Love and a 45

"...[The] dialogue is lively....The highlight is Cochrane's crazed performance….It's a totally wild, hilarious and convincing characterization..." Variety

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Directed by: C.M. Talkington

Written by: C.M Talkington

Cast: Gill Bellows, Rory Cochrane, Jeffrey Combs, Peter Fonda, Jack Nance, Wiley Wiggins Renee Zellweger

Rory's Character: Billy Mack

Synopsis: Two young lovers go on the run from the law after a convenience store robbery goes bad in this road movie. Love and a .45 centers on philosophically inclined thief Watty Watts, who believes in a little robbery but not real violence. An ill-advised collaboration with a crazed, drugged-out biker Billy Mack ends badly, however, forcing Watty to go on the run. His girlfriend Starlene  joins him, and the two become media darlings thanks to television coverage of their flight from the law. Hunted by the Law, some criminals who are ordered to find Watty and a furious Billy Mack, the only thing that matters is Love and 45.  First-time director C.M. Talkington's combination of violence and ironic attitude recalls both 1970s crime dramas and Quentin Tarantino's violent, quirky takes on the genre. 

 

Own Review:

Even though I couldn't get into the love couple that much this movie is still a piece of art. Although slightly disturbing and one some points very easy to confuse it grips you and makes you wonder how it'll all turn out. Rory's  Acting performance actually made me speechless. He was such a Maniac, yet still Talkington don't let this character fall into the stereotype natural born killer. Billy Mack kills the girl, and is shocked and scared for his life. Since it's Texas, he figured he would end up on the chair. Since he constantly pumped up with speed he clearly lost the ability to think straight. He might not be a cold blooded killer, but he sure is a psychopath who jumps from beeing irrational to vicious in an instant, which makes him far more real and dangerous.  It is no wonder that lot's of critics are praising his performance. During the commentary on the DVD  Talkington explains that they actually had to sent Rory home on one point, because he hadn't slept in three days and had not eaten for two days simply because he figured the character hadn't done that either. I don't know much about acting, but he sure hell shows he is an artist in that movie. Although Gil Bellows and Renee Zellweger did a great job  in that movie either, I just can't seemed to find their "love" that  believable. I was not surprised by Jeffrey Combs performance, cause this guys surely gives every character he plays a unique site.  I also don't think that this is a rip-off of "Natural Born Killers" cause the main couple in "love and a 45" found themselves put into  those events by accident and don't kill everyone they met on the journey.  If you buy the DVD, it's definitely worth listening to the commentary, cause it explains a lot. To me this is definitely a movie, which shows an artistic devotion of cast and crew. And, boy that Tattoo is wild! For that alone, everybody has to watch the movie!

 

Outside Reviews:

Austin Chronicles

San Francisco Chronicles

Rotten Tomatoes

 

Billy Quotes:

__Yeah, there's a lot of blood in the head__

__Now, you take them keys out of your pocket, and put them on my plate now. Before I paint the fuckin' wall with the back side of your head.__

__I'm not really having a good day, today, so don't fuck around with me, okay?.__

__You guys are fucking crazy.__

__Goddamn, I'm the King of Mexico. I'm the king of the fucking world.__

__I don't fucking know, man. I been speedin' for the past two days, and I'm not thinking' very clearly.__

__Who is sitting on top of the world now, huh?__