Flesh and Bone (1993 Steve Kloves & scr)

A dramatic (and beautifully visual) opening. Then... Which one is the baby? Is it Meg Ryan, or thief Gweneth Paltrow? Or someone else entirely? James Caan's high billed, so he must be back? What's going to happen when Dennis Quaid finds out it's her? What's going to happen when she finds out? Is he OK, or turned out like his Dad?

Constructing a screenplay like this is clever, because the audience is then pondering all these questions while Ryan and Quaid (they were married at this time, until 2001 - you wonder about that bedroom scene!) attach themselves to each other, but we know what he's got going on in his head - it frankly is stated quite clearly by his employee (played by Scott Wilson) when he says when people know what you've done, you feel guilty for things you haven't, neatly reflecting Quaid's own feelings. Everything seems quite believable - down to Quaid offering the father to let him kill him instead of her... but of course he can't because of the flesh and blood thing.

What else? Great music as always by Thomas Newman, nicely shot by Philippe Rousselot. Kloves directs in an unannoying way (good). Didn't know editor Mia Goldman, who cut Quaid's The Big Easy and the Alan Rudolph Choose Me, but we're having lunch Thursday, apparently.