Cohen and Tate

Cohen and Tate
Directed by	Eric Red
Produced by	Antony Rufus-Isaacs Jeff Young
Written by	Eric Red
Starring	Roy Scheider Adam Baldwin Harley Cross Suzanne Savoy Marco Perella
Music by	Bill Conti
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Editing by	Edward M. Abroms
Distributed by	Hemdale Film Corporation
Release date(s)	US January 27, 1989 Sweden May 19 Japan March 22, 1990
Running time	86 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
Box office	$64,227 (USA)[1]

Cohen and Tate is a 1989 American action/thriller film, also known as Cohen & Tate, starring Roy Scheider and Adam Baldwin, and written and directed by Eric Red, the writer of The Hitcher and Near Dark, in his directorial debut.

Plot

Two professional assassins are sent to kidnap a 9 year old boy named Travis Knight (Harley Cross), who is under the United States Federal Witness Protection Program after witnessing a mob killing in Texas. Cohen (Roy Scheider) is the older, jaded assassin with a little bit of humanity still in him. Tate (Adam Baldwin) is the younger, hotheaded and psychopathic killer.

The two hitmen assassinate the boy's parents and the agent who protected them with the help of another agent who lets them get in the house and then runs away. They capture Travis, and then they bring him in the car with them. They have to take Travis before their employer, in Houston, according to their orders. When Travis hears this from Cohen himself, he seizes the rising antagonism between his hijackers and starts entangling and putting one against the other in order to survive.

When his captors are distracted Travis escapes and is soon picked up by a trooper, who is later shot in the head by Cohen while he's driving. Once again they capture Travis and then they hear on the radio that the boy's father survived the attack and is only injured, and the police are after their trail. Tate wants to get rid of Travis but Cohen does not. They suddenly find a Roadblock ahead and manage to escape by threatening to kill Travis and blowing up the police patrols.

They swap cars with a driver after he gets brass knuckles in the face from Tate. Cohen suddenly stops driving and parks beside a mailbox. Without saying a word, with an expression of grief (coming from the suspicion of what could be his last job), he sends part of his payment and his money clip in a letter to his wife. Travis finally manages to turn his captors on each other, when he realizes that Tate is about to shoot the sleepy Cohen while he is driving. He shouts at Cohen, warning him. This enrages Tate, who calls Travis a liar. Travis spits at Tate, and when Tate tries to harm him, he gets shot and chucked out of the moving car by Cohen, who later stows his body in the trunk.

A stop at the gas station leaves an overly curious attendant getting shot through a glass door after he sees blood coming out of the car's trunk while attempting to call for help. Cohen goes to check on Tate only to be attacked on by his now-enraged and still-alive partner, who springs out of the trunk and batters Cohen senseless. He reveals himself to have been wearing a bulletproof vest. Travis manages to drive the car away from Tate and hide among pump jacks and oil tanks in an oil field. Cohen reappears and handcuffs Travis to his wrist. Tate stalks them in the dark. When Cohen moves abruptly to shoot where he thinks Tate is, he loses his Hearing Aid. Travis finds it but hesitates about speaking out. Cohen looks at Travis with fear in his eyes, and pleads for help. Travis gives him the hearing aid and Cohen thanks him. While escaping, Tate suddenly comes out and shoots Cohen, who takes a round to the shoulder and appears to pass out. Tate advances on Travis before being shot by Cohen, causing him to fall beneath a oil pump jack and be splattered everywhere by the equipment.

When he gets to Houston, Cohen is cornered on the highway by the police and considers shooting Travis, but the boy lets him know that he can't do it and they both know it. Cohen collides with a roadblock in his last attempt to escape. When the car breaks down, he is totally surrounded. Holding Travis close to him, he cocks his gun, and asks him: "How old are you, kid"? Travis answers "nine." Then, while looking up, Cohen says: "Nine, huh? How about that?" and shoots himself in the throat, dying instantly.

Cast

• Roy Scheider - Cohen
• Adam Baldwin - Tate
• Harley Cross - Travis Knight
• Cooper Huckabee - Jeff Knight
• Suzanne Savoy - Martha Knight
• Marco Perella - FBI Agent

Production

Cohen & Tate was originally released by Hemdale Film Corporation and Nelson Entertainment, who also backed the film’s production along with New Galactic. This is New Galactic's only production to date. Nelson was dissolved sometime in the early 1990s, with part of their holdings sold to New Line Cinema. Many of their back catalog titles have been released on DVD by MGM.^[2]

For his part, Eric Red has stated that a DVD edition of the film is among his closest projects.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ Cohen and Tate, Box Office Data Box Office Mojo
2. ^ http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/seldom-seen-review-cohen-tate/
3. ^ http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature.php?id=445

External links

• Cohen and Tate at the Internet Movie Database
• Cohen and Tate at AllRovi
• Cohen and Tate at Rotten Tomatoes