merklekranz
Rosanna Arquette oozes sexuality. Kevin Anderson plays a sailor wrongly accused of murder. John Lithgow plays a character that seems better suited to Dennis Hopper, drinking and insulting his way through the film. These three are thrown together in an extended road trip along the back roads of rural Mexico, while being pursued by the police. Nothing is certain as half-truths, double deals, and double crosses, unfold. Unfortunately not a lot happens in "The Wrong Man", but the acting is solid, and it is difficult to turn away from Rosanna Arquette in skimpy outfits, or topless. There is not a lot of action and at times things get quite talky, however watching Arquette can quickly make you forget any minor faults the movie may have. - MERK
merrillb-1
A couple of points that haven't been mentioned: Setting aside the plot, this flic has very good Mexican mise-en-scene, at MANY different points. It's up there with "Bring me the head of Alfredo G." for capturing the feel of Mexico. For instance, the wonderful cloudy scenes at the start, of the port city. {Where is this? I think it's supposed to be Veracruz, but does not look at all like the V. city that I recalled, in terms of the geography...) Also, I very much liked that decaying motel in the jungle-- where things really get crazy between our jolly trio.Second, the soundtrack is by Los Lobos so you have the enjoyable moody "wrong man theme" during these opening shots of the port city. Also a soulful ballad, as the credits roll up, at the end.The biggest liability is Anderson, who is so insipid, has none of the appeal that one would hope from a lead "hero." This leaves a sorry hole at the center of the movie. (On the other hand, I rather liked Lithgow's nutty over-acting.) Definitely recommended for those who'd like a brief Mexican getaway.
chrissage
...........This contains a spoiler or two................. Alex, a mug on the run, is duped by Felix and finds himself wanted for murder, again. to escape the law he climbs into Arquettes cleavage, sorry, make that convertible, and along with her very annoying husband Lithgow, hits the road. this movie seems to be nothing more than a vehicle for Miss Arquette to parade her body and considerable charms at every opportunity. Lithgow is awful - just plain unbelievable with the mood swings of a metronome. Alex is one dimensional and as blank as his suit. his vision does not extend beyond the end of his nose, or Miss Arquette's cleavage, whichever is closer at the time. for all that, it is strangely watchable until the end, which is laughably so. the getaway vehicle is a train pulling out of the station with the speed of the road roller in Austin Powers. three old ladies with zimmer frames would have time to get on or off without breaking sweat, let alone a limb. yet to the mexican police it is a challenge. ludicrously funny.
bob the moo
In Mexico Alex Walker has his wallet stolen by smuggler Felix Crawley. When he finds his house and goes in to get his money back he finds Felix shot and himself accused of murder. He runs and gets help from Missy and Phillip Mills, however his relationship with Missy begins to affect how cleanly he can get away.False advertising! I watched this with the understanding that it was a thriller of some sort. However I'm sad to say that it isn't anything of the sort. The film opens OK and sets us up to have Alex hunt down the killer before the police catch him for the murder. Instead what happens is that he falls in with Missy and Phillip. He screws Missy a lot, Phillip fights and then is calm and over and over again ad nauseam. This continues till the end when the `shock' noir ending turned out to be what I had assumed from the first 10 minutes.The film has no direction. The love triangle takes the place of the murder except the occasional scene of the two Mexican police officers chasing Alex. Because it just drifts aimlessly it is very, very dull. I really had to force myself not to just turn it off and do something else instead simply because it is so very dull and boring.Lithgow is OK but he lacks subtlety I suspect he hammed it up because he didn't know any better than me what his character was all about. Arquette is annoying all she does is flop her boobs out every 10 minutes or so, which is fine if you want that with no reason but why not watch porn if that's all you want? Anderson is a TVM kind of guy and looks out of his depth with Lithgow and Arquette. He thinks all he needs to do is not shave and look moody to fit in he is terrible and makes this film even more dull just by his presence.Overall this is dull and aimless. Please don't waste your time on this. I rarely see a film so poor that I struggle to watch it at all, but this felt to me like it took a year of my life to watch.
AD
