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| Warner Bros. | Release Date: April 24, 1992 |
Starring:
Alexander Nicksay, Beth Grant, Fredrick Lopez, James Rebhorn, M. Emmet Walsh, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Maura Tierney, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe
Summary:
A small southwestern town Sheriff (Willem Dafoe) finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and five hundred thousand dollars. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an F.B.I. investigation.
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Even the usually unbearable Rourke, who plays yet another psychopath here, is surprisingly subdued and effective -- his performance gives the film its menacing undercurrent. Although Daniel Pyne's otherwise sharp screenplay falls short in explaining why who's doing what to whom, perhaps a little ambiguity is necessary in a movie in which appearances are deceiving. After all, sometimes, you've just got to take these things on faith.
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Imagine what would happen if Andy of Mayberry transferred to New Mexico, adopted Barney Fife's delusions of trigger-happy grandeur and went undercover for the federal government. That's the gist of White Sands, an intriguing but muddled game of cross and double-cross...For the first 10 minutes or so, this thriller directed by Roger Donaldson (No Way Out) is a knockout. [24 Apr 1992, p.4D]
What am I looking for in a thriller? I think maybe a movie where people get into a situation, instead of one where an artificial and manipulative situation is imposed on people. "Fatal Attraction" convinced me it was about people who were in a believable situation. I cared about them. White Sands is all arbitrary melodrama, and so the considerable skills that went into it are essentially wasted. [24 Apr 1992, p.38]
That's what happens when film noir goes bad -- and this is a failed noir, so packed with double-crosses and red herrings that after an hour or so you just get tired. Who did it? Who cares? Let's just head home and get some rest. We can try to figure it all out tomorrow. [24 Apr 1992, p.G5]
WITH the russet beauty of New Mexico as the setting, White Sands sports a
nice look. With the angular Willem Dafoe in the lead role, White Sands
boasts a solid performance. And with director Roger Donaldson (No Way Out)
behind the camera, White Sands maintains a brisk pace. Now if it only had
a script that made a lick of sense, White Sands might have been a good
movie. It doesn't; it isn't. [24 Apr 1992]
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