User reviews

Kevin Spacey's film debut impressed this viewer when this film debuted in 1996. On second viewing, recently, it still is an interesting film to watch, but it basically left a lot of questions unanswered because of the screen play Christian Forte wrote. One can see what attracted "Albino Alligator" to Mr. Spacey. It's a film where the situation that is created at the beginning of the film allows for intense performances by the first rate cast the director was able to put together. There are holes in the plot, like the enigmatic presence of Guy, the Canadian man one sees sitting at Dino's but whose role in the whole thing is not well explained by the screen play. Matt Dillon, as the man in charge of the bandits makes a good contribution. Faye Dunaway is excellent as Janet, the bar maid that must make tough decisions at the end of the film. William Fichtner is at his most intense playing Law, the loose cannon. Gary Sinise doesn't have much to do. The ensemble cast is good under Mr. Spacey's direction. John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M Emmet Walsh, Joe Mantegna, Melinda McGraw and Frankie Faison are effective in their roles. A film to be seen as a curiosity because it marks Kevin Spacey's film debut as a director.

There are movies that are made because the studios know they'll make money. There are the movies that are made because someone believed they would and they held out long enough to get them made. Then there are the "actor's movies," the ones any actor worth his/her salt would love to make themselves. This is Kevin Spacey's "actor's movie." That's not a bad term in the least. The majority of the movie is set inside a New Orleans bar, but the scenery doesn't get tiresome. This is due to the fantastic performances of the cast. I love it when I can watch a movie and forget that the person I'm watching is otherwise known as Gary Sinise, Faye Dunaway, or Viggo Mortenson.

The film is also a classic tale of inhumanity, on how far people need to or will go to save their own skin, on choices. It sounds cliché, but the movie doesn't come across that way in the least. Overall, I recommend the film for a lazy Saturday afternoon, like it was for me.

Kevin Spacey is, of course, one of the best actors we have, and he shows talent in his first time out as director in this crime story. Specifically, he does a good job creating a tense atmosphere in such a claustrophobic environment as a bar. And although there's a lot of camera movement, it's not overdone. Also, he's good with his actors, especially Dillon, Dunaway, and Sinise.

But the movie suggests Spacey should learn about reading scripts next time. The movie harks back to films like PETRIFIED FOREST, but is little more than a clone of them, and writer Christian Forte often falls back on obscenities to substitute for character development and plot. And some of the scenes strain credulity, like the ending.

Any hostage drama can't help but get compared to 'Dog Day Afternoon' and will therefore be found lacking, but 'Albino Alligator', while not without a few flaws, does a credible job. Kevin Spacey shows some promise as a director, but the script sometimes let's him down. Even so it's pretty entertaining, and the best thing about it is the outstanding cast. You might think Spacey would call upon his Usual Suspects buddies but instead we have Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise and William Fichtner as criminals on the run, Faye Dunaway, M. Emmett Walsh, Skeet Ulrich, John Spencer and Viggo Mortensen as the occupants of an after hours bar they hold hostage, and Joe Mantegna as the cop on the scene. All the actors performances are good, but I especially enjoyed Fichtner's redneck sociopath and Mortensen's mysterious French Canadian who may not be the average joe he appears to be. Both actors have been favourites of mine for some time. 'Albino Alligator' is no masterpiece, but if you want to see some good actors do their thing I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Kevin Spacey's first try at the director's chair is a nice one to say the least, but he could have done much much more with the actors. There are just to many great and known actors in this movie and sadly not enough screen time for every one of them. But this movie has other things to offer; besides the good photography, the nice music and a strong cast it draws its energy from the script that has some great moment(albino aligator), but somehow fails to deliver in the end. "Albino Aligator" will appeal to those who like a dark crime movie but is just to plain to be something more. 6/10

With so much talent aboard this could have been great cinema. That it's not is due to an unsure screenplay, lacking in credibility, though not lacking in promise. The story in itself, if tightened up, could have been riveting. But despite the actor's efforts, "Albino Alligator" fails to deliver the goods. By the end (which in itself is powerful), one has become a bit tired of it all.

Spacey was obviously drawn to the clear theatricality of much of the action taking place on one set, in effect on one stage. It's hence very talky and stagy, though Spacey is careful to keep the camera moving in interesting ways. The few outdoors scenes too are shot with great visual style. Combining a keen eye, together with his understanding of actors and acting, Spacey will probably at some point bring his directorial talents to fruition. Hopefully he will be more fortunate as far as a suitable screenplay is concerned.

