![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_thumbnail.jpg]] **Creator:** CinemaStix (Danny Boyd) · **Published:** 2025-04-19 · **Length:** 10:51 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFx9pTXP6UE) > *There was some backlash a few years ago when Jennifer Lawrence was quoted implying that The Hunger Games was the first female-led action movie… today I want to introduce you to one of my favorites: The Long Kiss Goodnight.* (from the video description) *Summary written from yt-dlp English auto-captions and the creator's chapter list. Names the auto-captions got wrong (e.g., "Renie Harland," "Gina Davis") are corrected.* ## 1) Detailed outline ### [0:00] Introduction to Mitch *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_00m10s.jpg]] - Cold open: **Samuel L. Jackson** on a talk show names his favorite of his own characters, "this wacky private detective" **Mitch Hennessey** from *The Long Kiss Goodnight*, and recalls how much fun he had with Geena Davis. ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_00m40s.jpg]] - Clip: "This ain't no ham on rye, pal… I would have been here sooner, but I was thinking up that ham on rye line." ### [0:35] The underrated thriller *(chapter)* - Danny calls it **one of the most underrated and overlooked action movies of the 1990s**, starring **Geena Davis**, directed by **Renny Harlin**, written by **Shane Black**. - It's the first film he thinks of when he hears **Jennifer Lawrence's** *Hunger Games*-era quote that "nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie." ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_01m15s.jpg]] - Counterexamples: **Sigourney Weaver** (*Aliens*, 1986), **Linda Hamilton** (*T2*, 1991), **Bridget Fonda** (*Point of No Return*, 1993), **Michelle Yeoh** and **Cynthia Rothrock** (80s–90s Hong Kong action), and **Pam Grier** (*Foxy Brown*, 1974). - What makes this one special is the **"purity of the form"**: not sci-fi, not genre-blending, just a fundamental, moderately high-budget American action movie, dismissed at the time as another loud 90s Stallone/Seagal-type thriller. ### [2:01] Samantha's journey *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_02m05s.jpg]] - Pitch: **"Die Hard meets The Bourne Identity."** **Samantha Caine** is a happily married suburban mom and schoolteacher with **focal retrograde amnesia** going back eight years. Her past catches up: "You're an assassin working for the United States government. I ought to know, I trained you." ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_02m40s.jpg]] - **Mitch Hennessey** is the ex-cop, con-man PI she hires, "kind of low rent" ("when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of you and 'umption'"). - In interviews, Jackson describes Mitch as a con man who meets someone he wants to give his all to, which shows him there's something inside him he didn't know was there. ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_03m35s.jpg]] - The two are forced together while Samantha's buried self slowly comes out ("Do you normally curse this much?… Are you a Mormon?"). ### [3:20] Unleashing the assassin *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_04m10s.jpg]] - After a near-death **water wheel** sequence and a rescue of a friend in need, **Charlie Baltimore**, the fiery assassin, is fully unleashed. ### [4:17] Dueling personalities *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_04m35s.jpg]] - The core of the film: **schoolteacher/mother Samantha vs. presumed-dead killer Charlie** fighting for control. - **Geena Davis** (interview): the conflict was the most appealing part. She charted when each personality dominated, picturing them like **"cats in a bag"** fighting to win. ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_05m00s.jpg]] - It adds intrigue to what could have been just a killing machine. Danny would have loved an all-Charlie sequel and notes that two decades later we got **Atomic Blonde**. - Underneath is a character reconciling two identities: a deep-cover story the operative rejects ("I didn't ask for the kid… Samantha had the kid, not me"). Davis plays both **"straight and decisively."** ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_05m45s.jpg]] - But what really sets the film apart is the **Davis–Jackson chemistry**, carried by **Shane Black's dialogue** ("hold on a minute while I pull that out of my ass"). ### [6:12] Action and stunt work *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_06m25s.jpg]] - **Renny Harlin** (interview): he put the actors in the scenes himself, **dropping Davis and Jackson on thin wires from the third floor**. Most of it was real, and the wires were erased later. ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_07m00s.jpg]] - Davis: Harlin wanted them to do as much as possible because audiences know a cutaway means a stunt double. He often shot with **7–9 cameras**. The big **lodge gunfight took about a week**. ### [7:31] Defying Hollywood norms *(chapter)* - Back to Lawrence's Variety quote: strictly speaking it isn't true, but the less-quoted part is about Hollywood, a safe-betting institution, believing **"girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead."** - Danny loves films that disprove that, and this is "one of the first… and one of the best." ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_08m40s.jpg]] - Advice: watch it, stick with it past halfway, and rewatch it, because it's better the second time. A Jackson clip names it his favorite of his own movies to watch. ### [9:14] Final thoughts and promo *(chapter)* ![[images/vFx9pTXP6UE_09m30s.jpg]] - Plug for his "film scenes that make me weep" series: *A Knight's Tale* (2001) already out, *The Return of the King* next, early on **Nebula**. - **Nebula** pitch: creator-owned, ad-free. Recommends *Abolish Everything*, Thomas Flight, Like Stories of Old, A Closer Look. 40% off a year (~$36) at go.nebula.tv/cinemastix. ## 2) Things mentioned **Films (the subject)** - *The Long Kiss Goodnight* (1996), dir. Renny Harlin, written by Shane Black, starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson **Films cited as female-led action precedents and comparisons** - *Foxy Brown* (1974): Pam Grier - *Aliens* (1986): Sigourney Weaver - *Terminator 2: Judgment Day* (1991): Linda Hamilton - *Point of No Return* (1993): Bridget Fonda - Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock's Hong Kong action films (e.g., *Yes, Madam!*, 1985) - *The Hunger Games* (2012): Jennifer Lawrence - *Atomic Blonde* (2017): suggested spiritual successor - *Die Hard* (1988) and *The Bourne Identity* (2002): the "X meets Y" pitch - *A Knight's Tale* (2001), *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (2003): his "make me weep" series **Characters** - Samantha Caine / Charlie Baltimore (Davis), Mitch Hennessey (Jackson), Caitlin (Samantha's daughter), Raymond (end-credits kid) **Concepts** - Female-led action and Hollywood risk aversion, dual identity, focal retrograde amnesia, practical stunts vs. stunt doubles, multi-camera action coverage **Platforms and channels** - Nebula, *Abolish Everything*, Thomas Flight, Like Stories of Old, A Closer Look, CinemaStix newsletter and Patreon, Variety ## 3) People **Danny Boyd.** Writer, editor, and host of CinemaStix, a film video-essay channel known for close readings of character and craft. Also on Nebula. **Geena Davis.** Oscar-winning actress (*The Accidental Tourist*; also *Thelma & Louise*, *A League of Their Own*). She plays Samantha/Charlie and was married to Renny Harlin at the time. Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. **Samuel L. Jackson.** Prolific actor (*Pulp Fiction*, the MCU's Nick Fury). He plays Mitch Hennessey and calls it his favorite of his own roles. **Shane Black.** Screenwriter famous for wisecracking action dialogue (*Lethal Weapon*, *The Last Boy Scout*). He reportedly got a then-record ~$4M for this script. Later directed *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* and *Iron Man 3*. **Renny Harlin.** Finnish director of *Die Hard 2* and *Cliffhanger*. He directed this film right after *Cutthroat Island* (also with Davis) and favored real stunts and many-camera setups. **Jennifer Lawrence.** Star of *The Hunger Games*. Her Variety quote about female action leads is the essay's starting point. **Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, Pam Grier.** Actresses cited as earlier female action leads.