It's a scene that really shouldn't work. William Friedkin's lurid trailer-park thriller sees Gina Gershon play a conniving cheat, Thomas Haden Church her dim-witted cuckold and Matthew McConaughey a police detective/contract killer hired to solve their every problem. Just as they think they've pulled the perfect score, however, a few unwelcome revelations threaten to unravel the whole thing. It begins when Joe (McConaughey) shows Ansel (Church) proof that his wife Sharla (Gershon) has been sleeping around. While Ansel is rendered speechless by the news, Joe takes it upon himself to exact revenge. After realising that she had planned to dupe them both out of a shared insurance payout, he punches her to the floor. Then, and in full view of her husband (who has cowered in a corner), he takes a piece of fried chicken from the kitchen table, places it at crotch level and orders her to suck it. Reluctantly, she complies - her face a bloodied mess of mascara and tears - while Joe simulates sexual arousal. And things only get worse from there... It's a deeply disturbing scene, played as a big, greasy and unbelievably grotesque slab of dark humour. And it'll take more than a handful of KFC wipes to scrub that image from your mind. Like this article? Are there any examples you'd like to add? Let us know in the comments box below.
Yorkshireman (hence the surname). Often spotted sacrificing sleep and sanity for the annual Leeds International Film Festival. For a sample of (fairly) recent film reviews, please visit whatsnottoblog.wordpress.com.
