Payback (1999/I)

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel)
Brian Helgeland (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Plot:

Porter is shot by his wife and best friend and is left to die. When he survives he plots revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Revenge | Robbery | Prostitute | Criminal

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mel Gibson	...	Porter
Gregg Henry	...	Val Resnick
Maria Bello	...	Rosie
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman
Bill Duke	...	Det. Hicks
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mrs. Lynn Porter
John Glover	...	Phil
William Devane	...	Carter
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Jack Conley	...	Det. Leary
Kris Kristofferson	...	Bronson
Mark Alfa	...	Johnny's Friend #2
Kwame Amoaku	...	Radioman
Justin Ashforth	...	Michael, Bartender #1
Len Bajenski	...	Fairfax Bodyguard #1

Also Known As:

Porter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:90 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36313) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:18 | Italy:VM18 (tv rating) | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

Deborah Kara Unger broke two ribs in the scene where Mel Gibson beats the hell out of her which is now restored in the Director's Cut. She was stated that she was having fun flying around and getting slammed into things and did one too many.

Goofs:

Continuity: The camera shows Ford keys dangling from the ignition and then Porter drives off in a Cadillac.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Porter: [voiceover] GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "My Name Is Earl: Two Balls, Two Strikes (#2.20)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

It's a Man's Man's Man's World

Payback - Great movie in the "film noir" genre

Payback directed by Brian Helgeland is a classic "film noir" following the tradition of urban "gangster movies" and Mel Gibson is giving an outstanding performance as Porter - the bad guy who is only slightly better than the rest of the gangsters, hoodlums, crooks and scoundrels to be met in the film.

"Payback" is a great movie in this genre. Donald E. Westlake, who has written the novel on which the film is based, has picked up the thread of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett to create an authentic universe with "real" characters, and Brian Helgeland has succeeded to bring this universe to the screen.

Everything about this movie is great - the storyboard, the cast, the direction and the soundtrack. This film bears resemblance to Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" and if you have seen "the Maltese Falcon" starring Bogart, you should definitely see "Payback".