Film Review: Storyville (1992)

Some Hollywood films are obscure or, more likely, made obscure by some unfathomable reasons despite having notable names on posters or good critical reviews. This is what happened to Storyville, 1992 thriller directed by Mark Frost.

The plot, based on Juryman, novel by Frank Galbally and Robert Macklin, is set in New Orleans. Protagonist, played by James Spader, is Cray Fowler, young lawyer who is running as Democrat candidate for House of Representative. He has descended from wealthy and influential family which nevertheless had its share of tragedies in the past. Cray’s father died in mysterious circumstances during investigation over possible illegal manipulation of mineral rights in Louisiana bayous and Cray has been raised by his brother Clifford (played by Jason Robards) who now serves as his mentor and campaign advisor. Cray doesn’t seem to be much interested in campaign and begins to investigate his father’s case. He also happens to frequent New Orleans’ notorious red light district where he accepts proposal of beautiful Vietnamese woman Lee Tran (played by Charlotte Lewis) to spend time together in her martial arts studio. Cray later learns that sexual encounter was recorded on camera and his attempt to settle the matter ends with violent death of Xang Tran (played by George Cheung), Lee’s father who had actually pimped his daughter. Lee is accused of crime and Cray decides to defend her at court, using the services of private investigator Nathan LeFleur (played by Michael Warren) to discover who was ultimately behind the blackmail attempt.

Mark Frost is a screenwriter and producer best known as one of co-creators of Twin Peaks. Storyville, produced shortly after the end of the original series, represents his only feature directorial effort. Script, which Frost co-wrote with Lee Reynolds, gives away an influence of Twin Peaks, although the setting of decadent and notoriously corrupt New Orleans is very different from sleepy Pacific Northwest town. In both cases, protagonist is forced to discover complicated web of dark secrets, resulting in combination of mystery and soap opera. Frost, however, lacks skills as director and Storyville often meanders through unnecessary subplots (like protagonist’s love affair with prosecuting attorney played by Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) and some of the scenes that would have worked well if directed by Lynch or more experienced director look inept. Noirish atmosphere is compromised with dark colours and rather ineffective and monotonous musical score by Carter Burwell. The film is ultimately carried by the cast, most notably James Spader who plays JFK-like protagonist with great ease and skill. Michael Parks is also effective as sinister police detective who might be involved in conspiracy. The end result is mostly satisfying, although Storyville definitely failed to live to its potential. Although liked by critics, the film quickly disappeared from collective memory. Conspiracy theorists would probably attribute this to protagonist’s similarity to Bill Clinton, flawed politician whom Hollywood worshipped despite non-monogamous lifestyle and some dark secrets in his past. Fiction of Storyville was apparently too close to comfort to all those preferring false but idealised reality in White House.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo
Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax
Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc
Uptrennd profile https://www.uptrennd.com/user/MTYzNA

Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7