Albino Alligator MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -3

Albino Alligator creates tension-filled suspense for viewers with a high tolerance for violence. When three punks botch a warehouse robbery on a back street of New Orleans, they elude the police by hiding out in Dino's bar. One of them, Milo (Gary Sinise), has been badly hurt, and appears to be dying. His brother, Dova (Matt Dillon), and accomplice Law (William Fitchner) hold as hostages Dino (M. Emmet Walsh), waitress Janet (Faye Dunaway) and a few customers. About the same time federal agents trying to chase down a notorious Canadian gun dealer somehow confuse that pursuit with the robbers' getaway. The police surround the bar while the petty thieves threaten to kill their captives. The term "albino alligator" refers to rare white alligators used by normal ones as sacrifices in territorial confrontations. The question becomes who will be these crooks' "albino" in negotiating their escape with the authorities. Each person responds to the terrifying situation differently, making for a fascinating character study. Even so, Albino Alligator is, overall, depressing and not likely to have wide audience appeal.

Certainly this violent drama does not glamorize crime. The three thugs are thrown into a dangerous situation way over their heads. Law is a sociopath who delights in breaking fingers, beating helpless victims and killing. Scared Dova talks tough but clearly cannot kill. He is so cowardly, in fact, that he forces Janet to shoot an innocent bystander. His brother Milo tries unsuccessfully to keep violence to a minimum. A federal agent is run over and another thrown through a windshield. Dino is killed when his head is repeatedly slammed against the bar and blood gushes everywhere. Milo is slowly bleeding to death from a mortal side wound. Meanwhile the authorities are totally inept at avoiding tragedy due in part to the media's on-the-spot coverage. Filthy language abounds with over 100 obscenities and profanities, spewing from almost everyone. Some compare Albino Alligator to Humphrey Bogart's Petrified Forest, which effectively created tension and suspense without bloody violence or incessant offensive language.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Miramax Films, 18 E. 48th St., New York, NY 10017