Palmetto
DOWN &
DIRTY:
Drama: A desperate ex-con agrees
to participate in a fake
kidnaping scheme in exchange for
money, but then finds himself an
unwitting pawn in an ever
increasingly complex and
dangerous situation.
NITTY GRITTY:
After being framed and serving
two years in prison, ex-newspaper
reporter Harry Barber (WOODY
HARRELSON) is once again a free
man.
Although he's desperate not to
return to the small, steamy
seaside town of Palmetto,
Florida, his girlfriend Nina
(GINA GERSHON), persuades him to
return.
Unable to find a job, Harry meets
Rhea Malroux (ELISABETH SHUE),
the seductively flirtatious wife
of Felix Malroux, a wealthy man
dying of lung cancer, who's cared
for by their manservant, Donnelly
(MICHAEL RAPAPORT).
It seems that Felix has both Rhea
and her stepdaughter, Odette, on
a tight financial leash that
neither one likes. So they come
up with a fake kidnaping scheme
to extort the money from him, but
need Harry to be the threatening
voice on the phone and to pick up
the $500,000 ransom. For his
trouble, Harry gets to keep ten
percent.
At first,Harry doesn't want
anything to do with the idea.
Then he has an amorous encounter
with Rhea, and then an encounter
with the Lolita-like Odette.
Odette threatens to call the
cops, so Harry agrees to the
scheme. While the plan seems
simple enough, complications
immediately set in.
Assistant D.A. John Renick (TOM
WRIGHT) hires Harry to deal with
the press regarding the
kidnaping. From that point on,
Harry must deal not only with his
unique situation, but also with
events that start unfolding that
ultimately will frame HIM for the
kidnaping -- and possibly a
murder -- if he can't figure out
who's really responsible and how
to get himself out his
predicament.
THE ENDING:
Harry discovers that Rhea and
Donelly are behind the kidnapping
and the murder of Odette. Harry
also finds out that Rhea is NOT
the 'real' Mrs. Mulroux. Donnelly
grabs Harry and his girlfriend
and prepares them for an acid
bath.
Instead, Harry knocks Donelly
into the acid and the cops arrive
and arrest everybody. Even though
Harry tipped off his buddy
Resnick to the killers, Harry
still goes to prison for his part
in the crime where he works on
his story for the movies.
WHAT EVERYONE WILL BE
TALKING ABOUT:
The scene where Harry
checks Rhea to see if she is
wearing a 'wire'. Very steamy!
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