If you want your films to have sympathetic characters, you probably shouldn't go near this one. This is a very tough and cynical thriller, one that has no good guys, only a whole lotta bad guys and a couple of not quite as bad guys. But that's what I enjoyed about this film. It was great to see the plot unfold in unexpected ways, and to see these characters mess with one another, motivated only by greed, lust, and fear. Another aspect is the film's sleek and cold style. From the wardrobes to the apartments these characters occupy, the film is pretty stylin'. And the acting is very good. Laurence Fishburne is excellent as the amoral Crowe, Frank Langella is elegantly nasty as Grimes, and Michael Beach has a deceptively quiet role as one of Fishburne's "co-workers". A very dark film that resolves itself quite nicely in the end, and well worth seeing. But if you need a good guy to root for, this isn't the film to check out.

Lawrence Fishburn is an ex agent of the CIA or whatever the company is called in this story -- the IRT, the BMT, or the IND. His skills are needed however by Frank Langella, who runs an industrial espionage outfit, aided in more ways than one by an agreeably coiffed and precisely groomed Ellen Barkin. There is a bit of wet work involved and nobody trusts anyone else except that the boss, Langella, trusts his chief of staff, Barkin. who later will aid in Langella's murder for the sake of power and pelf. The sexual scenes are a bit graphic and ignores racial sensibilities.

The plot isn't anything special but two features of the movie are worth noting. First, the performances on the part of all the principles is just fine. Ellen Barkin is a surprise as a suave and elegant femme fatale. Fishburn is slow and considerate. (This is not an action movie.) And Frank Langella is outstanding in whatever role he takes on.

The second admirable element is the stylization of both the sets and the dialog. It's not overdone, not inaccessible, but not entirely realistic either. It's done just enough, like a classic cheese soufflé.

It presents a pretty lousy picture of humankind, Schopenhaueresque, but -- well.

Nelson Crowe (Laurence Fishburne) is a CIA operative who was downsized after a dispute over a missing bribe of $50k in gold. Vic Grimes (Frank Langella) hires him for his company "The Toolshed" which blackmails and bribes for their corporate clients. Grimes and Margaret Wells (Ellen Barkin) are working to bribe State Supreme Court Judge Beach for their client Walter Curl. Wells comes to Crowe with a scheme to take over The Toolshed from Crowe.

It's a lot of noir moody style. There is not much attention paid to provide any rooting interesting for the characters. It's a lot of cold distant characters and loads of dark hard-boiled cool style. It's so cool that there is no heat in it even with the sizzling Barkin. There is not enough excitement or tension. These are great actors and they almost make this work. The schemes, blackmail, brides and double-cross do get to be questionable. The problem is that I stop caring about halfway through.