Desert Saints

The nature of temptation. Banks is a hit man, the best, usually working for Latin American drug cartels…

• Director:Richard Greenberg
• Genre:Action / Thriller
• Runtime:85 minutes

Cast

Brent Roam : Concierge
Shawn Woods : Larson
Christopher Bersh: Thug in Black
Kiefer Sutherland: Arthur Banks
Rachel Ticotin : Dora

Arthur Banks (Sutherland) is a hitman who picks up solitary women, uses them as cover for a hit, then kills them. He is constantly on the run from the F.B.I’s pursuit to catch him, which is spearheaded by Agent Scanlon (Sheridan), who had Banks kill a witness he was guarding 15 years ago while leaving no evidence behind. Scanlon plants Agent Bennie Harper (Walters), portraying a drifter, in Banks’ path, and Banks picks her up for what he says will be his last job, a hit on the president of Mexico. Scanlon and Agent Marbury (Leslie Stefanson) follow Banks and Harper through the Southwest, but the chase goes wrong when one of the other tailing agents is spotted and caught by Banks.

Thinking quickly, the agent pretends to be Harper’s jealous and abusive ex-husband, but this plan goes awry when Banks, who seems more interested in Harper than normal, kills the agent out of Harper’s sight and then disposes of the body in a manner not witnessed by Harper (incineration), leaving the FBI with no evidence to arrest him. That night, Banks and Harper become lovers. Scanlon decides to cancel the sting after the agent’s death and to withdraw Harper, but Harper talks him out of it. On the road, Banks confides to Harper that he hates his job but hasn’t had a chance to get out of it for years.

In Mexico, Harper double-crosses both Banks and the F.B.I., shooting Banks to stop him from committing the assassination and handcuffing him to the balcony, but then killing the thugs who hired him and taking their key for the payoff from the hit. She tells Banks that she expects that the F.B.I. will be so happy to catch and question him that she’ll depart with the payoff without much problem, which is why she leaves him alive. However, by the time Scanlon responds to her call on Banks’ location, he has escaped. Meanwhile, the F.B.I. agents follow Agent Marbury’s siting of a fleeing Harper to the local airport, only to lose her there … because the “siting” was actually Marbury herself in a disguise, which she sheds in a washroom, permitting Harper’s undetected escape.

In the last scene, Harper and Marbury meet in the desert and kiss, while discussing their wealth. In the distant brush, we see Banks’ boots and bloody hand, unnoticed by the two women. After the screen goes black, we hear a single shot. Read more

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