One False Move
Encyclopedia
One False Move is a 1992 thriller film co-written by Billy Bob Thornton
. The film, also starring Thornton, Bill Paxton
and Cynda Williams
was directed by Carl Franklin
. The low-budget B-movie
was to be released straight to home video when it was finished. The film became popular through word of mouth, convincing the distributor to send it to theaters. Film critic Gene Siskel
voted this film as his favorite film of 1992.
), an immoral and slightly neurotic thief, Fantasia (Cynda Williams
), Ray's less violent girlfriend and Pluto (Michael Beach
), an intelligent yet psychotic killer. After Fantasia sets up several friends, Ray and Pluto commit six brutal murders over the course of one night in Los Angeles
, with the intention of finding a cache of money and cocaine
. The trio leaves town for Houston to sell the cocaine
to a friend of Pluto's.
The LAPD
start investigating the case, with two detectives taking the helm
. After getting a few good leads, they discover that the three are possibly headed for Star City, Arkansas
. The LAPD contacts the Star City sheriff
, Dale "Hurricane" Dixon (Bill Paxton
). Dixon is not what they expect. Dixon often talks too much, listens too little, and takes things for granted. Dixon is excited about the case, as it gives him an opportunity to do "some real police work". Dixon is well known throughout the small county, saying hello to everyone - except one five-year-old black child whom he occasionally sees. Whenever he sees this particular child, Dixon becomes quiet and uncomfortable.
The detectives travel to Star City and meet up with Dixon. Dixon attempts to ingratiate himself with the LAPD detectives, whom he reveres.
Meanwhile, Ray, Fantasia, and Pluto are headed to Houston. They are pulled over by a state trooper. The trooper, acting on a hunch, orders Pluto and Ray out of the car at gunpoint. However, Fantasia sneaks up behind the trooper and shoots him in the head.
Word of the trooper's murder gets to the detectives in Star City, and the trio look over surveillance
photos of Ray and Fantasia in a convenience store before the murder. Dixon informs the cops that Fantasia's real name is Lila Walker. Lila grew up in Star City, Dixon says, and was a troubled youth who left for Hollywood with dreams of an acting career.
The detectives sense there is more to the story. The detectives stop by Lila's relatives' house. There they see the young boy that makes Dixon so uncomfortable. The boy is revealed to be Lila's young son. The detectives get the feeling that Lila is coming home to see him.
Ray, Lila and Pluto arrive in Houston to sell the drugs as planned. Lila takes a bus ahead from Houston to Star City while Pluto and Ray stay behind to work the coke deal. The Houston coke deal goes terribly sour for Ray and Pluto, who then have to kill three more people and flee the city. The two drive from Houston to Star City to meet up with Lila and plan their next move.
Lila arrives in town and hides out at a rural
house; she gets to see her son before she must flee. When Lila's time with her son is up, Dixon confronts her, and it is revealed that the boy is Dixon and Lila's son, conceived during an affair
he and Lila had years before. After much tense conversation, they make a deal. Lila will lure Ray and Pluto to ensure their capture
. In exchange, Dixon will help Lila escape town.
Pluto and Ray arrive at the house and are immediately confronted by an armed Dixon. Pluto stabs Dixon in the stomach and Dixon shoots Pluto at point blank range. Ray draws his gun and runs outside while shooting at Dixon. The two fire at each other outside, but Lila stops Dixon from killing Ray only to have Ray errantly shoot her in the head. Dixon is shot in the chest, but steadies himself and shoots Ray to death. Pluto walks outside and falls dead in the grass. Dixon calls for help with his police radio and the LAPD detectives (and Lila's son) arrive, amazed at the work he has done. Dixon and Lila's son walks over and talks to Dixon, and he asks the boy about himself.
praised the film's director in his review: "It is a powerful directing job. He starts with an extraordinary screenplay and then finds the right tones and moods for every scene, realizing it's not the plot we care about, it’s the people."
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
. The film, also starring Thornton, Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
and Cynda Williams
Cynda Williams
Cynda Williams is an American television and film actress.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois as Cynthia Williams, she was known by her birth name of Cindy Williams until she started her film career...
was directed by Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin is an American actor, screenwriter and film and television director. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986...
. The low-budget B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
was to be released straight to home video when it was finished. The film became popular through word of mouth, convincing the distributor to send it to theaters. Film critic Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
voted this film as his favorite film of 1992.
Plot
The film opens with three criminals - Ray (Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
), an immoral and slightly neurotic thief, Fantasia (Cynda Williams
Cynda Williams
Cynda Williams is an American television and film actress.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois as Cynthia Williams, she was known by her birth name of Cindy Williams until she started her film career...
), Ray's less violent girlfriend and Pluto (Michael Beach
Michael Beach
-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
), an intelligent yet psychotic killer. After Fantasia sets up several friends, Ray and Pluto commit six brutal murders over the course of one night in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with the intention of finding a cache of money and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. The trio leaves town for Houston to sell the cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
to a friend of Pluto's.
The LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
start investigating the case, with two detectives taking the helm
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
. After getting a few good leads, they discover that the three are possibly headed for Star City, Arkansas
Star City, Arkansas
Star City is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,471 at the 2000 census. It is included in the 'Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area'.-Geography:...
. The LAPD contacts the Star City sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, Dale "Hurricane" Dixon (Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
). Dixon is not what they expect. Dixon often talks too much, listens too little, and takes things for granted. Dixon is excited about the case, as it gives him an opportunity to do "some real police work". Dixon is well known throughout the small county, saying hello to everyone - except one five-year-old black child whom he occasionally sees. Whenever he sees this particular child, Dixon becomes quiet and uncomfortable.
The detectives travel to Star City and meet up with Dixon. Dixon attempts to ingratiate himself with the LAPD detectives, whom he reveres.
Meanwhile, Ray, Fantasia, and Pluto are headed to Houston. They are pulled over by a state trooper. The trooper, acting on a hunch, orders Pluto and Ray out of the car at gunpoint. However, Fantasia sneaks up behind the trooper and shoots him in the head.
Word of the trooper's murder gets to the detectives in Star City, and the trio look over surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
photos of Ray and Fantasia in a convenience store before the murder. Dixon informs the cops that Fantasia's real name is Lila Walker. Lila grew up in Star City, Dixon says, and was a troubled youth who left for Hollywood with dreams of an acting career.
The detectives sense there is more to the story. The detectives stop by Lila's relatives' house. There they see the young boy that makes Dixon so uncomfortable. The boy is revealed to be Lila's young son. The detectives get the feeling that Lila is coming home to see him.
Ray, Lila and Pluto arrive in Houston to sell the drugs as planned. Lila takes a bus ahead from Houston to Star City while Pluto and Ray stay behind to work the coke deal. The Houston coke deal goes terribly sour for Ray and Pluto, who then have to kill three more people and flee the city. The two drive from Houston to Star City to meet up with Lila and plan their next move.
Lila arrives in town and hides out at a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
house; she gets to see her son before she must flee. When Lila's time with her son is up, Dixon confronts her, and it is revealed that the boy is Dixon and Lila's son, conceived during an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
he and Lila had years before. After much tense conversation, they make a deal. Lila will lure Ray and Pluto to ensure their capture
Capture
Capture may refer to:* Capture , to remove the opponent's piece from the board by taking it with one's own piece* Capture , situations in which a government agency created to act in the public interest instead acts in favor of other interests...
. In exchange, Dixon will help Lila escape town.
Pluto and Ray arrive at the house and are immediately confronted by an armed Dixon. Pluto stabs Dixon in the stomach and Dixon shoots Pluto at point blank range. Ray draws his gun and runs outside while shooting at Dixon. The two fire at each other outside, but Lila stops Dixon from killing Ray only to have Ray errantly shoot her in the head. Dixon is shot in the chest, but steadies himself and shoots Ray to death. Pluto walks outside and falls dead in the grass. Dixon calls for help with his police radio and the LAPD detectives (and Lila's son) arrive, amazed at the work he has done. Dixon and Lila's son walks over and talks to Dixon, and he asks the boy about himself.
Cast
- Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
as Ray Malcolm - Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
as Dale "Hurrican" Dixon - Cynda WilliamsCynda WilliamsCynda Williams is an American television and film actress.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois as Cynthia Williams, she was known by her birth name of Cindy Williams until she started her film career...
as Fantasia - Lila Walker - Michael BeachMichael Beach-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
as Lenny "Pluto" Franklin - Jim MetzlerJim MetzlerJim Metzler is an American television and film actor, best known for guest-appearances on popular TV series. In 1983, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in the 1982 film Tex....
as Dud Cole - Earl BillingsEarl BillingsEarl William Billings is an American character actor who may best be known as Rob in the 1976-1977 television series What's Happening!!.-Life and career:Billings was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Willie Mae Billings....
as John McFeely - Jimmy BridgesJimmy Bridges (actor)James 'Jimmy' Bridges was born on September 15, 1960 in San Francisco, California. He is the son of Betty A. Bridges, an actress, and James Bridges Sr. and the brother of Todd Bridges of Diff'rent Strokes and Verda Bridges. His three daughters, Penny Bae Bridges, Brooke Marie Bridges, and Rachel...
as Bobby
Critical reaction
Hal Hinson, writing for the Washington Post July 18, 1992, praised the film: ""One False Move" is a thriller with a hair-trigger sense of tension. Directed by newcomer Carl Franklin, its power comes from the stripped-down simplicity of its style and the unblinking savagery of its violence." Film critic Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
praised the film's director in his review: "It is a powerful directing job. He starts with an extraordinary screenplay and then finds the right tones and moods for every scene, realizing it's not the plot we care about, it’s the people."