Spikeopath Rush is directed by Lili Fini Zanuck and adapted to screenplay by Peter Dexter from the Kim Wozencraft novel. It stars Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sam Elliott, Max Perlich and Gregg Allman. Music is by Eric Clapton and cinematography by Kenneth MacMillan.Two undercover narcotic cops get on a downward spiral that they may not return from...Set and filmed in Texas, Rush is a hot, sweaty and claustrophobic neo- noir. It maybe doesn't have the classic visual tics of yesteryear, but it has photographic style to burn - with Clapton's score suitably melancholic, which in turn is something that sits perfectly with the perpetual sense of doom that pervades the pic. Corruption and addiction lead the way, all while love tries its hardest to break on through to the other side, but we are on a bus to noirville, and noirville is an unforgiving place...Patric and Leigh are damn fine actors if given the right material to work with, and they carry this with aplomb. Sadly, Allman is a weak villain, maybe because he looks like a Rick Wakeman clone?! While under using Sam Elliott is just a plain waste. However, this deserves its place on neo-noir lists. It is deliberate in pacing, therefore asking for you to buy into the thematics at work, to let them itch your skin, but to do so has rewards, for in true noir style it doesn't chicken out once the end credits have rolled. 7.5/10

SnoopyStyle It's the 1970's Texas. Undercover officer Jim Raynor (Jason Patric) works under Lt. Dodd (Sam Elliott) and picks recent grad Kristen Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to be his partner. Raynor is after drug dealer Will Gaines (Gregg Allman). Raynor pushes Cates to do real drugs rather than faking it as taught in school. They infiltrate the crime world but their drug addictions interfere with the investigation.Jason Patric is in his greasy long hair sleazy goodness. Jennifer Jason Leigh portrays her drug-addicted spiral downward beautifully. The movie doesn't shy away from the drug use. Instead, it dives in head first. It's grimy, dirty and ugly. The story could probably be squeezed into ninety minutes. It's running a little too long at two hours. There are stretches of slow sections but the movie remains compelling.

Red Queen Not hard to follow, just lacking plot, Rush captured a way of life more than it followed a sequence of events. What struck me about this film was how realistic it was to the seventies rural drug culture, and how casual it was, with the kingpin being untouchable. The attitudes are dead on.The Eric Clapton soundtrack was an ingenious idea that again was dead on for the period, but disappointing in its unoriginality.I still can't figure out the worst love scene in cinematic history or why was that was included, but men seem to like this movie a lot and never mention that.The ending was good but anticlimactic as the surprise was ruined by foreshadowing in the opening scene. Again, I just don't understand why they did it that way.But I do get the gist of this film and it's an interesting socio- political comment.

smfilm 24 years later, Rush is intensely interesting.... and is remarkable for being a piece of movie history where history was revealed, careers were started, real life relationships ended, and lawsuits were flying everywhere.Jennifer Jason Leigh had a long career going before this, but prior to Rush, her only real critical success had been the super edgy and brutal but unknown Last Exit to Brooklyn. The very private Jason Patric had gotten lucky with Solar Babies and Lost Boys.... but really neither of them were flying artistically yet.... Rush changed that. Top flight performances from both marked them as first stop actors for real acting work in the decades since.Kim Rozencraft's novel about her Texas undercover work in the early 70's is mostly represented well here except for the extraordinarily ugly real life ending of Kim's breakups, prison time, and eventually lawsuits over the movie for the real life Jim and Kristen. Rush very faithfully recreates blue collar Southern Rock / Texas mood of the 70's along with drug culture and lax police oversight and case making. The actors do a great job of depicting a cop couple doing a months long torturous circling of the drain while in love. They have obvious great chemistry as resulted in Jason Patric leaving Julia Roberts for Jennifer Jason Leigh in real life. To reflect back, that was as if in 2013 Brad Pitt left Angelina for Daniella Kertesz in World War Z... it was the biggest story in the world at the time.Rush has some stunning scenes. Dancing together while Freddy Fender sings 'Last Teardrop Falls'. The defining moment of the movie being the table scene where coffee cups fly and Walker gets turned.Great movie and now a true classic that I wish they would release on Blu Ray.