In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
Direction
Bigelow's POV SQUID sequences remain unmatched immersive cinema.
Acting
Angela Bassett delivers action-hero gravitas with devastating emotional precision.
Cinematography
Howard Atherton's neon-drenched LA feels like a city eating itself alive.
Director
Kathryn Bigelow
Ralph Fiennes
Lenny Nero
Angela Bassett
Lornette 'Mace' Mason
Juliette Lewis
Faith Justin
Tom Sizemore
Max Peltier
Michael Wincott
Philo Gant
Vincent D'Onofrio
Burton Steckler
Glenn Plummer
Jeriko One
Brigitte Bako
Iris
Richard Edson
Tick
William Fichtner
Dwayne Engelman
Josef Sommer
Palmer Strickland
Joe Urla
Keith
Nicky Katt
Joey Corto
Michael Jace
Wade Beemer
Louise LeCavalier
Cindy 'Vita' Minh
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Written by James Cameron during his divorce from Bigelow; the Faith character reportedly channels their relationship tensions. The Rodney King beating and LA riots directly shaped its police brutality themes.
The SQUID rig weighed 50 pounds. Bigelow wore it herself to test shots. The millennium party scene used 10,000 extras—one of the largest civilian crowd shots of the decade.
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