Civility

Yes, it's another one of those "small town in the middle of the desert with an ironic name" neo-noir movies (Truth or Consequences, NM, Red Rock West). You'd think that since most previous entries in the genre have gone directly to video, people would be discouraged from making more. Caesar Cavaricci's film hits pretty much all the marks it's supposed to: a dead man with a hidden past, a dangerous psychopath, lowlifes with gimmicky character quirks (William Forsythe as a man who can't sweat, Clarence Williams III as a gangster with gout), and a whole bunch of money that people will kill for. A femme fatale would have been nice, however, and no, Rachel Ticotin's little cameo doesn't count. It's all perfectly servicable stuff; occasionally confusing, but then, most movies of this type are. There's just nothing especially memorable about it, save for the fact that Tom Arnold manages to not be too annoying, and a man gets set on fire at one point, which is a pretty spectacular effect for a low-budget film. Writer-director Cavaricci sees himself primarily as a writer, according to the press notes, but judging by Civility, this is the lesser of his two major talents. And can we please declare a moratorium on Star Wars references?