Revenge - 1990

New World Pictures, Rastar Films

Directed by Tony Scott

Cast:

• Michael “Jay” Cochran – Kevin Costner
• Tiberon “Tibey” Mendez – Anthony Quinn
• Miryea Mendez – Madeline Stowe
• Caesar - Tomas Milian
• ”Texan” - James Gammon
• Rock Star – Sally Kirkland
• Amador – Miguel Ferrer
• Ignacio – John Leguizamo

Story: “Jay” Cochran has come to the end of the line with the Navy. The F-14 pilot has turned in his papers and is ready to take a vacation to his cabin in Mexico to try to discover what he wants to do with the rest of his life. His friend and tennis partner, Tiberon (spanish for Shark) Mendez has invited him to his estate, to play tennis and go hunting. “Tibey” is a powerful man in his district and is heavily involved in the local politics. At home, he has a beautiful young wife named Miryea. She wants children, he does not. They have an arranged marriage and she is a trophy wife for Tiberon, but she is his wife. Cochran soon realizes two things: She is very bored in her marriage, and he is falling in love with her. Despite the danger of being with another man's wife in a Latino culture, Cochran and Miryea begin an affair that can only have one ending. When they are caught together at his cabin, Tiberon has Cochran beaten, his cabin burned, and his wife given to a brothel. Left for dead, Cochran is determined to find Miryea, at any cost.

Review: So much for Shakespeare being the only true writer of tragedy, or was that the Greeks? No matter, this film is a true tragedy with the roles being portrayed with an air of believability rarely witnessed in today's films. Set in the Latino culture where men of wealth are expected to have female “friends” but their women are to remain faithful, the real drama her lies in the danger of violating this taboo. Kevin Costner's portrayal of the Navy pilot and Vietnam veteran who has spent the last twelve years of his life piloting fighter jets is remarkable. He is the man without a vision of his future, a man seeking meaning in the world and hoping to find the reality of his life. But with no purpose in his life, he quickly becomes enamored of the beautiful Madeline Stowe, the bored and unhappy wife of his “best friend”, played by Anthony Quinn. Quinn is the wealthy and dangerous maker of politicians, and an associate of many people in power, but he is also both hated and feared by the common people. Around these three principles are Miguel Ferrer, John Leguizamo, and Sally Kirkland, an impressive trio of character actors who lend a hand to Costner in his search for Stowe. This is not a film with a happy ending, and the question you must ask yourself at the end is who is responsible? Rated R for violence, nudity, language, and sexual situations, this is definitely not for the teens or the children, and while I have a copy, I will leave it to you to decide to include it in your collection.