Rent Wild Side (1995)

A sad farewell - Wild Side review by Kurtz

This film was the last in Donald Cammell's provocative career as a film director, and it's not really how I want to remember him. It courts the usual level of controversy with its depiction of sexual shenanigans featuring various combinations of the cast, but the plot is half-heartedly sketched in and the performances are wildly uneven. The celebrated seduction scenes involving Anne Heche and Joan Chen feel tender and authentic, but there are seemingly endless scenes of macho bluster from Steven Bauer and Christopher Walken to sit through before the women take centre stage.Walken in particular seems to lose the plot big time here. I'm usually quite a fan of his, but his habit of RANDOMLY SHOUTING EVERY OTHER LINE makes this a gruelling watch. So determined is he that his character is a big wheel and should be taken seriously that he is constantly waving things around to make his point- a big cigar, a gun, and even, memorably, his manhood (thankfully just out of shot).Unlike the unfortunate Cammell, though, Walken has had the opportunity to redeem himself with some good work since making this film.