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Article: Small-town desperation colors the dark comedy of `Clay Pigeons'
- Article from:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)
- Article date:
- October 9, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1998 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"Clay Pigeons" is proof of just how far restless souls and
passions can stray in a small, lonely town.
The film begins in the wide-open prairie, with good ol' boys Clay
(Joaquin Phoenix) and Earl (Gregory Sporleder) doing one of the most
fun things you can do in the outskirts of Mercer, Mont.: downing
beers while sitting on the back of a pickup, hanging the empty
bottles in nooses dangling from a tree, and shooting 'em.
But this bit of amusement is merely the point of departure for a
comically bleak maze of events. Earl abruptly confronts Clay,
supposedly his best buddy, about sleeping with his wife, Amanda,
played with bumpkinish steam by Georgina Cates. With a petrified