the characters in " palmetto " collectively sweat enough to fill lake erie , and it's just the right way to capture the film's ripe atmosphere of sensuality , tension and even farce . this humid florida-set thriller nurtures a modestly absurd edginess that often winks at itself , which is very much a good thing since the actors and director are in on the joke . as far as set-up is concerned , the movie is nothing we haven't seen before , but be patient -- " palmetto " spins some pretty wicked story twists that we really don't see coming . it's not a classic by any means , but it sure is quite an engaging surprise . harry barber ( woody harrelson ) is fresh out of prison , where he's served a couple of years for a crime he didn't commit . even though he harbors animosity towards the obtuse local officials , harry's first order of business is to return to his home town of palmetto to be with his sculptor girlfriend nina ( gina gershon ) . while searching for work , he catches the eye of rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the mysterious sexbomb wife of a palmetto millionaire . rhea proposes a scheme that'll get harry $50 , 000 easy -- to play a small part in the staged kidnaping of her jailbait stepdaughter odette ( chloe sevigny ) . " you do like risks , don't you , mr . barber ? " rhea alluringly coos . boys , form a line behind me . part of " palmetto " 's success can be attributed to the performance of elisabeth shue , who demonstrates here that her oscar-nominated turn in " leaving las vegas " might merely be foreshadowing great things to come . shue's a seductive , campy delight , and pulls off a barbara stanwyck-gloria swanson combo with admirable relish . the other actors form a solid ensemble around her , including sevigny ( " kids " ) , tantalizingly slutty as a teen tease , as well as the ever-likeable gershon , cast a far cry from her extreme roles in " bound " and " showgirls . " harrelson is still doing fine follow-up work to " the people vs . larry flynt . " " palmetto " does have its share of grievances . harrelson's narration is needless , i suppose , and gershon's nina cries to be meatier than she ultimately is . one of the plot's unexpected angles -- that harry is asked by the police to become the press liaison for the very crime in which he's involved -- could have been played a little better . there are moments when you question the tone , but it's never so unstable that it deserves the reproach it's been receiving from most other critics . if " palmetto " didn't want to be laughed at , would it really have tacked on a climax that plays like a live-action " who framed roger rabbit " ? although a few elements can be questioned , the movie works well on its own terms . thanks to a juicy cast -- especially shue -- and the nifty material approach from director volker schlondorff ( you remember him from last summer's suddenly re-popular " the tin drum , " right ? ) , everything runs smoothly . and for fans of revelation-heavy endings , this film's got a few shocks in store that i won't even dream of revealing . " palmetto " is a generous amount of fun to watch , and that's all you need to know .
