Albino Alligator

Three fugitive New Orleans crims make a former speakeasy their bolthole, slowly realising there's no back exit. Dillon takes charge, since a collision en route has injured brother Sinise - and the trigger finger of tight-coiled Fichtner could leap at any moment. Hostess Dunaway tries to calm nerves, enigmatic quaffer Mortensen may know more than he's letting on, and teenager Ulrich looks doomed as the boys get rolling on their negotiating tactics. A regulation stand-off, but Spacey (in his directorial debut) makes intelligent use of the single location, and the performers take care of the rest. Dillon exudes befuddled authority as he gets in deeper than he'd really like, while mama-fixated Fichtner adds the pepper, and Dunaway skilfully plays up the kidnapper/victim relationship. Otherwise, regrettably, it's all a bit vacuum-packed.