Rush (1991)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Rush is a great movie, steered by two great actors, sharing their finest hour. Loosely based upon a real story, Rush tells the story of DEA undercover cops, (Leigh and Patric) who fall prey to the miscellany of drugs themselves, getting too involved in the false guise they're leading, through no fault of their own. These drugs have em'. Leigh, the newcomer to this operation, is shown the ropes by Patric, who later on, is that that far gone, he bounce back from this quicksand he's falling into. We both feel, greatly for these character's plights. They're out to bust the supplier Gaines, (Cher's hubby, Greg Allman in a sinister, pitch perfect part) who's into more than the distribution of drugs. We follow the slow destruction of these two, Patric at one stage burning his wrist purposely with an iron. In another scene of hopelessness, he arsef..ks Leigh. Sam Elliott in a strong part, plays their boss, a character of great support for these two's hapless spiral into a world of fear, paranoia. The two are so believably great, in one of the best drug films ever made, and still is to this day. It's a good solid drama, with top notch storytelling, and a dynamic and approving shock ending at the sound of double barrel. Too, Eric Clapton's song, Tears in Heaven is featured towards the end, fittingly in a haunting and memorable scene, a few scenes ahead of an unforgettable and tragic one.

The cable guide summary was misleading -- "Two undercover cops become lovers and addicted to dope and danger." Look out -- action movie ahead, right? Righteous cops seek out Gothic underworld figures. Motorcycle chases. Exploding heads. Vicious beatings. The shoot out in the automobile graveyard. The final vindication with the hero's arm in a sling. But no. It's a mature movie. Above all, the couple don't get hooked on danger. On the contrary, they're scared to death of it. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh are two narcs who must be part of the drug world they inhabit and yet retain their identities as cops. In a way they're marginal people, like shop foremen or upper-echelon clerks -- no longer just workers, yet not part of management either. Or like cultural anthropologists, for that matter, participant observers, of which I was one. Two of us were studying psychedelic drug use in New York way back when and were doing on-site observation at a party where everyone else was getting stoned. The dope turned my hosts paranoid and they accused us of being narcs. My partner and I agreed that I would partake of the illicit substance -- just a hit or two to reassure our subjects -- and my partner would not. It reflected really poor judgment on my part. (How long is the statue of limitations in effect, again?) But watching this movie, I could understand pretty much exactly where these two narcs were coming from. In their case, life and death were involved. If you don't participate, you don't do your job. If you do, you're breaking the law. If one side finds you out, you're spanked. If the other side finds you out, you're spanked.What's important in a movie like this are the performances and they're quite good. Not just Patric and Leigh, but even the smaller parts. I was pleasantly surprised by the direction as well. Let me see. The producer is Richard Zanuck. The director is Lili Fini Zanuck. When you see a combination of names like those with statuses like those, you have to suspect nepotism. But, nepotism or no, the direction is unhurried, dark, humorless and very effective, the subdued equal of one of Sidney Lumet's stories of squealing cops in New York. The photography is outstanding, its colors drawn from the cool end of the spectrum. The music is by Eric Clapton and he does a great riff on Texas Rock, though we still hear his vibrating chords through the cow flops.It isn't a happy movie. But it's unusually well done.

SPOILERS THROUGH:I read the book "Rush" as well and found both the book and the film to be very good. The supporting cast was incredible. And The performances from the two leads are as good as it gets and about as good as Leigh and Patrick get. If one were to doubt the acting ability of either of these two people, they'd need only to see this film. Both of them immerse themselves in their roles and the fact that they are performers playing a part, really does disappear. It was two excellent casting choices, casting these two as the police officers. The movie itself is moody, grim, and, at times brutal, but it always stays interesting. I loved the southern feel of the film and think the atmospheric cinematography was spot on. Rush is really thought provoking and the performances from Patrick and Leigh, being really much more then merely good, were both academy award worthy. They also had an incredibly strong amount of on screen chemistry and that chemistry adds a lot to this film.Rush is a very difficult film to watch because of the subject matter. This is both an anti drug film and a crime film and so there's not exactly a lot of sweetness and light but the film is very well made and the supporting performers deserve a lot of kudos as well. Because of just how stark and grim the film is, with less talented people it may have become to difficult to watch but this movie is performance driven and always keeps one watching.The story and characters are complex, and watching this one does kind of forget it's a movie as the film plays like a volcano about to erupt and a lot of different feelings are felt when watching this. There were a lot of films being made around this time about drugs and though this isn't my favorite, it is one of the most complex and well acted.The main negatives are the slow moving nature of the film, the extreme talky quality and the mood of the film in general which is so gloomy it's tough to get through at times. There's a lot of violence, a lot of drug use and a lot of people getting hurt or killed. The story however, as grim as it is, is also fascinating and it's almost impossible not to get hooked in. The ending is full of questions and a bit more ambiguous then I would have liked(it also differs from the book). Rush isn't going to be for everybody but I liked the film and loved the performances from everyone. I'd give this a 7.5 of 10.

I was about 21 when i first saw the movie Rush.. and i just fell in Love (well maybe not love, but close..) with Jason Patric. The mix between him and Jennifer Jason Leigh was wonderful. And adding Sam Elliot to the show was like icing on the cake. Then adding Max Perlich and Gregg Allman gave this movie the perfect cast. It was a movie that people could relate to b/c the writers and directors didn't dress it up to be something that it wasn't. They made a real life situation seem not only realistic, but interesting and informative as well . I felt like i was there with them the whole time, going through the motions like they were. I've watched this movie many times and it is by far my favorite movie,, never have i found a movie that can match the feelings that this one gives me. I say great job to all who where involve. It is an amazing movie and a must see. Truly what a movie should be. Thanks for listening, Angel