Matt Dillon in the lead does a fair job. As is often the case with him, he manages some moments of excellence, but on the whole is capable rather than brilliant. (He sustained an exceptional performance is the "Saint of Fort Washington" and surprised many with "Drugstore Cowboy".). It's as if there is a depth to him which he seems to have a lot of trouble reaching. There is a brief scene in "Albino Alligator" in which he talks to himself in a facing mirror. It's a moment which reveals those depths which so often seem to elude him.

The other players do as well as one would expect. Gary Sinise is superb as Dillon's elder brother, William Fichtner is truly edgy and sinister and Faye Dunaway's bartender has a ring of truth to it.

Despite all this talent and a story with possibilities, this is not one to seek out.

As everyone already knows, Kevin Spacey is an extremely good actor who never does a bad job acting. The man is also a great singer (check out the soundtrack to "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"), so it's not a surprise that he turns out to be multitalented; he's obviously a great director as well. This is the first movie he has ever made and it is such an engrossing and interesting movie. The acting is also superb, Matt Dillon doing such a great job was a surprise to me. The story itself is also interesting, and I liked the fact that this movie was in many ways theatrical. It doesn't work in every movie, but with this premise it worked out fine. Let's hope Spacey directs many more movies!

For some reason I really wanted to see this when it first came out. Whether it was the intriguing trailer, or because Kevin Spacey was involved, or because there wasn't much else on I don't know. Funny thing is I never got round to seeing it until yesterday after I picked it up on VHS for $1.

The movie has a decent cast, but a very slow storyline. 3 petty criminals get involved in a bungle, kill 2 cops and need to find a hideout. They stumble across a basement bar (think of "Cheers") early in the morning and quickly take the few drinkers and workers hostage. They are soon trapped with only one entrance and cops swarming. How will they escape? See it and find out (or read a review with spoilers and save yourself one and a half hours).

Joe Mantegna definitely has the best scene in "Albino Alligator". It is a humorous infusion into a movie that at times borders on being terminal. Starts out fast with three petty criminals, Dillon, Sinese, and Fichtner, fleeing a botched robbery. Unfortunately once they take refuge in a basement bar, their endless posturing and planning, grinds on the film. There is nothing wrong with the acting, including a great supporting effort from M. Emmet Walsh. Other than the above mentioned scene, Mantegna is somewhat wasted in a one dimensional role. Faye Dunaway is interesting, and William Fichtner is in menacing psycho mode. Marginally recommended. - MERK

The look and feel of this film is that of live theatre. The minimalist approach in set and costume as well as simple, yet dramatic lighting, create an intimacy and immediacy which accents character development and showcases each actor's individual talents. Beautifully written, directed and acted, it's worth a look, and a look again. Most notable is the character of Law, portrayed by William Fichtner, whose electric intensity keeps the nerves raw and the eyes riveted. Kudos to Kevin Spacey for a deliciously original directorial debut.

This movie plays like a play and tellingly the best performances come from the stage actors. Gary Sinise delivers a controlled performance that demonstrates the humanity of his character, while William Fichtner manages to carry the bulk of the humor and the horror without going over the top. The script and Spacey's direction keep the tension high despite being confined to one room for much of the movie. The film deals with a botched heist (not the sort of story-line that is exactly lacking in Hollywood these days) and the relationships between the three main criminals. What we see is the thin lines between loyalty and survival, and the great lengths some will go to ensure their own preservation, even at the expense of those closest to them.

There are moments in intense drama throughout the film, and a climax that you probably won't see coming, but overall, Albino Alligator reminds me of that glass of water in the middle of the night. Spacey lacks the ability to create a lot of tension and keep it going. The characters are mostly chatting away, trying to think of a plan... and they're to calm and too articulate. There's even a scene where the crooks are playing pool with a whole swarm of armed cops right outside, ready to strike. At one point, one of the crooks even call the police who are right outside the bar. It's refreshing, but with flaws...

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Exhibit "A" of How a Film Can Fail to be Better than the Some of its Parts. Every Character is Portrayed by a Name Talent, the Director is an A-List Character Actor, the Writer is of Note. So What Went Wrong?

Almost Everything. The Pacing is Slower than Slow. There are Pregnant Pauses that Reek of "Look at Me" Craftsmanship. Almost Anything of Significance Takes Place Off Screen. The Camera Turns Away from the Violence. Etc. Etc.

The Whole Cast is Virtually Wasted and Wanting. Especially Viggo Mortensen with a Strained Accent. The Dialog is Pedestrian and Less Than Insightful About Anything or Anybody on Screen. Some of it Makes Little Sense in the Scheme of It All as Both Hostages and Criminals Scheme to Survive and the Ending is Less Than Satisfying.

