Flesh And Bone is not the glamorous pair up you'd expect from a matrimonial Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. It's a dark, grim and menacing tale of corrupted innocence, evil deeds and the sour fate that brings them full circle. Quaid plays Arlis Sweeney, a small time vending machine dealer with a dark past. His usual charm and appeal is gone here, a stormy, traumatized sheet on his face instead of that usual mile wide smile. Arlis harbors a troubling secret: He watched his no good criminal daddy murder an entire family when he was but a youngster, leaving him a haunted soul. His path crosses with rowdy, promiscuous Kay Davies (Meg Ryan) a girl with mysterious secrets of her own which eerily relate to Arlis's own past. When demon daddy re-enters his life, there's a thunderclap of portentous dread that mounts on the horizon like the ashen clouds of southern Texas where the film was shot. His name is Roy Sweeney, and he's played by a cackling James Caan, slithering into the skin of a character so unredeemable and nasty that we feel the slime emanating from the screen. He's a guy that danger follows around like a curse, and for better or for worse, Arlis must reconcile his own twisted mind and bring the legacy of bloodshed to a halt. Tagging along with Roy is a skanky and very young Gwyneth Paltrow, basically walking collateral damage. It's a heavy thriller with few breaks for breathing room, but it rolls with the violent, south western pulp we've come to love from artists like Cormac McCarthy and the like, adding it's own moody, laconic pace that heightens to unbearable tension with little notice and less flair, making it hit you all the harder. Supporting turns weigh in from Christopher Rydell, Barbara Alyn Woods, John Hawkes and character actor Scott Wilson as Arlis's dodgy business partner. Great stuff if you can shake the doom and gloom off after and hold onto the stark beauty and tragedy that it's laced with.

I thought the performances were very good, but not good enough to overcome some gaping plot holes in this film.First, why is Roy shadowing his son after all these years? We are told that he just needs Arlis to attend to his birdshot wounds. But he had been standing outside Arlis' motel room the night before. Why didn't he have Ginnie knock on the door instead of leaving a cigar butt, and waiting a good long while before getting the treatment he no doubt needed? It seemed to me that by the time he finally got around to getting Arlis into that car, his wounds would have healed over.Second, why did Arlis get into a car with a broad that he already knew was a con artist? Third, as has been noted, why would Roy care that Kay was still alive? Everyone had forgotten the murders - she knew nothing, and could prove nothing.Fourth, why did Roy have Ginnie lure Arlis to the house where he planned to kill Kay? It would have made sense if he planned to kill both of them, but he didn't need Arlis there to kill Kay. Caan would have had to play Roy as a psycho that wanted to kill Kay in front of Arlis rather than just a sociopath who wanted to tie up loose ends.

probably one of the best vehicles for Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Palthrow and Caan were interesting also.I think Quaid is somehow irritating to watch as an actor. he is not handsome and I suppose appeals to a certain audience but not to me. Ryan was good- and this shows her girl next door sex appeal.Palthrow was very sexy in her bad girl role.Quaid always appears to me as a guy who had bad breath and stinky farts in school. I met him once when he was filming DOA in San Marcos. He is from Houston.His brother is ugly and knows it- Dennis maybe doesn't know it yet?

I just saw this film and came away underwhelmed. After seeing the film I took a look at the comments on IMDb and was surprised to see comments like "wow!" and "awesome film!" I think the rating of 6.2 better describes it. It's not a bad film, but it sure isn't a great one. The acting is good, and it was shot well, quite well actually. The problem is, that it's just plain boring...the plot is uninteresting..I had a hard time watching it through to the end. This is a film that isn't a bad way to kill a couple of hours, but certainly wouldn't be worth going to the theaters to see.As far as the acting goes, Meg Ryan gives a typical Meg Ryan performance, as does Dennis Quaid. James Caan does a good job as a crazed character, although someone said Gwenyth Paltorows acting was outstanding (a good reason not to take drugs and watch movies at the same time), but I found her totally uninteresting....She doesn't do anything in the movie and doesn't factor into it at all really.