Rating: R
Genre:
Thriller
Release Date: 06/13/2000
SubTitles: French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/Espanol
Sound: DD2/DD1
Run Time: 108 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: MGM
A man who simulates death for a living finds himself unwittingly tied into the real thing in this New York-based suspense
drama. Special-effects man
Rollie Tyler (
Bryan Brown) makes his living simulating gory mayhem and photogenic violence for movies such as "I Dismember Mama."
Tyler is given a chance to expand his professional horizons when he's approached by
Lipton (
Cliff De Young), who introduces himself as an FBI agent and makes an unusual proposal. Mob kingpin
Nicholas DeFranco (
Jerry Orbach) is willing to testify against his fellow gangsters, but the investigators are worried about his safety.
Lipton wants
Tyler to help him and his staff fake
DeFranco's assassination; if everyone is convinced
DeFranco is dead, people will be a lot less likely to look for him.
Tyler grudgingly takes the assignment, and while he's able to realistically simulate
DeFranco being shot in a crowded restaurant, after the "gag," he discovers that he's been double-crossed, and he's wanted for the murder of the man he just "shot."
Tyler hides out with his girlfriend,
Ellen (
Diane Venora), but he realizes that whoever set him up wants him dead after she's killed by a bullet meant for him. With the help of fellow effects artist
Andy (
Martha Gehman),
Tyler goes underground and tries to unravel the truth behind the
Lipton murder. Meanwhile, police detective
Leo McCarthy (
Brian Dennehy) is convinced that something is not right when he's called to the scene of
DeFranco's murder and is certain that the dead body is not the gangster.
F/X was followed by a sequel, and later a short-lived TV series.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
