The Long Kiss Goodnight, 1996.
Directed by Renny Harlin.
Starring Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Malahide, Craig Bierko, Brian Cox, and David Morse.
SYNOPSIS:
This Blu-ray is a reissue of the one Warner Bros. released in 2011. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include any bonus features, although there is a 4K Ultra HD put out by Arrow earlier this year; it contains a 4K remaster of the film, along with a big batch of bonus features. But it’s still worth picking up if you’re a fan of this 1996 minor classic from screenwriter Shane Black and director Renny Harlin.
Screenwriter Shane Black was certainly in his element when he wrote the screenplay for The Long Kiss Goodnight, which was directed by Renny Harlin. Riding the wave that started with his smart, taut script for 1987’s Lethal Weapon, this movie was a chance for him to spread his wings into a producer role before ultimately making his directorial debut in 2005 with the fabulous Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
This film stars Geena Davis as Samantha Caine, who is seemingly living an idyllic small-town life in Pennsylvania with her boyfriend, Hal (Tom Amandes), and her daughter, Caitlin (Yvonne Zima). Eight years earlier, however, she was found as an amnesiac who had washed ashore on a New Jersey beach, pregnant with Caitlin.
During the years since, she has hired a series of private investigators to learn more about her past. All of them have struck out, and the latest one, Mitch Hennessey (Samuel L. Jackson), is down on his luck and desperate to get some information for her so she’ll keep paying him.
A couple coincidences kick the story into gear: Samantha suffers a concussion in a car accident and discovers she has previously-unknown skills with a knife, and her appearance on TV during a Christmas parade sends an escaped convict in her direction.
After Samantha disposes of the attacker, she and Mitch set out to learn more about her past, hoping to lead any bad guys away from Hal and Caitlin. That trip leads them into the crosshairs of government agents and Samantha soon learns not only her original name, Charly Baltimore, but also her previously hidden history.
The story builds toward a climax involving a domestic terrorism plot and a satisfying, if predictable, ending. For director Renny Harlin, The Long Kiss Goodnight helped redeem the box office failure of his 1995 pirate movie Cutthroat Island, which came out the year before this one. And for Shane Black, it was another feather in his cap.
This is my first time with this film on home video, and my understanding is that this Blu-ray is a reissue of the one released in 2011. As such, it’s bereft of bonus features, unfortunately, although if you’re a fan, you’ll want to track down the 4K Ultra HD edition issued by Arrow earlier this year. It’s packed with bonus features, along with a remaster of the film.
In the meantime, this disc serves as a nice trip back to the 1990s, a time when life seemed simpler, even for an amnesiac ex-government assassin.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
