Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.
Acting
Mastrantonio's raw, unglamorous desperation; Martinez's volcanic teenage rage.
Writing
Sayles' dialogue feels lived-in, not written—every character has history.
Cinematography
Alaska as fourth character: beautiful, indifferent, deadly.
Director
John Sayles
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sayles shot two endings and showed both to test audiences—neither 'won,' so he chose ambiguity. The studio hated it.
This was Sayles' 'commercial' movie after passion projects—still tanked, proving 1999 audiences wanted The Matrix, not quiet despair.
US
