"Tequila Sunrise" is sometimes quoted as an example of neo-noir, a genre of film which uses modern cinema techniques while trying to capture the spirit of the classic films noirs from the forties and fifties. Other examples include Polanski's "Chinatown", the Michael Winner remake of "The Big Sleep", Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat" and Curtis Hanson's more recent "L.A. Confidential".

The title is derived from the well-known cocktail which has three ingredients, tequila, orange juice, and grenadine. Mel Gibson is seen drinking this cocktail on a couple of occasions, but the significance of the title may be that the film explores the triangular relationship between a "cocktail" of three main characters, Dale "Mac" McKussic, Nick Frescia and Jo Ann Vallinari. (The film was advertised in France under the slogan "Un Cocktail Explosif").

Mac is a former drug dealer who claims that he is now trying to go straight. Nick is not only the head of the Los Angeles narcotics squad for but also Mac's close friend. Jo Ann is a local restaurant owner with whom both Mac and Nick are in love. The two men's friendship is therefore under severe strain, and not only because of their feelings for Jo Ann. There are suspicions that Mac has slipped back into his old ways and may be trying to pull off one last deal with another old friend, a Mexican drug baron named Carlos. If these suspicions prove correct, Nick will be duty-bound to arrest him.

Like many examples of both film noir and neo-noir, "Tequila Sunrise" has a complex plot, one where the motives of all the characters are suspect and where nobody knows whom they can trust. (The writer/director Robert Towne was also the scriptwriter for "Chinatown", a film with one of the most convoluted plots in cinema history). Nevertheless, I have never really regarded it as authentic neo-noir. There was always more to film noir than a crime-related theme and a complicated storyline. Atmosphere was equally important; in some cases (such as Howard Hawks' original "The Big Sleep") it was paramount. In the eighties it would have been virtually impossible to make a film using the moody black-and-white photography which characterised film noir, but neo-noir directors were often able to give their films an equivalent atmospheric look. "Body Heat", for example, has an atmosphere of extreme heat, of sweat, of physical lassitude, of moral decay and of sexual tension, something emphasised not only by John Barry's jazz score but also Kasdan's colour scheme dominated by blacks, reds and oranges.

The film stars three of the up-and-coming stars of the eighties in Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. None of them really give their best performance here, although Pfeiffer is always very watchable. Although in the eighties Gibson was best known for his "tough guy" roles, especially in the "Mad Max" series, he does not bring much menace to the role of Mac or suggest his criminal background. Roger Ebert called him "the nicest drug dealer you'd ever want to know".

In 1988 Towne was much more experienced as a screenwriter than as a director. He had worked on the scripts for more than a dozen films and several TV series, but had only directed one previous film, the very different "Personal Best". It is therefore perhaps not surprising that "Tequila Sunrise" comes across as more of a writer's film than a director's one. Towne inserts all the plot twists and turns that we have come to expect from noir and neo-noir, but there are none of the visual touches we associate with the genre. The film is surprisingly slow-moving and wordy for what is supposed to be a crime thriller, dominated more by talk than by physical action except during the (literally) explosive finale. Towne may have had ambitions to become an auteur director like Polanski, but "Tequila Sunrise", a run-of-the-mill crime drama, is not the work of an auteur. 5/10

I'm betting that writer/director Robert Towne of Tequila Sunrise was a big fan of the great Warner Brothers classic Angels With Dirty Faces. That's the one where two kids who grow up to be James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, because one is caught by the authorities and one wasn't for some juvenile crime, one becomes a gangster and one becomes a priest.

Here the mere fact that Kurt Russell was enjoying a midnight swim and Mel Gibson was caught smoking a joint on a Mexican beach makes all the difference in their lives. Russell becomes a cop, Gibson who gets protection in the Mexican prison from Raul Julia drug kingpin goes into the business. Little is left to the imagination about how Gibson enjoyed Julia's favor.

Julia's wanted by just about everybody and while Gibson would really like to quit the business, he owes Julia and Julia is coming to the USA for a really big score. Putting Kurt Russell in a precarious position. It gets even more precarious when restaurant owner Michelle Pfeiffer arrives on the scene. She has a thing for both Gibson and Russell.

This very unofficial redoing of Angels With Dirty Faces also from Warner Brothers is nicely updated to the glitzy 80s and all the players are doing some really good work here. Tequila Sunrise got an Oscar nomination for Cinematography and the way that fiery climax is photographed I can see why.

I will say things work out a tad better than they did for James Cagney.

'Mac' McKussic (Mel Gibson) is a former drug dealer trying to stay clean. His close friend Nick Frescia (Kurt Russell) is in the drug taskforce in the L. A. County Sheriff's Department. DEA Agent Hal Maguire (J. T. Walsh) insists that Mac is involved with faceless Mexican cartel leader Carlos. Maguire tries to get restaurant owner Jo Ann (Michelle Pfeiffer) to spy on Mac but she refuses. Nick gets close to Jo Ann as the task force closes in on Mac. Nick introduces Jo Ann to Mexican Federales Commandante Xavier Escalante (Raúl Juliá).

This is a jumble messy noirish hard-boiled crime drama. The first noticeable thing is the need for more setup. It would be helpful to show the childhood friendship and even their relationship when they were cop and robber. They need to build up their story together so the audience can truly feel their closeness. Everything builds on that including the love triangle. The story is both as slow as molasses and as confused as an Iowa corn maze. I like the style and the acting is alright. However, the plot has no momentum and struggles to find any footing. Everything could be solved with a better introduction to these characters. I don't care about them. Kurt in a suit is not enough characterization.