Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson Shined in This Forgotten ‘90s Remake of a Classic Film Noir

1947’s Kiss of Death delivered shock value in ways few film noirs had during the era. The gritty urban landscape depicted in the Henry Hathaway picture broke from the Hays Code by featuring a criminal hero trying to achieve redemption. Additionally, it would be widely remembered for Richard Widmark’s breakout performance as a sadistic sociopath with traits identical to classic Batman villains, including the Joker. Though the original story has been adapted on a number of occasions, the ‘90s remake was ironically closer to the original because the supporting players steal the show away from the lead.

Barbet Schroeder’s 1995 re-imagining of Kiss of Death brought the criminal-gone-straight storyline into a decade where urban thrillers such as New Jack City and Clockers gave the genre a new edge, full of graphic violence and complex characterizations. Written by Richard Price (The Color of Money, Sea of Love), the film was supposed to mark the arrival of NYPD Blue star David Caruso as the next great Hollywood leading man playing a former convict forced to turn state’s evidence against a vicious New York City gangster. Critics were largely mixed on the film, especially Roger Ebert, who felt that Caruso failed in the charisma department as Kiss of Death’s protagonist. However, holding a 69% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Ebert and other professional critics share praise for two stars who keep Kiss of Death from being unwatchable: Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson.

What Is ‘Kiss of Death’ About?

Queens ex-con-turned-family man Jimmy Kilmartin (Caruso) has been trying to stay on the straight and narrow for the sake of his wife Bev (Helen Hunt) and their daughter Corinna. But Jimmy is quickly lured back into the criminal underworld when his troublemaking cousin Ronnie (Michael Rapaport) needs his help to move stolen luxury cars from the Brooklyn Navy Yard for hot-tempered gangster and strip club owner Little Junior Brown (Cage). The job quickly takes a turn when police raid the scene, resulting in the on-scene cop, Calvin Hart (Jackson), getting scared by a stray bullet and Jimmy’s arrest.

While Jimmy is incarcerated, Bev succumbs to alcoholism and dies in a car accident after being exposed to Ronnie and Little Junior Brown’s criminal businesses. Jimmy initially gives up most of Brown’s crew, except cousin Ronnie, who gets beaten to death by the gangster under the impression that he leaked information to the authorities. Years later, District Attorney Frank Zioli (Stanley Tucci) makes an offer to Jimmy: Infiltrate Brown’s crew as an informant working with a reluctant Detective Hart in exchange for a full pardon.

Kiss of Death tries to dial up the original film’s grim violence by making it as hard-edged as Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction. Rather than be a soulful tale of an ex-con facing a crisis of conscience, director Schroeder downplays the mellow drama in favor of gangland shootouts, brutal torture scenes, and lowlifes cursing up a storm. The high intensity of the violent sequences and the hero clashing with morally corrupt authority figures was fitting for ‘90s urban thrillers that took a cynical approach to storytelling with little time for the hero to have moments of reflection.

Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson Keep ‘Kiss of Death’ From Falling Apart

With Caruso playing Kiss of Death’s morally conflicted hero, he lacks the sympathy for the audience to care about his safety. The former CSI: Miami star tries his best to carry over his jaded TV cop persona into an ex-con battling everyone from Brown to Zioli, portraying Jimmy as a loner with no true allies. Yet, throughout Kiss of Death’s running time, Caruso never allows the audience to feel his emotions, whether it’s the restrained response to his wife’s death or his muted anger upon learning that Brown’s henchmen got to his daughter while in witness protection. Caurso is simply going through the motions, giving plenty of tough talk and not enough of an internal intensity to be believable opposite acting heavyweights like Cage and Jackson.

Much of the life of Kiss of Death breathes through Cage’s charismatic portrayal of Little Junior Brown. Up to this point, Cage was primarily known for his share of oddball characters and romantic leads. Here, he’s physically transformed into a gym rat obsessed with metal music, philosophic quotes, fancy cars, and beating people senselessly to death while House of Pain’s “Jump Around” plays in the background. His edgy physique mixed with out-of-the-box character choices were the real beginnings of Cage’s transition into action films in the latter half of the ‘90s. Beyond his physicality, however, Cage plays Little Junior like an unpredictable overgrown child, especially upon learning of his father’s passing and punching out a henchman in the club. Cage may not be as calculated as Widmark’s slick killer. But he stands out with his unhinged behavior, lighting up the screen.

Jackson does not get the same flashy on-screen persona as his former Amos and Andrew co-star, Cage. Yet, his role as Detective Hart with Jimmy under his thumb gives Kiss of Death a necessary grounded layer to an otherwise gritty crime drama. Jackson doesn’t give Pulp Fiction-level speeches to steal the show. His quiet restraint, fused with a clear-cut grudge against Jimmy, adds to the latter character’s arc as the need to find faces he can trust shrinks. Between Jackson and Cage, Caruso simply struggles to elevate the typical con man seeking redemption type of protagonist seen countless times in the genre.

Release Date

April 21, 1995

Director

Barbet Schroeder

Writers

Eleazar Lipsky, Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Richard Price