A sturdy little 'film noir' from Film Four International that takes full advantage of its Newcastle and jazz backgrounds, using both to give a smoky local edge to its story of a crooked American wheeler-dealer (Tommy Lee Jones) moving in on Tyneside. Sean Bean (later to win fame in Sharpe) makes an impressive star debut as the young drifter who becomes involved in all this when he both strikes up a relationship with the part-time hooker (Melanie Griffith) who works for the big shot, and obtains employment at the jazz club the American hopes to take over, presumably as a front for his nefarious activities. Sting is more effective than in several of his films, reverting to his native Geordie accent as the club owner whose friendship proves useful to the hero - even though it's always slanted towards his own interests. Forty years earlier, this material would have made a classy Hollywood second-feature. Substituting Newcastle for New York gives it new life. Still probably director Mike Figgis' best film to date, Leaving Las Vegas notwithstanding.


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