PALMETTO (1998)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Noir that thrives on pure irony and unbelievable coincidences plague most of "Palmetto." The film stars Woody Harrelson as a rambunctious former reporter just out of prison for a crime he didn't commit - he was apparently framed in a police cover-up. Now he starts life over with his sexy girlfriend (Gina Gershon), an artist, and is offered a job with the police department! He resists the offer, and finds himself neck deep in trouble with a flirtatious blonde siren (Elisabeth Shue). After stealing money from her purse, she asks him to participate in a scheme involving the kidnapping of her sister. Before you can say murder, corruption, conspiracy, double indemnity, Woody gets in a jam he can't get out of. The desperation begins. In an ironic twist, he's hired by the police department to cover his own story, which involves him as a possible murder suspect.
"Palmetto" is breezy fun for a while, but it takes much too long for it to go anywhere. An inordinate amount of time is spent on Woody's couplings with Ms. Shue before the plot kicks in gear. The problem here is that Harrelson and Shue have no believable sultry sparks between them - Shue's best leading man has been Nicolas Cage by far, and he played a drunk! The film has the perfect sweltering atmosphere to convey hidden passions and desires, but its tone is too uneven. It goes from completely deadpan, to wildly over-the-top rainy climaxes, to deadly serious innuendoes of the "Gingerbread Man" variety - witness the gory shenanigans of the Michael Rappaport character that belongs in a different movie. The movie floats by thanks to Harrelson's charisma but charisma is not always enough.
