Nicholas Roeg's career, which spanned the seventies with one fascinating moody, atmospheric eye-opener after another (ie "Performance", "The Man who Fell to Earth" and "Don't Look Now"), seemed to be annihilated with this release. It is such an oddity, distributers didn't release it until 1986, once Hauer and Rourke were stars. This symbollic film about what drives a man finds Hackman reaching his lifelong goal too early in life- locating a motherload of gold. 30 years later in the Miami of the fifties, he's a bored millionaire, waiting to die. Following his brutal, no nauseating murder, the focus switches over to his son-in-law (Hauer) whose state of being is reminiscent of his younger self. Hauer's plight during the home stretch is pretty intense, even though it becomes a courtroom drama. A flawed, but unforgettable film with a great cast and token Roeg-esgue sex scenes.
