The Underneath (1995)

A gambling addict and drifter (Peter Gallagher) returns home for his widowed mother's (Anjanette Comer) second marriage. He seeks out the ex-wife (Alison Elliott) he abandoned but she's a changed woman and involved with a very dangerous man (William Fichtner). Based on the novel CRISS CROSS (previously made into a film in 1949) and directed by Steven Soderbergh (SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE). The 1949 film is considered a classic of film noir so it took a bit of courage for Soderbergh to undertake a remake. In this case, it's an excellent example of how to remake a film without just redoing the original. Told in a non linear fashion, it jumps in time adding a layer of mystery to the narrative. The only problem is that the main protagonists are rather nasty people with only Comer and Paul Dooley as Gallagher's mother and stepfather to provide any sort of recognizable decency. So you can't quite care what happens to them and you become a distanced observer to the proceedings rather than investing in their fate. With Shelley Duvall, Elisabeth Shue, Joe Don Baker and Adam Trese.