April 13–20, 2000

movie shorts

Where the Money Is

Paul Newman could play the part of charismatic bank robber/con man Henry Manning in his sleep. And indeed, at first the part calls for just that: After faking a stroke in order to be transferred from prison to a low-security nursing home, Henry’s in a wheelchair, semi-comatose. At the nursing home, he meets high-voltage nurse Linda Fiorentino. Bored with her small-town life and marriage to amiable dunderhead Dermot Mulroney, she convinces Newman to go in with her on a robbery. With Mulroney, they steal an armored car mid-run, which means they spend a good part of the film completing the route and encountering all the usual glitches — the nosy cop, the chatty guard, the unexpected change in routine. Unbelievably, there’s not much tension in any of this, written by committee and directed by Marek Kanievska (Less Than Zero). Most scenes affect a seductive neo-noir look (dark interiors, neon bar signs), but the characters are dullsville, with nowhere to go you can’t anticipate. Of course, Newman — whose caper flicks are legendary — is arresting even when he’s lolling in his wheelchair.

—Cindy Fuchs