Film

52 Pick-Up

Name: 52 Pick-Up
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Released: 1986
Cast: Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, Vanity, John Glover, Robert Trebor

A successful LA manufacturer's blackmail scheme spirals catastrophically when he refuses to pay off three thugs who've videotaped him with his mistress. Instead of going to police, he decides to play them himself—a choice that turns vicious and recursive, with each move spawning worse consequences. It's a taut, unglamorous thriller about how quickly power and leverage evaporate when you're outmatched. For people who like their crime stories brutal and morally complicated.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like grubby, tightly wound crime thrillers where a respectable man's careful life comes apart through his own compromises, and sharp, cynical dialogue is part of the pleasure.

Skip it if you want brisk, escapist entertainment, since it's a slow-building, sour piece whose characters are hard to warm to and whose mood stays grim.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a patient two hours, with long stretches of a man talking himself deeper into trouble, and keep your attention on small dishonesties.

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