White Sands (1992)

Captivating movie !

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I have seen this crime drama on a VHS player, in high—school—in '94, perhaps (--after I saw a photo from it in '93, in the Hungarian edition of a cinema magazine--); then, several times on TV. I must have seen it a few times. The most enjoyed was M E Mastrantonio's nude scene. She was a babe I knew as the maid Marian, Robin Hood's bride, and found her very beautiful. I was of course extremely disappointed by the supporting part given to Rourke—his role being my reason for searching and seeing this flick. WHITE SANDS is a movie about the drug traffic. Its best side is the cast—Dafoe, Mastrantonio, Rourke and the others …. Otherwise, Donaldson slapdash. This must also be the last movie where Rourke still had his youth features (--I never knew what to make of his surgical tale--). As a Rourke _completist, I had to see WHITE SANDS; and, as mentioned, did it several times. So, if you enjoy either Dafoe or Mastrantonio or Rourke or average crime dramas or are a Donaldson _completist, see it.Rourke is the actor with the most comebacks; I became a fan in '92, 17 yrs ago, and almost as soon as I became his fan I began hearing about his now countless comebacks. He came back like yearly. It started with White Sands (1992) (which came after what Rourke deemed as his most dishonoring movie, the funny and likable Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man; now if Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man is a bad movie what will you tell about Wild Orchid, Fall Time, Double Team, Love in Paris, Point Blank—his truly nasty ones?); so first he came back with White Sands (1992); then, with F.T.W. (1994), Bullet (1996), Double Team (1997), The Rainmaker, Sin City …--he repeatedly came back to claim his place in Hollywood, weeping about his messed career, etc.. In '94 he claimed he was coming back—but he was still 14 yrs away from a true role. I knew each of his films from RAPE AND MARRIAGE to POINT BLANK (--except for 5 movies--), and from SHERGAR to PICTURE CLAIRE.

At the time this was released, no-one knew who Sam Jackson was, but now his presence gives the film the balance needed. We know Jackson. We know the kind of mean sh*t that goes down. Dafoe is the sheriff who gets involved in Jackson's plot to catch baddie arms dealer Rourke. Dafoe has to pretend to be a dead man (Rourke doesn't know about the death). The two become friendly as Dafoe is slowly sucked into his world. The last 30 minutes is possibly the most exciting stuff I've seen, filmed in the 'White Sands' of the desert, jackson running for his life with a briefcase containing money- or so he thinks. Rourke turns out to be a CIA operative, which was a little bit unnecessary, and Dafoe perhaps is too smug in his capture of Jackson- but it all adds to the fun. Look out for a young Mimi Rogers and a very young Maura Tierney, who doesn't last long when the bad guy gets wind she's in the area. Those looking for a link between Rourke's pretty boy 80s persona and his current battered hardman image will find it here. Don't know why he decided to give it all up after this, it's exceptional.

At least this film has some terrific desert scenery, especially at the beginning and at the end. But the spectacular New Mexico vistas are not nearly enough to overcome a garbled storyline about a good-guy cop named Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) who investigates the death of a man clutching a suitcase full of loot. Implausibly, Dolezal then assumes the identity of the dead man, to track down the villain or villains. The plot contains several potential villains, but their real identities and their various motivations are terribly confusing. About halfway into the film, I gave up trying to figure out who was doing what to whom. None of the characters are especially interesting.The story also suffers from various standard film clichés: tough guys who talk tough, characters who spend a lot of time pointing guns at each other; the obligatory nude shower scene, a gory autopsy, and so on. Another big problem here is the casting of Willem Dafoe. With his heavy-duty Northern accent, he is not at all convincing as a redneck sheriff.Lacking thematic depth or significant originality, "White Sands" is just another film about some cop who tries to solve a crime alone, and in the process encounters assorted characters and risks. The only thing that made the movie halfway interesting to me was the expansive New Mexico landscape.

I had no intention of watching this film,I just had nothing better to do.However,it's worth a watch.There are faults,as there are with most films,but the film is worthy of praise.Willem Dafoe as the small time cop caught up in the mess is a great choice for such a versatile actor.With strong support from the ever-reliable Samuel L.Jackson and the controversial Mickey Rourke.The film works well,it just tries too hard to captivate the audience.Still,I am only one person,I still say this should be watched Enjoy The Film Sean