Red Rock West

Let’s talk about “Red Rock West” for a minute, because this is one of those ‘90s neo-noir gems that never seems to get the attention it deserves. Directed by John Dahl in 1992, it stars Nicolas Cage back when he was still a little weird but hadn’t gone fully off the rails yet. The premise sounds straightforward enough: drifter rolls into a small Wyoming town and winds up neck deep in a plot that’s way over his head. But what unfolds is a thriller so casually twisted and blackly comic that you’re never sure where it’s going next.

Nicolas Cage plays Michael, one of the most relatable screw-ups in noir. He’s basically a good guy, but his bad luck seems genetically engineered. He breezes into Red Rock looking for work, is mistaken for a contract killer, and—rather than correcting anyone—just sort of rolls with it. It’s the classic noir desperation but with a kind of blue-collar humility that makes the film feel uniquely American. Cage is surprisingly restrained for most of the movie. It’s not his wildest or most technically impressive performance, but he nails “borderline panic barely hidden under politeness” in a way that makes you root for him, even when he’s making dumb decisions.

What really stands out about “Red Rock West” is its setting. Most noirs lean hard into urban decay or slick, rain-soaked streets, but Dahl shoots wide Wyoming vistas and dusty backroads in a way that feels both dangerous and oddly beautiful. There’s this fantastic sense of isolation, like the whole world could just forget about you out there. It’s a noir that understands how bleak the open plains can be.

The film’s pace is another thing that sets it apart. It wastes almost no time getting Michael tangled up with the wrong people. There’s a restless, propulsive energy that makes even the quieter scenes feel like they’re ticking down to some impending disaster. Once Dennis Hopper shows up (as the real hitman), the movie takes on this manic, unpredictable energy. Hopper is perfect here, giving a performance that’s menacing but also bitingly funny. He’s clearly having a blast, and his scenes with Cage are just absolute gold.

Lara Flynn Boyle rounds out the leading trio as the enigmatic femme fatale. She’s no Barbara Stanwyck, but she’s got a chilly, calculating edge that definitely works. You’re never really sure what her deal is, which is exactly how a femme fatale should be. Honestly, all the main players are serving up the kind of ambiguous motives and questionable loyalty that make noir plots both frustrating and fun.

If there’s a complaint to be had, it's that the film’s twists start to feel slightly mechanical by the third act. There’s a kind of pinball logic to the script: twist, double-cross, new danger, repeat. Sometimes it feels clever, other times maybe a bit forced. But given the movie’s short runtime and straight-shooting vibe, it mostly gets away with it. You’re so busy trying to keep up with Cage’s cascading misfortunes, you don’t mind the occasional contrivance.

Cinematographer Marc Reshovsky deserves a shout-out. He resists the urge to slather everything in shadow and instead lets the daylight expose all the roughness. The result is a rare breed of noir that’s sunburned instead of rain-drenched. It adds so much to the mood—a classic sense of menace, but with a dry, West-of-nowhere claustrophobia you don’t see often.

“Red Rock West” is the kind of film that would’ve killed at the box office if people actually knew how much fun it was. It’s smarter than it first appears, never takes itself too seriously, and basically exists to see how much trouble it can put Nic Cage through before the credits roll. It’s not perfect, but it’s more memorable than a lot of so-called modern noirs. If you want a tight, twisty, slightly sadistic thriller with scenery that’s as dangerous as its characters, this one hits the spot.