AllMovie

Actor Adrian Pasdar makes an impressive directing debut with this Goodfellas-meets-Reservoir Dogs crime thriller. The story, told in flashbacks, begins with a prolonged torture scene and only gets more severe from there. Intense performances -- particularly from the always fascinating Jeffrey Wright (who went on to do Shaft and Ali) and Chris Penn at his lizard-eyed best -- along with a tight pace and excellent production values (the lighting and cinematography are particularly effective) add up to a stomach-clenching mobster saga. Pasdar may not be an auteur in the making, but he shows he can hold his own, given an inspired cast and a nasty script.