Kiss or Kill . Newcity Chicago . 05-11-98

Kiss or Kill

DIRECTED BY: Bill Bennett

REVIEWED: 05-11-98

The outlaw couple genre, a subset of the road movie, is endlessly open to variations, limited only by how well you keep your eyes on the road ahead. It's also open to endless retreads, so many Bonnies, so many Clydes, so little inspiration. Bill Bennett's conspicuously charming "Kiss or Kill" is pretty much a delight from start to finish, working with Frances O'Connor and Matt Day, two fresh-faced actors seen earlier this year in "Love And Other Catastrophes." Bennett had been bedeviled for over a decade by its story of two lovers on the run who can't trust each other. While Bennett helmed the ill-fated Sandra Bullock-Denis Leary vehicle, "Two If By Sea," his two-decade career allows him to blossom in the looser form of "Kiss." There's an offhand panache that leavens even some pretty dark moments. Petty crimes lead to larger deceptions, and soon a pile of bodies are left in their wake. Witty, farcical and uncommonly smart, Bennett's semi-improvised caper is a sweet piece of malice. Nikki and Al are a pair of grifters who latch onto libidinous businessmen in hotel bars, whereupon Nikki chats them up and together, after she's drugged them, they shake them down. One such scam goes awry and they're soon bolting across the Australian desert, encountering one delicious minor character after another. While the film has movie-movie production design, the camerawork is as jumpy as the impulsive, hair-trigger outlaw couple on the run. The hand-held shots, jump-cutting and a general sense of unease and enigmatic portent draw us inexorably into Nikki and Al's twisted, often hilarious, world. Charm is part of any con and the greatest part of this smooth anecdote. It's amazing nowadays when you can grin through the darkest complications of a plot-or when you even care to.

--Ray Pride

Full Length Reviews
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill

Capsule Reviews
Kiss or Kill
Kiss or Kill

Other Films by Bill Bennett
Two If by Sea

Film Vault Suggested Links
Vertigo
Heavenly Creatures
Caught Up

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.