Francis Ford Coppola’s stylish update of the S.E. Hinton novel is a visual knockout, a dreamlike coming-of-age tale that the director calls an “art film for teenagers.” Gorgeously shot by Stephen H. Burum on high-contrast black-and-white film, Rumble Fish follows a restless street tough, Rusty James (Matt Dillon, excellent in his third Hinton adaptation in three years), hanging with friends (Nicolas Cage, Vincent Spano), fooling around with his girl (Diane Lane), getting in fights, and being trapped in Tulsa with his alcoholic father (Dennis Hopper). But when his brother, the mythical Motorcyle Boy (Mickey Rourke), returns to town, it could change fates for everyone. With the legendary William Smith in a key supporting role as the lawman who’s long had it in for Motorcyle Boy.
