Dead Heat (2002 film)

Situated in Boston, Albert Paul 'Pally' LaMarr (Kiefer Sutherland) plays the role of a 35 year old police officer who has recently suffered a heart attack while facing a bandit, forcing him into retirement. The loss of his career created a void that drove him into depression and left him contemplating suicide. His wife, Charlotte LaMarr (Radha Mitchell) calls Pally's half-brother Ray LaMarr (Anthony LaPaglia) to come and visit him with the intention of bringing his spirits up. Ray is a small time crook and he convinces Pally to finance a long-shot race horse. Unknowingly, Pally becomes in over his head as Ray's new found jockey Tony LaRoche (Lothaire Bluteau) is a gambling addict who is in debt with a Mob kingpin Frank Finnegan (Daniel Benzali). Ray and Pally become guilty by association and Tony's debt is now theirs. Pally finds himself mired in murder, mobsters and misfired romance.[1] The stakes of their new horse panning out just increase substantially.

• Kiefer Sutherland as Albert Paul 'Pally' LaMarr, an ex-detective for the Boston Police.
• Anthony LaPaglia as Ray LaMarr, Pally's small time crook brother.
• Radha Mitchell as Charlotte LaMarr, Pally's ex-wife.
• Lothaire Bluteau as Tony LaRoche, A jockey with a bad gambling habit.
• Daniel Benzali as Frank Finnegan, an Irish Mob boss in Boston.
• Kay Panabaker as Samantha LaRoche, Tony's young daughter.
• Denis Arndt as Dr. Ivan Barnes
• Alf Humphreys as Dr. Marchesi
• Charles Martin Smith as Morty
• Gary Hetherington as Captain
• Michael Benyaer as Warehouse Worker #1
• Craig Veroni as Warehouse Worker #2
• Mark Acheson as Warehouse Worker #5
• Frank Cassini as Manny
• Peter Flemming as Ted
• Gerald Paetz as Finnegan's Thug #1
• Bruce Fontaine as Finnegan's Thug #2

The film used locations in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. It was Sutherland's last production before his TV show, 24.

The film received two nominations in the DVD Exclusive Awards in 2003, one for Best Cinematography and for Kiefer Sutherland for Best Actor.[2]

Upon reading and interpreting over a dozen reviews on IMDB[3] done by various people and amateur movie critics the most attractive part of this movie to its viewers was Kiefer Sutherland's performance. They often emphasized that Sutherland and Anthony LaPaglia had great chemistry and made the rather underwhelming plot more enjoyable. For the most part the more people watched, the more they enjoyed. Emphasizing on multiple occasions that although it does not have blockbuster potential due to its lack of budget, but it is a good watch if you enjoy solid acting and a mix of Drama and Comedy. Other reviewers were not so keen on the movie, most of the negative reviews were due to their hatred of the plot and how unorganized it was. The general consensus was that if you go into viewing the movie with medium expectations, it won't win any awards but you can get a good mix of different cinematic values.

Mark Malone is a producer and writer, known for The Last Ship (2014), Dead Heat (2002) and The Truth About Miranda (2004).

Dead Heat can be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX6SzWIwmKQ for a price of CA $2.99[4]

• Dead Heat at IMDb
• Dead Heat at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dead Heat at LetterBoxd
• Dead Heat at Moviefone