Line #20 Film/Bullet


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bullet_1996_film.jpg]]
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3	''Bullet'' is a 1996 crime drama film directed by Julien Temple and starring Creator/MickeyRourke as Butch "Bullet" Stein, who's just gotten out of jail. Moving back in with his DysfunctionalFamily, he finds himself being drawn back to drugs and crime.
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5	The movie was not widely released or considered particularly ground-breaking, but the plot, tone and performances were spoken well of by some critics. Also appearing are Creator/TedLevine and Creator/AdrienBrody as Bullet's brothers Louis and Ruby, Matthew Powers as his friend Paddy, Creator/DonnieWahlberg as Paddy's sidekick Big Balls, Music/TupacShakur--who died before the film came out--as Tank, the BigBad, and Creator/PeterDinklage in a cameo as a building manager.
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7	Unrelated to the old [[VIdeoGame/{{Bullet}} video game]].
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10	!!Tropes:
11	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Louis is treated as a somewhat clownish character, but [[spoiler:in the final scene he avenges Bullet by infiltrating Tank's house in commando gear and slitting his throat.]]
12	* BigScrewedUpFamily: Bullet is a former sports player and junkie. His brothers are a graffiti artist and a shell-shocked veteran, his dad sees all of them as disappointments and his mother is a somewhat fraught peacemaker.
13	* DeathSeeker: In the climax, [[spoiler:Bullet refuses several efforts of Paddy, Ruby and Big Balls to try and save him from Tank.]]
14	* DescentIntoAddiction: Bullet has a lot of track marks on his arm, and clearly hates it but can't stop using.
15	* EccentricArtist: Downplayed with Ruby, who has a lot of talent but chooses to paint elaborate grafitti murals instead of anything on a canvas.
16	* EyeScream: Tank has it out for Bullet because Bullet stabbed out his eye while they were in jail together.
17	* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Paddy and his two henchmen in their turf war with Tank, especially since Tank wants Bullet dead while they like him.
18	* MistakenForGay: Probably. Bullet speculates his friend Lester might be gay due to his flashy dressing and some psychological factors (the loss of his parents) in his upbringing believed to contribute to homosexuality in the past. Lester gets a prolonged sex scene with a woman, although that might have just been trying to compensate over Bullet's claims.
19	* MurderByMistake: Tank poisons a package of drugs that Lester buys (knowing it's meant for Bullet) but another junkie takes it and dies instead.
20	* NakedPeopleAreFunny: When Bullet and Lester rob a couple of young yuppie drug dealers and strip them naked the scene is PlayedForLaughs.
21	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Tank wants to be the one to kill Bullet.
22	* PetTheDog: Tank doesn't kill Ruby despite his role as a witness to [[spoiler:Bullet's murder.]]
23	* ShellShockedVeteran: Louis is a Vietnam veteran, likely having served while in his late teens given his actors age. [[note]] In fact, DawsonCasting comes into play, given how his actor was only thirteen when the Vietnam war ended. [[/note]] He goes around at night in his old gear, walks around in his underwear during the day (while he's at the house anyway) and trains the local kids in survival techniques at the park.
24	* TakingTheHeat: Bullet has spent eight years in prison for a robbery really committed by his friend Paddy, who feels bad about this and tries to help him out as a result.

Context Film / Bullet