Because today is the birthday of the great actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, I decided to rewatch the 1991 film, Rush.

Loosely based on a true story, Rush takes place on the outskirts of Houston, Texas in the 70s.  Jack Raynor (Jason Patric) is a veteran undercover narcotics officer who is determined to take down a local drug lord named Gaines (Gregg Allman).  Raynor takes his new partner, Kristen Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh), under his wing and trains her on how to work undercover.  He tests her joint-rolling abilities.  He has her fire a gun at cans out by the quarry.  He teaches her how to shoot-up drugs.  As he explains it, if she is going to get the local drug dealers to trust her, she is going to have to shoot up drugs in front of them.  Raynor and Cates work well together, quickly becoming lovers in real life as well as undercover life.  They manage to force one dealer, a likable but unlucky clod named Walker (Max Perlich), to turn informant.  However, their efforts to get to Gaines are threatened by their own growing addictions and Raynor’s erratic behavior.  Chief Nettle (Tony Frank) and Captain Dodd (Sam Elliott) want results but will the results be worth the cost?

(Are they ever?)

I’ve watched Rush a few times.  I have to admit that I always remember it as being better than it actually is.  Rush was the only feature film to be directed by producer Lili Fini Zanuck and it definitely has its problems.  The pace, especially during the film’s second half, is often too slow.  Visually, there a few good location shots but the film often feels rather static.  As Jack Raynor, Jason Patric gives a performance that is all method intensity with little actual depth.  Patric looks good with his long hair, his beard, and his intense eyes but there’s not much depth overall to Jack Raynor.

And yet, when the film works, it really does work.  Whatever other flaws might be present in her direction, Zanuck does capture the anything-goes, slightly ominous atmosphere that one often finds in the small towns on the carcinogenic coast.  While there’s nothing about his performance here that suggests he was a particularly talented actor, Gregg Allman is still very convincing as the menacing Gaines.  (One sign of Gaines’s power is that he never speaks unless absolutely necessary.)  Character actor Max Perlich gives a strong and poignant performance as Walker, a well-meaning goof who finds himself being manipulated by both sides in the war on drugs.  Though the soundtrack is probably best-known for its use of Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven, the rest of it is full of classic Southern rock.  Some of the choices are a bit obvious.  Free Bird coming on the radio just as Raynor explains that he does things his way?  That’s a lucky coincidence!  It works, though.  It’s a cool song.

Ultimately, what truly makes the film work is the performance of Jennifer Jason Leigh, who always manages to find the truth of her character even when the film sometimes seems to be determined to let her down.  While Patric gets to have the showy breakdowns, Leigh shows the audience what it’s like for someone to be trapped by not only her job but also her relationship.  The scenes between her and Walker are the strongest in the film because even though Walker is a criminal and Cates is a cop, they’re both stuck in a situation that they didn’t create.  Gaines wants the money and the power that comes from being a drug lord.  Chief Nettle wants the publicity and acclaim that comes from busting a major dealer.  If they have to sacrifice Walker and Cates to get what they want, that’s what they’re going to do.  Walker, Cates, and Raynor ultimately become pawns in a game where the victor ultimately wins very little.  If Gaines escapes justice, someone else will just come after him.  If Gaines goes down, someone else will inevitably replace him.

Rush is not a perfect film but it is a film that shows just how great a talent Jennifer Jason Leigh was and is.