This World, Then the Fireworks
This World, Then the Fireworks is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Michael Oblowitz and starring Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, and Sheryl Lee. The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name by Jim Thompson.
| This World, Then the Fireworks | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Oblowitz |
| Screenplay by | Larry Gross |
| Based on | "This World, Then the Fireworks" by Jim Thompson |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tom Priestley Jr. |
| Edited by | Emma E. Hickox |
| Music by | Pete Rugolo |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $51,618[1] |
Plot
As children, Marty and Carol Lakewood, fraternal twins, witness a brutal murder involving their father. They grow up to become depraved and incestuous adults, living in coastal California in the mid-1950s.
Marty is a skillful journalist, but grows bored with every new job and is easily distracted. When he seduces a young police officer, Lois Archer, and discovers she owns a beach house, Marty sets out to double-cross her and make the property his own.
Carol is a heartless prostitute, willing to go to any lengths to con men out of their money, or make them pay in other ways. Powerless to stop them is Mrs. Lakewood, a weak-willed woman who suspects the terrible truth in her children's relationship, but knows no way to stop it.
Cast
- Billy Zane as Marty
- Christopher Jones as Young Marty
- Christian Durango as Little Marty
- Christopher Jones as Young Marty
- Gina Gershon as Carol
- Megan Leigh Brown as Young Carol
- Sloan Cobb as Little Carol
- Megan Leigh Brown as Young Carol
- Sheryl Lee as Lois
- Rue McClanahan as Mrs. Lakewood
- Roberta Hanley as Young Mrs. Lakewood
- Seymour Cassel as Detective Harris
- Will Patton as Lieutenant Morgan
- Richard Edson as Joe
- Tom Keeley as Lyle
- William Hootkins as Jake Krutz
- Philip Loch as Marty Lakewood's Father
- Elis Imboden as neighbor's Wife
- Mark Jeffrey Miller as Lloyd
- Marianna Alacchi as Glenda
- Robert Pentz as Lou
- Orson Oblowitz as Eugene
- Thad Mace as Tim
- Jonathan Taylor Luthren as Ben
- Stephanie Fisher as Claire
- Lou Criscuolo as McCloud
- Jeffrey Pillars as Galloway
- John Bennes as Griffith
- Barry Bell as Barnett Gibons
- David Lenthall as Doctor
- Terry Nienhuis as Minister
- Valentin de Vargas as Mexican Doctor
- Dean Mumford as Marine
- Willy Cobbs as Blues Musician
- Brian Keith Gamble as Spindly Man
- Mert Hatfield as Bus Driver
- Matt O'Toole as Thug 1
- Norman Max Maxwell as Thug 2
Release
This World, Then the Fireworks was released on July 11, 1997 in only five U.S. theaters, grossing US$51,618 in total.[1] It was released on videocassette on June 30, 1998,[2] and on Blu-ray (through Kino Lorber) on November 14, 2017.[3]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 38% approval rating based on 8 reviews, with an average ranking of 3.9/10.[4]
Emanuel Levy of Variety wrote "In the hands of filmmaker Michael Oblowitz, novelist Jim Thompson's story 'This World, Then the Fireworks' gets an elegantly stylish, highly erotic, intentionally over-the-top rendition".[5] Total Film called the film "sexy, stylized, deliberately overheated slice of noir".[6]
