Storyville is a 1992 film directed by Mark Frost and starring James Spader. The film takes its name from the historic Storyville red-light district of New Orleans.
Premise
Cray Fowler, a young New Orleans lawyer running for congress, is filmed with a prostitute as blackmail. As he investigates, Fowler discovers some shocking secrets involving his father, his family's fortune and his own political advisors.
Cast
James Spader as Cray Fowler
Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Natalie Tate
Jason Robards as Clifford Fowler
Charlotte Lewis as Lee Tran
Michael Warren as Nathan LeFleur
Piper Laurie as Constance Fowler
Michael Parks as Michael Trevallian
Chuck McCann as Pudge Herman
Charles Haid as Abe Choate
Chino Fats Williams as Theotis Washington
Woody Strode as Charlie Sumpter
Jeff Perry as Peter Dandridge
Galyn Görg as Spice
Justine Arlin as Melanie Fowler
George Kee Cheung as Xang Tran
Steve Forrest as Judge Quentin Murdoch
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 6 reviews.
Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "Storyville is a movie for people who like New Orleans better when it is dark and mysterious. It is for romantics. It is not for pragmatists, who will complain that the characters do not behave according to perfect logic, and that there are holes in its plot. They will be right, of course – this is not an airtight movie – but they will have missed the point, and the fun."
James Spader's performance was praised by critics, including Vincent Canby of The New York Times who wrote, "Mr. Spader may have won prizes for Sex, Lies, and Videotape but he comes of age as an actor in Storyville. The performance is clean, uncluttered and often funny, without sidestepping the material."
Canby also praised the film's cinematography and Frost's directing, invoking Frost's collaboration with David Lynch on Twin Peaks, and calling the film "far less of a tease than the television series, a good deal shorter and much more fun."