Rent Trouble in Mind (1985)
3.3 of 5 from 59 ratings
1h 48min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
This is Alan Rudolph's homage to film noir, and commences with a classic scene of a solitary man being released from prison into the unwelcoming world. This character Hawk (Kris Kristofferson), an ex-cop who has served his time for murdering a mobster. His first port of call is his former love Wanda (Geneviève Bujold), who runs a greasy diner in the aptly names Rain City, where he befriends the beautiful Georgia (Lori Singer) who is having difficulty with her petty criminal, sociopath partner Coop (Keith Carradine) whilst trying to care for their newborn child. Coop and Hawk are natural enemies but are connected by the associations with the criminal underworld, including Hilly Blue (Divine), a local Mr. Big. The film is highly stylistic, so much so tat it is impossible to tell if it is set in the past or the future, but it is certainly no the present, or, run of the mill - Actors:
- Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold, Joe Morton, George Kirby, John Considine, Dirk Blocker, Albert Hall, Gailard Sartain
- Directors:
- Alan Randolph
- Producers:
- David Blocker, Carolyn Pfeiffer
- Writers:
- Alan Rudolph
- Studio:
- Nouveaux Pictures
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Top 10 Golden Bear Winners, Top Films
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Reviews (1) of Trouble in Mind
All Atmosphere, Not Much Engine - Trouble in Mind review by griggs
Trouble in Mind is mostly an excuse to look at Rain City, and honestly, that's enough of a reason to show up. Neon everywhere, fog rolling through like it's billing by the hour, and a cast of extras who all seem to be auditioning for Best Supporting Streetlamp Smoker. I'd happily watch a whole film that was just this set with the sound off.
Kris Kristofferson turns up as the ex-con nobody quite wanted back, and he barely has to do anything — that gravelly, worn-out energy does most of the work for him. Keith Carradine is the bigger swing: small-town innocent gone small-time crook, and it's fun to watch him get there, even if the film rushes him through the transformation before I'd fully bought it.
Lori Singer gets sidelined a bit, which is a shame — you sense she matters more than the script lets her prove. And Divine, playing it straight, is probably the strangest casting decision in the whole thing — and the film does precious little with it.
The real issue is tone. It's trying to be noir homage, sincere melodrama, and dry comedy in the same breath, and some scenes never settle on which one they're meant to be. By the middle act, it just sort of... drifts, and a moody, occasionally overcooked soundtrack can only paper over so much.
Still, the ending earns more goodwill than the road there really deserves. All atmosphere, not much engine.
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