Not really noir, as it is in color, so we can call it neo noir and be done with that.Michael (Peter Gallagher), the prodigal son, returns home for his mom's wedding after being exiled for some past trouble. The flashbacks throughout the movie show us what happened, but it really doesn't matter.What matters is the fact that he takes up again with his old flame, Rachel (Alison Elliott), who is now married to a local hood (William Fichtner), a fact she neglected to tell him.To get out of trouble with the hood, he agrees to do an armored car robbery. His own brother (Adam Trese) suspects him.One of director Steven Soderbergh's early works, it will not blow you away, but it will entertain you. I suspect the ending will leave you furious.

A charming drifter by the name of Michael (Peter Gallagher) returns home for his mother's wedding. But he decides to see his ex-girlfriend (Allison Elliot), which his feelings for her are unchanged. But his ex-girlfriend is seeing a small time gangster (William Fichtner), which he doesn't like it at all. Michael's stepfather (Paul Dooley) offers him a job to be a security guard to transport money to various banks. He decides to risk his job by making a deal with the gangster, if he could get his ex-love back in his life. But his passion turns into obsession and no one can be trusted.Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Kafka, King of the Hill, Out of Sight) made an intriguing, suspense thriller with a sharp performance by Gallagher. Soderbergh has an eye for visual style and some suspenseful moments. Since half of the movie is told in flashbacks. It was very little seen by the public and film critics, when it was release in 1995. Like some of Soderbergh's earlier work, "The Underneath" has a small loyal cult following.The DVD has an good non-anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD's special features are the original theatrical trailer, cast & filmmakers' bios and more. Fans of Soderbergh's work will enjoy this movie best and especially those who enjoy movies with flashbacks. But the film does takes its time to know the characters, it keeps the viewer interested and it is certainly worth a look. The director also co-wrote the script in a different name. Panavision. (*** 1/2 out of *****).

This movie is an updated version of the Burt Lancaster/Yvonne DeCarlo movie "Criss Cross". When viewed with that in mind I think the movie's production values really show off Soderberg's experiments with style in a much better light. The hospital sequence is more understandable, and the character's actions are better explained when viewed with the knowledge of the 1949 morality of the original. The casting was really well done, and Soderberg achieved the seediness of life on the edge of legality, and the pitfalls of blind love. The story is perfect film noir, and seeing updated stories like this makes you long for other directors to go back to that well and update other gems such as John Garfield's "Force of Evil", and director Robert Wise's "Born to Kill".

"The Underneath" tells of a man of dubious character who returns to his home to a less than warm reception and becomes involved in a web of intrigue with money and a woman at the center. This film is good technically and artistically. Good but not great. And there the goodness ends. We're fed bits and pieces of a story involving the elements of corruption, jealously, conspiracy, robbery, murder, betrayal, and more. However, the characters are so superficial and mechanical and the film so clinical and rigid we're left to idle disengaged voyeurism. With no emotional involvement we, the audience, have nothing at stake, have invested nothing in the characters, and don't care how it ends. We're just glad it's over. (C+)