''Trouble in Mind'' is a 1985 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

film written and directed by

Alan Rudolph Alan Steven Rudolph (born December 18, 1943) is an American film director and screenwriter. Early life Rudolph was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Oscar Rudolph (1911–1991), a television director and actor, and his wife. He b ...

and starring

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

, Keith Carradine,

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

, and Lori Singer, with an out-of-drag appearance by

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

. The story follows an ex-cop just released from jail after serving time for a murder sentence as he returns to the mean streets of the fictional "Rain City", inspired by and filmed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Plot

In the mysterious metropolis of Rain City, a former policeman, Hawk, is out of prison after serving eight years on a murder rap. He returns to his former hangout, Wanda's Cafe, run by his former love, Wanda. New arrivals in town are the down on his luck: Coop, his naive wife Georgia and their baby boy, Spike. In desperate need of money, Coop goes to work for a gangster, Solo, but he isn't very good at his job. Hawk, meanwhile, begins to develop a protective and even romantic attachment to Georgia, who is hired by Wanda to be a waitress. Coop runs afoul of the mob boss in town, Hilly Blue, leading to a wild shootout at Hilly's unique mansion.

Cast

as John Hawkins – "Hawk" * Keith Carradine as Coop * Lori Singer as Georgia *

as Wanda * Joe Morton as Solo *

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

as Hilly Blue *

George Kirby George Kirby (June 8, 1923 – September 30, 1995) was an American comedian, singer, and actor. Career Born in Chicago, Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-sho ...

as Lieutenant Gunther * John Considine as Nate Nathanson *

Dirk Blocker Dennis Dirk Blocker (born July 31, 1957) is an American actor. He earned his first regular TV role on ''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), playing pilot Jerry Bragg. From 2013–2021, he starred as Detective Michael Hitchcock on the Fox/NBC c ...

as Rambo *

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

as Leo * Gailard Sartain as Fat Adolph * Robert Gould as Mardy Stoog

Production

"Rain City" was filmed at

locations, largely older areas on the edges of downtown, giving an impression of a less modern city. The music, performed by

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

, was arranged and accompanied by

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and ...

. The film begins with the 1920s blues standard " Trouble in Mind" and ends with a song of love and reassurance, both performed by Faithfull. Peter R. Tromp (now Peter Trump, author of ''Milk the Children'' and ''Poems and Portions'') provided music as Divine's strolling violinist. In the Chinatown restaurant scene, Tromp performed

Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contribu ...

's ''Canon in D'' and J.S. Bach's ''Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.'' During scenes filmed at the Seattle Art Museum, Tromp performed Telemann's ''Fantasia No. 6'', "Autumn" from Vivaldi's ''Four Seasons'', Mozart's ''Eine kleine Nachtmusik'', Biber's ''Passacaglia'', and ''Reveille''. Tromp's appearance and music in ''Trouble in Mind'' were uncredited.

Release

''Trouble in Mind'' was entered into the

36th Berlin International Film Festival The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with ''Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film ...

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released a 25th anniversary DVD of the film on December 14, 2010.

Reception

The film has received generally positive reviews, and holds an 80% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars in his review, noting Rudolph's combination of style and emotional sincerity that is aware of being funny. He describes it as a "movie that takes place within our memories of the movies." Ebert later named it #5 on his list of the best movies of 1986. Walter Goodman of ''The New York Times'' was less enthusiastic; he wrote that Rudolph "seems to be striving to say something but isn’t able to break through the fog of the script." In his book ''Rainer on Film'', critic Peter Rainer included ''Trouble in Mind'' in a section on underseen films.Rainer, Peter (2013). ''Rainer on Film''. Santa Monica Press. .

References

External links

* * * * {{Alan Rudolph 1985 films 1985 crime drama films American crime drama films American independent films Films set in Seattle Films shot in Washington (state) 1980s English-language films Films directed by Alan Rudolph American neo-noir films Films scored by Mark Isham 1985 independent films 1980s American films