The Best Thing About This Thing is the Design of the Bar that has Some Pretty Cool Gangster Era Movie Posters. Sheesh...Hardly a Recommendation.

In the past I have enjoyed a number of movies involving hostage taking, from "Dog Day Afternoon" to "The Negotiator". So I was pretty sure I would enjoy "Albino Alligator". While the movie is not without merit, overall I felt let down. I will say the movie is well made for a low budget, there is some good acting, and some humor in the movie is funny. But there are a number of problems. For one thing, none of the characters - hostage takers, the chief ATF agent, nor the hostages - are made to be colorful or compelling enough. And I found the central story to be surprisingly dull. There is little tension, the movie moves VERY slowly, and the movie resorts to using clichés found in other hostage movies instead of trying to put a new spin on things. While this isn't an awful movie, it is pretty flat, and you'd be better off instead rewatching those movies I mentioned in the first sentence of this review.

Albino Alligator is a relatively short and cheap crime thriller. Still, it managed to hold my attention for its duration. The sets are simple and cheap, but they work. The film has a nice plot with a few good plot twists. I was unable to find something I didn't like about this film. However, I didn't find something I really liked either.

This film is ideal for a rainy evening when you have nothing better to do. It will certainly entertain you for an hour and a half and you will want to know what happens, but you won't stay awake at night thinking about this film. Albino Alligator is a film like there are so many: a nice little diddy, but quickly forgotten.

If this film is on and you don't have anything better to do, by all means watch. But don't rent this film. There are so many better films available.

All the characters in this movie have a bad attitude. I guess it's understandable, because half of them just screwed up a robbery and half of them are being held hostage by the screw-ups.

Sinise, Dillon and Fitchner play the wannabe thieves, who try to escape the consequences by barricading themselves in a basement bar. The problem is, there are a ton of cops outside the front door and no other exits out of the bar. Also a problem are the mouthy people in the bar: Dunaway and Walsh serve the drinks with sarcasm and the three lippy patrons are hanging out in there for various reasons of their own.

This movie could have been a little tighter, but overall, not too bad. My spouse was a little bored shortly after they crashed the bar but we decided to keep watching it and now we're glad we did.

When a New Orleans robbery turns into a deadly pursuit, three crooks take refuge in a spacious basement bar and hold those inside hostage. The "Dino's" bar invaders are: handsome bad-boy Matt Dillon (as Dova), muscular psychotic William Fichtner (as Law) and quietly wounded Gary Sinise (as Milo). Of those unlucky enough to be in the bar on this eventful night, the biggest parts go to mouthy barmaid Faye Dunaway (as Janet), secretive businessman Viggo Mortensen (as Guy) and cute pool player Skeet Ulrich (as Danny). The drama was written by Christian Forte (son of 1950s "teen" celebrity Fabian) and directed by Kevin Spacey (the highly accomplished actor)...

The term "Albino Alligator" is explained in the story and has some character parallels. This is an enjoyable directorial debut for Mr. Spacey. However, the actors appear to bounce around a lot, and a hidden rifle could have been handled better. Three big "secrets" are revealed - the most important could have been "introduced" along with the opening robbery, for maximum tension; let's anticipate that explosive confrontation. Of the other character relationships, one is a surprise and the other is not; neither adds anything by being held back. Also, the "hero" we're left with at the end would probably be unmasked in real life. But, this is the movies, and the story is engaging.

****** Albino Alligator (9/9/96) Kevin Spacey ~ Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT*** Tense filled hostage drama that takes place in Dino's Last Chance Bar in New Orleans with a trio of petty crooks hold up there not knowing what exactly the surrounding police are accusing them of! As it later turned out it's one of the hostages whom the cops want for gun smuggling that the FBI set up a sting to catch him. It's in all the confusion that resulted in a deadly car chase where three cops & FBI Agents were killed that the gun smuggler found his way to Dino's Bar! That was just minutes before it was raided by the trio of petty crooks that the police were chasing thinking that their part of the gun smuggling operation. That trio consisted of the brothers Dova & Milo, Matt Dillon & Gary Sinise, and their partner the psychotic Law & Disorder or just plain Law for short, William Fichtner.

With Dova Milo & Law not knowing exactly what their wanted for and with the cops and FBI Agents not realizing whom those in the bar are, hostages and hostage takers, the tense stand off lasts for hours into the morning. That's when the police under the command of FBI Agent G.D Browning, Joe Mantegna, plan to raid the place at exactly 7:00 AM with the help of a SWAT team. As the minutes tick away the usual level headed Dova starts to lose it who against his brother Milo's, who was badly injured during the car chase, sound advice plans not to off the hostages plans to blow them all away if the cops make a move on the besieged bar. As for bar owner Dino, Emmet Walsh,who tried to be a hero and take on the trio of bandits he sadly ended up getting killed with his head bashed in, by Law, for his efforts.

