Where to watch Golden Gate
1 Star
Fresh out of law school, Kevin Walker is recruited into the FBI and commissioned to root out communist subversives amongst the San Francisco Chinese community. He finds a loophole that will enable him to prosecute, but his loyalties become divided when he falls in love with Marilyn, a laundryman’s daughter.
David Henry Hwang, the well-known playwright who penned M. Butterfly, is the author of Golden Gate, an intermittently successful movie. Hwang’s writing for the theater gives Golden Gate the feel of a project that went through a conversion from stage to screen. The material is well-staged by director John Madden, who brings atmosphere and a sense of mysticism to this peculiar story set in San Francisco that spans a decade. The theme of choosing between justice and law is something that permeates the writing, but the Dillion character is slow to learn this lesson.
Matt Dillion and Joan Chen are both quality actors; however, neither can generate chemistry with the other in this film. Too often, during Golden Gate, the on-screen characters rattle off dialogue that may have worked on a theater stage but sounds flat and unconvincing coming out of these actors’ mouths. The contrived plot turns and the erratic behavior of the people populating the film make Golden Gate a confounding viewing experience.
Directed by: John Madden
Written by: David Henry Hwang
Starring: Matt Dillon, Joan Chen, Elizabeth Morehead