''I Shot a Man in Vegas'' is a 1995

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

film written and directed by

Keoni Waxman Keoni Waxman (born June 30, 1968) is an American film director best known for his work with Steven Seagal since 2009 with the film '' The Keeper''. Filmography * '' I Shot a Man in Vegas'' (1995) * ''Countdown'' (1996) * ''Almost Blue'' (1996) * ...

and starring John Stockwell and

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on Air America Radio's '' The Majority Report''. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Act ...

. The film follows five friends dealing with a getaway after one of them guns down another and dumps the corpse into the trunk of a car.

Plot

On a night of youthful carousing in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, a scuffle erupts between hustler Johnny and his friend Grant in an alley. Watching the fight are Gale, Grant's girlfriend, and Martin and Amy. The fight ends in a death. Unfortunately when the death occurred, Gale, Martin, and Amy each claim to have seen something different. After the incident, the survivors take off across the Nevada desert toward the California border and their different viewpoints on what happened are chronicled via flashback.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by

Wild Colonials Wild Colonials are an United States, American alternative rock musical ensemble, band formed in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California in 1992 in music, 1992 by Angela McCluskey (vocals), Shark (musician), Shark (guitar/vocals/percuss ...

guitarist,

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

. The score piece "Route 15 4:30AM" from the film appeared on the

film music compilation, Reel Life, Vol. 1.

Critical reception

In his review, film critic Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' praised the film, writing "...this taut psychological drama packs one surprise after another. Storytelling with a camera seems to come naturally for Waxman, who matches an easy visual flair with an equally effective way with actors and dialogue... Waxman has chosen well his cameraman Steven Finestone, endlessly resourceful and dynamic yet fluid, and his composer

, whose spare, mood-setting score is superior to many in far more expensive movies."

References

External links

''I Shot a Man in Vegas''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

American crime thriller films American thriller films American nonlinear narrative films Films set in the Las Vegas Valley 1995 films 1995 crime thriller films 1995 independent films 1995 thriller films Films directed by Keoni Waxman 1990s American films {{1990s-US-film-stub