Alice (Claire Danes) and Darlene (Kate Beckinsale) are high school best friends looking for an adventure before life separates them. They decide to bum around Thailand for a couple of weeks, which is where they meet Nick (Daniel Lapaine), a sexy Australian who throws cash around like it's bug spray. Darlene is instantly smitten with the guy and when he offers to take them to Hong Kong for the weekend, she immediately accepts. Alice isn't as keen on the idea, feeling the faintest twinge of jealousy, but she eventually agrees. Everything seems great, until they are busted by customs at the airport. A search of their bags reveals canisters of cocaine. After a kangaroo court and some coerced confessions, the two Americans are thrown in prison with almost no hope of getting out. They contact Hank Greene (Bill Pullman), an American lawyer practicing in Thailand, as their Hail Mary pass. Hank immediately notices that something fishy is going on, and starts digging. It says it's a movie about friendship, but really it's a cautionary tale about knowing your rights when you travel abroad. If you are arrested, say nothing, sign nothing, and ask for a lawyer from your consulate. They have at least one on staff, it's what they're there for.
The one thing that was very good about this movie was that it never actually resolved the mystery of who put the coke in the bags: perennial fuck-up Alice or good-girl-falling-for-the-bad-boy Darlene. Ultimately, it doesn't matter since the girls were going to be punished regardless, but I thought it was interesting that the movie doesn't tell you.
No comments:
Post a Comment