Payback (1999 film)
| Payback | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Brian Helgeland |
| Produced by | Bruce Davey |
| Screenplay by | Brian Helgeland Terry Hayes |
| Based on |
The Hunter by Richard Stark |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Chris Boardman |
| Cinematography | Ericson Core |
| Edited by | Kevin Stitt |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures (US) Warner Bros. (International) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million |
| Box office | $161.6 million |
Payback is a 1999 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by Brian Helgeland in his directorial debut, and starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello and David Paymer. It was based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake using the pseudonym Richard Stark, which had earlier been adapted into the 1967 film noir classic Point Blank, directed by John Boorman and starring Lee Marvin. In 2006 Helgeland issued a director's cut that differs substantially from the version released by the studio.
In a filthy kitchen of an underground abortionist, an unkempt former medical doctor puts on surgical gloves and quickly downs a full glass of cheap whiskey. Face down on the kitchen table is a barely conscious Porter (Mel Gibson), severely wounded with two large bullet wounds in his back. The doctor pours whiskey on Porter's back to sterilize the area and digs out the bullets. Porter spends five months recuperating. Porter narrates that he had $70,000 taken from him and that is what he was going to get back.
Porter begins tracking down gangster Val Resnick (Gregg Henry), his violent former partner, and Lynn (Deborah Unger), his estranged wife and a heroin addict, both of whom betrayed Porter following a $140,000 heist from the local Chinese triads. After Lynn shot Porter and the two left him for dead, Val rejoined the Outfit, a powerful criminal organization, using $130,000 of the heist money to repay an outstanding debt. Porter is intent on reclaiming his $70,000 cut.
Porter first tracks down and confronts his wife Lynn, who has at this point become a prostitute out of shame of shooting him. After seeing how low she has sunk into drugs and prostitution, Porter takes pity on Lynn and confines her to her bedroom, only to discover the next day that she has died from a heroin overdose. (Whether Lynn's overdose was a suicide or an accident is never made clear).
...
Wikipedia