 38s. While they are quite entertaining, it's impossible to take them seriously, and this also detracts from the sense of menace and urgency that is supposed to be driving the situation.
Anyway, aside from those minor caveats, I was really, really impressed by this movie. Anyone with a taste for darkly humored, quirky noir films such as "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Usual Suspects" will find this a worthy entry in the genre, as long as they can overlook those two sub-par aspects.
PS: The DVD reissue of "Suicide Kings" contains two alternate endings which film completists and fanatics will enjoy. The first alternate ending is somewhat sappy and romantic, and doesn't really jibe with the tone of the previous 15 minutes. The second ending is more workable, and has a nice twist. IMO, I think that the grimmer ending they kept was ultimately the most satisfying way to end the film. You may disagree.