City of Industry is a 1997 neo-noir crime film starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton. It is directed by John Irvin, produced by Evzen Kolar and Ken Solarz and written by Solarz.
City of Industry | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | John Irvin |
Produced by | Evzen Kolar Ken Solarz |
Screenplay by | Ken Solarz |
Starring |
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Music by | Stephen Endelman |
Cinematography | Thomas Burstyn |
Edited by | Mark Conte |
Production company | Largo Entertainment |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million |
Box office | $1,568,328 |
Screenplay
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Retired thief, Roy Egan (Harvey Keitel), comes out of retirement to help his youngest brother, Lee (Timothy Hutton), with a jewelry heist in Palm Springs. Along for the job are hired muscle, Jorge Montana (Wade Dominguez), and wheelman, Skip Kovich (Stephen Dorff), who is running late. While they wait for Skip, the three men prepare for the heist by surveying the jewelry store they're planning to rob. Elsewhere, Skip is doing business with gunrunner, Odell Williams (Michael Jai White), who offers Skip his services in case he needs anything. Once Skip finally arrives to the rendezvous spot, a trailer park, he joins the crew and the heist goes down, the next day. Thanks to Jorge's scrambling of the police monitors and traffic signals, their getaway is successful.
At Skip's motel room, his bimbo girlfriend, Gena (Dana Barron), sparks a notion in his head about how much money he would be receiving from the heist—which doesn't look appealing. At the trailer park, as Lee and Jorge are having some beers and talking about how much each will make for their day's work, Skip shoots both of them. Roy, who was in the bathroom, hears the gunshots, slams the door on Skip, and runs for it. Skip runs after Roy, shooting, but loses him. Skip burns the RV and the cops arrive. Roy hides inside a drainage pipe and Skip takes off with the money. When the coast is clear, Roy steals a car and heads to Los Angeles, where he rents a room and tries to gather himself together. The next day, Roy attempts to find Skip, hurting a few people along the way, but coming up empty-handed. Roy stops at Jorge's house to inform his wife, Rachel (Famke Janssen), about her husband's death and if she knows Skip's whereabouts, but she angrily kicks him out. Skip soon gets word that Roy is after him, so he makes a call to Odell and employs him and his crew to protect him, as he attempts to deal with a loan shark, Harvey (Elliott Gould), to whom he is already deep in debt. Harvey is also connected with the Chinese mob, and has eyes and ears all around town. Skip convinces Harvey to use his connections to track down Roy, in exchange for more money on top of what he already owes him. Roy is found by two members of the Chinese mob, beaten, tied, and thrown in the back seat of a car. As the kidnappers drive, Roy frees himself and kills his captors, causing the car to flip over.
Rachel finds a bruised and bloody Roy lying in her yard. She cleans him up and attempts to take him to a hospital, but Roy refuses and offers her $5,000 to take care of him. Once Roy recovers, Rachel refuses the money he offered her, wanting $100,000 instead. Roy refuses at first, but when she gives him Jorge's address book full of contacts – including Skip – he accepts. Rachel tells Roy about a location where the Chinese mob launders cash, where Skip's money is being held. Roy prepares for his confrontation with Skip and tells Rachel to pack her belongings. As he leaves, Rachel gives him a Saint Christopher's medal for protection. Roy attacks the man in charge, Uncle Luke (François Chau), and takes Skip's money, but unknowingly leaves his motel key behind. Uncle Luke tells Skip that Roy took his money and that he's on his own to get it back, but also tells him of the key Roy left behind. Chinese mobsters attempt to kill Roy in his motel cabin, but Roy is waiting for them. He shoots one and kills the others by shooting a propane tank located next to the cabin, which explodes.
Skip kidnaps Rachel. He goes to a trailer where girlfriend Gena is to find that Odell has sent two of his guys after him for the money he owes them. They've also taken Gena hostage. Skip kills them both, purposefully killing Gena in the process. He calls Roy, demanding the money from the heist back. He tells Roy to meet him at a refinery. When Roy arrives, he gets into a gun battle with the mob, who are also after Skip. Roy takes them out, but is severely wounded. Skip tries to make off with the money, but Roy pistol whips him and then beats him to death with his bare hands. He rescues Rachel. Rachel speeds barely conscious Roy to a hospital and rushes in to find help. When she returns, both Roy and her car are gone, but he leaves her money in a duffel bag. Rachel and her children bury Jorge and relocate to Port Arthur, Texas. One day, the postman delivers her a small package. She opens it and finds the religious medal she gave Roy, assuring her that he's alive.
- Harvey Keitel as Roy Egan
- Timothy Hutton as Lee Egan
- Stephen Dorff as Skip Kovich
- Famke Janssen as Rachel Montana
- Wade Dominguez as Jorge Montana
- Michael Jai White as Odell Williams
- Lucy Liu as Cathi Rose
- François Chau as Uncle Luke
- Dana Barron as Gena
- Elliott Gould as Harvey
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews, and holds a 43% film score at Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.