Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr.
Starring: Hailey Kilgore, David Iacono, Pam Grier, Damon Wayans, Jeremie
Harris
Few writers have seen their work translate to the screen as poorly as
crime novelist Elmore Leonard. While some cracking westerns have been
adapted from his writing, Leonard's crime thrillers have been nowhere
near as successful in their screen translations. The main exception is
John Frankenheimer's 52 Pick-up, which captured the scuzziness of the characters that populate
Leonard's crime fiction. For some reason I could never fathom, most
filmmakers adapting Leonard have opted to infuse the drama with comedy
and cartoonish characters, turning Leonard's compelling roster of
scuzzballs into over the top caricatures.
Debut writer/director Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr.'s
Cinnamon is an entirely original creation but it resembles
many of those misfiring Leonard adaptations. It boasts a well-woven
thriller plot and some potentially interesting characters, but
Montgomery Jr. dials everything up to 11, with one particular
performance so annoying and misjudged it collapses the whole affair.
What could have been a nail-biting thriller is derailed by misjudged
comic hijinks.
That aforementioned performance comes courtesy of Marlon Wayans,
well known for his mugging ways. He plays Wally, a small time
entrepreneur who owns a string of businesses including a gas station.
One night while closing said gas station, young employee Jodi (Hailey Kilgore) is interrupted by an antsy man in a cowboy hat who insists on using
the restroom. While he's doing what a man's gotta do, another man in a
motorcycle helmet pulls a gun and orders Jodi to empty the safe behind
the counter. When the cowboy emerges from the restroom and attempts to
play the hero, he's shot dead by the masked raider, who flees the
scene.
All is not what it initially seems with this incident, as we flashback
several months and watch as events are set in motion leading to that
fateful night. Jodi is seduced by Eddie (David Iacono, a young
Eric Roberts), a charismatic thief who uses the proceeds of his illegal
activity to pay for aspiring singer Jodi to record a single. Planning to
relocate to Los Angeles for the sake of Jodi's musical ambitions, the
pair concoct a plan to make some quick cash.
Jumping forward to the aftermath of the opening scene, we see how Wally
is involved with a dangerous local crime family headed by a mute
matriarch (Pam Grier). Suspecting Wally of engineering the
robbery himself, they begin an investigation that sets them on a
collision course with Jodi and Eddie.
Cinnamon's plot has enough neat twists and turns to suggest it could have been
a successful thriller if it played its narrative for thrills rather than
cheap laughs. Most of those cheap laughs revolve around Wally, who is
played in such an over the top manner by Wayans that the character
completely deflates the tension every time he appears on screen. It's a
shame because as the central couple, Kilgore and Iacono share a
convincing chemistry and are likeable enough for us to initially root
for them to pull off their plans.
I say initially, as the film never reckons with the tragic consequences
of their actions. Despite being portrayed as an affable young couple,
Jodi and Eddie never show any remorse for the bloodshed that ensues when
their plan goes afoul, which makes it difficult to get behind them as
the plot unfolds. It's only because the nominal villains are so
sociopathic that Jodi and Eddie remain in the heroic spotlight. Like so
many of the Tarantino knockoffs of the '90s,
Cinnamon revels in its violence but lacks the maturity to
reckon with its consequences. It also shares that annoying '90s tendency
for overwritten dialogue, with various characters monologuing in a
self-satisfied manner that the bland writing really doesn't
justify.
