Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing dog, Wally. The other is a local gangster with a taste for the finer life, who decides to eliminate the competition. This ignites a war between the two men and their aides. An angry mob boss and a female police officer try to sort the mess before things get too out of hand.
Acting
Braugher's theatrical menace versus Baldwin's wounded cool.
Direction
Sanders' lived-in Detroit locations feel authentically desperate.
Score
Jazz selections that Mackin would actually own on vinyl.
Director
Scott Sanders
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sanders made this after his Sundance short and before the cult hit Black Dynamite — notice the same love of period detail and deliberate pacing.
This bombed in '99 because it wasn't Pulp Fiction enough for Miramax kids nor serious enough for noir heads — it's found its audience in Baldwin completists who appreciate unhinged pet ownership.
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