A definite hidden gem in the neo-noir genre, Panic (2000) begins with a sad-sack hitman in the midst of a midlife crisis as his well-constructed, lifelong house of cards threatens to come crashing down. His implosion is mainly due to therapy and a lovely twenty-something he spies in the waiting room.

Alex (Macy) is in therapy because he's starting to get the ol’ guilt twinges about how he makes his dough, which is by killing people. It’s the family biz with Donald Sutherland as the gun-toting patriarch.

When he meets Neve Campbell in his shrink’s waiting room, he instantly falls in lust, convinced that this young thang is his way out of Mid-Life Boringville. (It’s also a wonderful touch to have LA—City of Sex, Hollywood, and Glamour—as the backdrop for a tawdry, last-gasp love affair.)

Somehow, a super rich 40-year old hit man and a penniless 23-year-old end up at the same shrink. It’s highly unlikely that Sarah has no problem both paying $130 per hour and being late for these expensive sessions.

“What do you want?” -Liv

“You.” -Alex

“What’ll you do after you have me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know much, do you?”

Campbell’s Cassidy remains unconvinced there’s anything in the dalliance for her, because there isn’t, so the tension fizzles with tons of Alex’s apologies thrown in along the way.

The plot progresses and we get nice acting from all involved, especially the child actor. He’s a superstar and his scenes with Macy are a high point, making us feel Alex’s lows. The music is compelling, somber notes to the disturbing family gatherings, especially the last one when it all comes crashing down. Stunning cinematography throughout, and the use of the reflective water and light in this penultimate scene is masterful. And Donald Sutherland’s twisted parenting is monstrous.

Mostly this feels like a long slow crawl towards a sad death, and all the characters are too morose about their middle-aged paunches to notice. The reasons to watch this are definitely Neve Campbell as a bisexual distraught depressed dream girl with a past. It's great to see a surprisingly somber John Ritter as the shrink, who’s lucky he didn’t get bumped off.

It seems as if a happy ending might be the most depressing thing about this movie, or that the poor kid misses his dad.

In the end, this movie was interesting, but would have been much more so if the plot had focused on Neve Campbell’s character and her ups and downs as the mistress of a hit man. Still too Sopranos for you? That’s not a coincidence.

-MH