***SPOILERS*** It's hostage Janet Boudreaux, Faye Dunaway,the waitress at Dino's Bar who does her best to keep the tension from boiling over and becoming deadly. That's by her advising the leader of the trio Dova that she and the rest of the hostages in the bar won't point him and his motley crew out after the police raid the joint! By her telling the police that the hostage takers escaped thus,in mistaking them as hostages, giving the three a free ride home. What Janet kept from Dova up until the very last moment is that her son like the person whom the police and FBI are really after is one of the hostages!

Kevin Spacey directed film that comes across much like the Humphrey Bogart & Bette Davis 1936 crime classic "The Petrified Forest" with a lot more meat or story to it. With a totally unexpected and heart dropping ending that would not have been possible back then in 1936 due to the prudish and "My way or the highway" moral constraints of the then powerful Hollywood Hayes Commission.

by Dane Youssef

A gang of crooks. The perfect plan. It all goes wrong. They're in trouble. The police are outside. They're cornered. What are they gonna do now?

Sound familiar?

The movie seems like it's trying to be a combination of the acting workshop, the "indie" film and the theater.

It's the kind of things that actors love--it's kind of like a workshop or a play because it mostly consists of tight focusing on the actors acting... acting angry, tense, scared, conversing, scheming, planning--giving the performers a lot of free range to really ham it all up.

A trio of crooks, one leader, one goon, one brother, come up with a big heist scheme... and a monkey wrench is thrown into the works. To top things off, there's a bit of a "fender-bender" and one of the crooks in flung through the back of the windshield.

The cops are on their tail and they stumble into a bar named poetically (and leadenly) "Dino's Last Chance."

Spacey, as a director, tries to keep the focus on the actors' performances and delivery of dialouge. He pans over to a bright passion-red cigarette ad of a smoking and smoldering Bogart. And he keeps all the violence off-screen, really.

I think that was a mistake. Focusing on the intensity and gruesome violent scenes would have given the movie some edge.

The problem with the movie is that it moves too slow and suffers from miscasting in almost every role. Matt Dillon ("Drugstore Cowboy" and "Wild Things") seems too young and too idealistic to be the leader of this gang.

Gary Sinese seems to brooding and deep in thought to be a spineless tag-along with these guys and Joe Mantaga is effective as the traditional routine foul-swearing mad-dog police lieutenant who's all thumbs, but he isn't given anything to really do here.

William Fischter is the only actor who is believable in his role as a brainless grunt who just wants to spill blood.

And the crooks are in a tense situation where they either go to jail or they try to think of some way out of this.

Spacey lacks the ability to create a lot of tension and keep it going. The characters are mostly chatting away, trying to think of a plan... and they're to calm and too articulate. There's even a scene where the crooks are playing pool with a whole swarm of armed cops right outside, ready to strike. At one point, one of the crooks even call the police who are right outside the bar. Oh brother. Oh bother.

These cops are going to either blow them away or going to lock them up. Shouldn't the holed-up crooks be a little scared, a little uneasy? Meanwhile, all the real action is happening inside.

Someone whips out a gun, a baseball bat, which leads to an ugly confrontation off-screen and there's one more casualty that happens that's... well, kinda sad. But...

Faye Dunaway also should have spent more time with a dialect coach, improving on her New Orleans accent. Skeet Ullrich is fine in a smaller part.

A cop listening in reaches for a pack of matches at the absolute worst time is a nice look. And so is a scene where someone goes right through the rear windshield.

The dialouge is obviously trying to go for a David Mamet approach and it's as profane, but never as realistic or as insightful. I'm guessing Christian Forte is a fan Mamet fan.

The movie feels like too much of what it really is... a really low-budget movie with an actor behind the camera for the first time directing other actors from a script that's "not bad, but needs a few more re-writes." Spacey shows he's not a terrible director, but he lacks a sort of feel for "shaping a movie" and it feels like he's just filming actors act.

These actors are all talented and could work with the material, but they all feel out of place. As I said before, the movie really suffers from miscasting.

I don't mean that the wrong actors were cast. I think they found just the right cast, but placed them in all the wrong roles. I think switching some of the roles would've helped immensely.

Having veteran mob actor Joe Mantagna play the leader of the pack, Gary Sinese as the angry police lieutenant outside on his bullhorn giving orders and barking at his troops, keeping Fischter in his "bloodthirsty goon" part and Matt Dillion as the sacrificial lamb. That would have been a big improvement.

