If such a thing could be said to exist in Last Exit, you could describe Jimmie as comic relief, but in reality he is more like a calm pool in the rapids that are carrying Nigel over the edge. He tries to tell Nigel what he needs to hear to find his way out of his turmoil, but Nigel won't listen and eventually his final plunge is assured.
The acting in Final Exit is surprisingly good, with the cast able to be convincing in their roles, without the usual B-movie bad acting mannerisms. Morten Bogelius as Nigel is especially capable in his depiction of the ultimate loser. You can see in his eyes the fact that he knows, no matter what he says, does, or thinks, that he is lost. It's just a matter of time before it falls apart completely.
There are a couple of scenes of violence in this movie that some people might find overt, including me, but it's not a gore-fest by any stretch of the imagination. The violence is not gratuitous, as it does fit into the scheme of the movie, but if you have a weak stomach there are a couple of times when you should keep your DVD player's remote handy.
Red Cockroaches, on the other hand, has little on-screen heavy physical violence; all of the violence in this movie is done to your brain and perceptions of life. Plot twists and red herrings abound, with tidbits delivered via television commercials and interviews so that we get our information in the exact same manner as the movie's characters.
Our setting is at some future point in New York City's timeline. There are rumours that the acid rain has gotten so bad that it is causing human mutations to occur. Flying cars dot the horizon, but there is still street traffic as well. As the movie progresses the situation in the world seems to be deteriorating on par with the disintegration of the main character's life.
When we first meet Adam he is drifting. He's involved with a girl whom he doesn't seem to really care about, he has a job that means nothing to him, and he's as bland and boring as anybody can be. One day he catches sight of a striking young woman on the subway platform. They make eye contact, and he is quickly enthralled and walks over to meet her, but by the time he gets to where she was, she's gone. Mysteriously, right where she was standing a human tooth has appeared.
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