Tequila Sunrise

Mac McKussic (Gibson) is a drug dealer... Or isn't he? It's hard to tell, even to McKussic himself. While he's trying to get out of the business, he keeps on getting sucked back in again. This makes his former friend Nicholas Frescia (Russell) more than a little interested in the exploits of Mac. With beautiful restaurant owner Jo Ann Valenari (Pfeiffer) in a love triangle between Mac and Nick, and a drug dealer named Carlos (Julia) playing on both sides of the law, there's only one way this can end...And that's with a bang.

"Tequila Sunrise" is a drug drama, one of those movies that's as recognizable to 80s film fans as the teen movie and the homoerotic action flick. The dialogue has the rapid-fire intensity you would expect from Towne, the man behind the screenplay for the brilliant neo-noir "Chinatown". The performances are great as usual for these actors. As Mac, Gibson takes the edginess and ambivalence he displayed as Martin Riggs in "Lethal Weapon" and makes it into something evil. As Nick, Russell displays his trademark combination of smiling cynicism and razor's edge rage. As Jo Ann, Pfeiffer once again has that air of bitterness under a mask of icy beauty. As Carlos, the late Julia shows off the combination of gusto and darkness that made all of his characters so appealing.

There's one aspect of this movie that I haven't really talked about in my other reviews for this site. That aspect is cinematography. Conrad L. Hall's lens tells the story as much as the screenplay does. Three examples of that follow:

On a swing set where Mac and Nick have a conversation, their shilouettes intertwine as if to indicate the bond they have and that they can't break, despite being on opposite sides of the law.

The light that reflects on Mac's striped shirt gives us the idea of his criminal mind. The shirt is reminscent of those worn by prisoners in the days before the orange suits came along.

A love scene with Jo Ann is lit so you can't tell whether she's making love to Mac or Nick.

...Light and shadows make the movie as mysterious as Towne's words.