When some actors direct, it works. They can even win Oscars for it. But a lot of the time, when actors direct, they have a tendency to just focus on the performances. Just shoot the actors acting.

Sometimes it works... but they need a good showcase for it. An excuse for it.

Hostage situations are all pretty much the same in real life just like coming-of-age stories so it's only natural that movies about them will go from point A to point B as well.

There are a few really great entries into this genre.' Spacey himself appeared in a similar movie about hostage situations: "The Negotiator."

This certainly won't become a cult classic, let alone one of AFI's 100. Still, it does have a few nice moments and personal touches, but in the end, it's instantly forgettable and the kind of movie that would play best on regular TV. It's just not worth going out of your way to see.

I give a 3 out of 10.

Spacey's other directorial credit, "Beyond The Sea" was reportedly a better effort. Hmmm... maybe it's true. You need to fail before you succeed.

--One Bad Alabaster Crocodile, Dane Youssef

The interesting dilemma of a woman having to kill an innocent man in cold blood so that she and her son could survive a hostage situation maximizes the tension in this thriller. Despite the talent of a host of great actors, Dillon's weak performance led to this movie only showing in a few theaters before being put out to video in my opinion. Kevin Spacey's other big mistake, besides casting Dillon, made to avoid looking vain, is not casting himself as one of the two brothers. On the positive side, Faye Dunaway is outstanding. The fast-paced opening, however, slows to a crawl after the set-up, which put the audience to sleep. The twists and turns inside the bar, and the character's reactions to them, don't seem like how real people would react. For a young writer that doesn't read the "how-to" books on screen writing, however, Forte wrote a well-structured, derivative, but innovative thriller. I was one of the few people that saw this movie in the theater, and the light was too dark. Best wishes to Christian and his new wife, from the uncle of his old girlfriend from CAL BERKELEY.

On the face of it, this should be a great film, a great cast, a plot with many possibilities and one of Hollywood's finest behind the camera for the first time.

However, its clear why it was another 8 years before spacey decided to try directing a movie again. This movie fails on so many levels. In a film where there is not much action and most of the scenes are shot in a couple of locations, it is imperative that suspense and continuity are provided by the director. Not so here, the great cast is horribly under-used, none more so than the great, late John Spencer, the plot is so run of the mill and nothing you haven't seen in a hundred other TV movies. There is so little character development you end up not caring for any of the protagonists. At least we know spacey has a lot of mates and clout in Hollywood studios to get away with a poor flick like this

Kevin Spacey is obviously an amazing acting talent, but this film proves that he's almost as good a director. This film was satisfying from beginning to end, and it just got more interesting as it went along. The story is fairly simple, but it was powerfully performed by a hugely talented cast. Dillon, Sinise, and Dunaway all give stand-out performances, but really, the whole cast is top-notch. Mantegna wasn't given as much material to work with, but he still had the only truly funny scene in a generally serious movie, and yet the humor didn't seem out of place. There is certainly room for Spacey to improve as a director, but this is most definitely a great way to start off.

I was not expecting much, but there wasn't anything else to choose on the other channels. What seemed to be an ordinary rough bit of film-making suggested that it definitely was not worth while sitting down and typing out any kind of commentary, and so, in these cases, I consulted some of the comments from other contributors to IMDb about this film. Which I do not do when I am going to write a comment: I read other contributions after sending mine.

With the result that Kevin Spacey behind the camera is much better (or at least probably will be) than in front of it. A little in the style of Robert Redford who took up directing to give us some excellent films such as Ordinary People, A River Runs Through it, and even The Horse Whisperer (albeit in this last case with a Redford dutifully sleeked out to appear much younger and thus more desirable……..), Spacey has tried his hand at directing nothing less than a character-driven drama.

And the end result is not at all bad. A couple of scenes of violence I personally could have done without, perhaps, but given the entire value of the film I should not quibble. The directing was pretty good, the acting was not at all bad in the most part, and the story-line had enough twists to keep it interesting right up to the closing scene.

Michael Brooks' music was spot on, as it had that evanescence which never intruded, but you felt it was there; imaginitive composing.

As far as theatre drama goes, Albino Alligator had a few failings in interpretation, perhaps, as, for example, one could expect something a bit more convincing from Faye Dunaway, but certainly the other main actors played their parts rather well. There was enough credibility in the production which makes me think it is going to be worthwhile waiting for Spacey's next film as director; and I've never really had any great taste for him as an actor. And if he chooses Christian Forte for the script again he could well be on course for another film worthy of comment.

On the high side of 7 out of 10 for this one.