''Heaven's Prisoners'' is a 1996 American dramatic

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

film directed by

Phil Joanou Phil Joanou (born November 20, 1961) is an American director of film, music videos, and television programs, known in part for his ongoing relationship to the band U2. Biography Joanou was born in La Cañada Flintridge, California, and began m ...

and starring Alec Baldwin,

Kelly Lynch Kelly Ann Lynch (born January 31, 1959) is an American actress and model. Her notable film roles include '' Cocktail'', '' Road House'', ''Drugstore Cowboy'', ''Curly Sue''. and TV show roles in ''The L Word'' (2004–2005, 2009), and '' Magic Cit ...

Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. She has starred in the films '' At Close Range'' (1986), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), '' Chances Are'' (1989), ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991) and '' Benny & ...

Teri Hatcher Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997); Paris Carver in the ''James Bond'' film '' Tom ...

and

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

. It is based on a

Dave Robicheaux Dave Robicheaux (pronounced "ROW-bih-show") is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels by American crime writer James Lee Burke. He first appeared in '' The Neon Rain'' (1987). Biography A former homicide detective in the New Orleans ...

homonymous novel by

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990) and ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master ...

Harley Peyton Harley Peyton is an American television producer and writer. He worked in both capacities on ''Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on Apr ...

and

Scott Frank A. Scott Frank (born March 10, 1960) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Frank has received two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''Out of Sight'' (1998) and ''Logan'' (2017). His film work, c ...

wrote the screenplay. The film was followed by '' In the Electric Mist'' (2009), starring

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

as Dave Robicheaux. In the sequel, Robicheaux still lives in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and has come out of retirement as an

Iberia Parish Iberia Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ibérie, es, Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia. The parish was formed in 1868 during ...

sheriff's detective.

Plot

A former police detective and

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and a recovering

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, Dave Robicheaux, is living a quiet life in the swamplands of

with his wife Annie. The couple's tranquility is shattered one day when a drug

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

's plane crashes in a lake, right before their eyes. Robicheaux succeeds in rescuing a lone survivor from drowning, a young Salvadoran female, whom Annie quickly pulled up onto the boat to administer mouth-to-mouth by covering the little girl’s nostrils with her right cheek while breathing into her airway. With the arrival of a

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

officer named Dautrieve and an inherent connection to Bubba Rocque, the leading

drug kingpin A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

in the area and Robicheaux's longtime friend from

New Iberia New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...

, Dave becomes involved in solving the case and consequently finds himself, his wife, and their new adoptive daughter Alafair in danger. Robicheaux is assaulted by two thugs as a warning. With help from his former girlfriend Robin, an

exotic dancer A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

who still has feelings for him, he continues to investigate. His longtime acquaintance Bubba denies any involvement, but Dave warns him and Bubba's sultry wife Claudette that he is going to find out who is behind all this and do something about it. He tracks down one of the men who attacked him, Eddie Keats, and splits his head open with a pool cue in Keat's own bar. Killers come to the Robicheaux home late one night. Robicheaux is unable to prevent his wife Annie from being killed. He falls off the wagon and neglects the young girl they adopted. Robin comes to stay with them. Clearing his head, Robicheaux seeks vengeance against the three killers. He first goes after a large man called Toot, chasing him onto a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

and causing his death. Bubba and Claudette reassure a local mob boss named Giancano that they will not let this vendetta get out of hand, and Bubba gets into a fistfight with Robicheaux, falsely suspecting him of an affair with Claudette. Eddie Keats is found dead before Robicheaux can get to him. Going after the last and most dangerous of the killers, Victor Romero, he knows that someone else must be giving them orders. He finds Romero and kills him. Then, going to Bubba's home, Robicheaux discovers that it is Claudette who planned the hit. After overhearing Claudette confessing her plan to take over the drug business, Bubba appears and shoots Claudette, and Robicheaux calls in the crime. When he returns home, Robin has left forever, and all Robicheaux has left in his life is his daughter Alafair.

Cast

* Alec Baldwin as

as Annie Robicheaux *

as Robin Gaddis *

as Claudette Rocque *

as Bubba Rocque *

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama ''Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in the ...

as Minos P. Dautrieve *

Hawthorne James Hawthorne James is an American character actor and director, known for his role as Big Red Davis in the 1991 film ''The Five Heartbeats''. He is also known for his role as Sam, the injured bus driver, in ''Speed'' and for films and television se ...

as Victor Romero *

Badja Djola Badja Medu Djola (born Bernard Bradley; April 9, 1948 – January 8, 2005) was an American actor from Brooklyn, New York who worked primarily within black film. He is best known for ''Mississippi Burning'', ''Penitentiary'', ''A Rage in Harl ...

as Batist *

Joe Viterelli Joseph Viterelli (March 10, 1937 – January 28, 2004) was an American actor, best remembered for playing Italian-American mobsters. He portrayed Jelly in ''Analyze This'' (1999) and ''Analyze That'' (2002). Early life Viterelli was born on Marc ...

as Didi Giancano *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Detective Magelli *

Don Stark Donald Mario Stark (July 5, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as Bob Pinciotti on the Fox Network sitcom ''That '70s Show'' for all eight seasons (19982006) and fictional Los Angeles Devils owner Oscar Kinkade in VH1's '' Hit the ...

as Eddie Keats * Carl A. McGee as "Toot" * Jacob "Tuck" Milligan as Jerry "Fallout" * Samantha Lagpacan as Alafair *

Patricia Huston Patricia Huston (August 10, 1929 – September 25, 1995)Pat Lou Baker in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936–2007, retrieved froAncestry.com was an American stage, film, and television actress. She had an explosive ear ...

as Older Nun

Production

recalled a funny situation that happened while she was shooting her frontal nude scene on a balcony. "We were shooting at a beautiful old plantation house which is also a popular museum in New Orleans," said Teri. "I had been doing the scene all afternoon. I was standing on the balcony and I walked past these huge glass doors. Out of the corner of my eye I saw about 20 men and women in their seventies, just standing, staring at me as I walked past them completely naked. All I could do was burst into laughter. They were on a museum tour - caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Reception

The film opened in fifth place grossing $2,308,797 its opening weekend playing in a total of 907 theaters at its widest point. However the film was a box office failure, grossing only $5,009,305, far below its $25,000,000 budget. The film also received generally negative reviews with a 16% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews. Teri Hatcher's performance earned her a

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

References

External links

* {{Scott Frank 1996 films 1996 crime drama films 1996 independent films 1990s psychological thriller films American crime drama films American independent films American erotic thriller films Films about murder American films about revenge Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels Films directed by Phil Joanou Films with screenplays by Scott Frank Films scored by George Fenton Films set in Louisiana Films shot in New Orleans Savoy Pictures films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films