25 Years Later: The Supporting Cast of PAYBACK (1999)

In 1999, Icon Pictures unveiled a crime picture that, 25 years later, is a film still worthy of praise. At the time of PAYBACK’s release, the lead character was one of the biggest film stars in the world and it is hard to find ways to praise this film without it sounding like an endorsement of this leading actor. I speak, of course, of Mel Gibson, and unless you have been living under a rock the past decade or so, you know the man has been in the news more for the hateful, racist, and misogynistic diatribe he unleashed upon an ex-girlfriend, as well as another anti-Semitic rant against a police officer during an arrest for driving while under the influence. Although he remains involved in the world of movie- and myth-making, it goes without saying he no longer seems worthy of the heaps of praise he enjoyed in the past.

Without further preamble, I will now get to the heart of this celebration of the film which, despite the shortcomings of its lead star, is well deserved. What makes PAYBACK a worthwhile picture all these years later is the supporting cast. I won’t mention every single person who graces the screen, but I am going to give recognition where I feel it’s due. Also, to make things more succinct I am going to divide the supporting players into a few categories. 

The Women of PAYBACK:

The first woman of consequence the viewer meets is Lynn Porter, played with a cool detachment by Deborah Kara Unger. When we first meet the former Mrs. Porter, Mel Gibson’s character has returned after five months on his back recuperating from numerous gunshot wounds from the gun of his wife. Another character explains that the wife didn’t understand about girlfriends as he shows Porter a picture of him and another woman. Unger is not given much to do in the film but acquits herself nicely, nonetheless.

Next, we meet Rosie, who was the woman in the picture that Lynn Porter “didn’t understand about,” played by Maria Bello. Porter used to drive Rosie to jobs when she was working for The Outfit, and one evening they indulged in a dalliance which led to the photo taken that would nearly cost Porter his life. Bello’s Rosie is given plenty more to do, but her finest moment is when she is introducing her canine companion, a red coat pit bull, named Porter. Unlike the dog’s human counterpart, Porter the dog would not run out on her.

Finally, there is Pearl, a professional who specializes in S&M, and delights in punishing men. Pearl is played with a wicked glee by Lucy Liu. Liu has multiple moments to shine, but my favourite is one of her last on-screen moments when some of Bronson’s thugs turn up to rough Porter up. She has seen Porter dispatch her compatriots by getting his guns off multiple times. “Hey fat boy.” She tells to one of the thugs, who turns around and she follows up with “Yeah, I’m talking to you.” It earns her a moment of brutality but sadly it is nothing Pearl has not endured throughout the movie. In many movies of PAYBACK’s ilk, the women are not given much to do, but Liu and Bello especially relish their screen time and help to prevent the film from becoming the simple nihilistic quest for cash it could have been otherwise. 

Small Time Thugs:

In any good action picture, the protagonist has at least a handful of equally good foils to play off. PAYBACK would be a rather short film if it went from point a to point b without any conflict. The first of these small-time thugs is played by David Paymer, who has never been in anything that he did not make at least a little better. He plays Arthur Stegman, who runs an illegal casino in the basement of his taxi stand. Paymer delivers many great one-liners, like when he tells Porter, “Your piece of the pie just got a little bit smaller, if you are lucky though we might leave you a little crust.” All this while wearing a self-satisfied grin. He partners up with a couple of crooked cops, Detectives Leary and Hicks (Jack Conley and Bill Duke) with the trio are attempting to shake down Porter as he searches for the man who double-crossed him, so he can get back the $70,000 dollars Porter feels he is owed. The acting duo of Duke and Conley seem to delight in their roles, especially when they rough Porter up a little.

The final small-time crook is Val Resnick, played with sadistic glee by the always good Gregg Henry. He is a genre stalwart and lends credibility to any crime picture he shows up in, having one of the more punchable faces in movies. Resnick delights in telling Porter near the start of the film, that the take from the job was always $140,000 which just happens to be a little more than Val needs to buy his way back into the good graces of “The Outfit” which runs the city (a nameless Chicago). 

Farther Up the Food Chain:

After the death of Val Resnick during a botched attempt to get the drop on Porter, Porter remains adamant that someone owes him his seventy grand. Demanding satisfaction, he goes higher up the food chain. Beginning by dispatching a goon squad under the supervision of John Glover’s deliciously evil Phil, who delights in speculating coarsely about Porter’s sexual peccadillos. The next man up is a wonderfully diabolical William Devane who plays Carter, an underling to the head of The Outfit. He only has a couple of scenes, but he is excellent in both. Porter rubs him out after his boss Bronson refuses to fork over the sum of 70 large, then it is on to Justin Fairfax, played by the indomitable James Coburn in one of his later roles. Coburn appears to be having a hell of a time, especially in his initial meeting with Porter. I especially love the line, “I’m fine, he’s just killing my luggage and shooting holes in my suits. That’s just mean, man.” Gibson’s Porter is non-plussed, but it is clear there is a begrudging respect between the two men. Finally, we arrive at the film’s big bad. Another crotchety old white man played ruthlessly and despicably by musician and actor Kris Kristoferson. He does not have much screen time, especially as the film is only 100 minutes, but his Bronson excels at cruelly directing his henchman to turn Porter’s toes into “roast beef,” and promising him that he will give him a blood transfusion to keep him alive to prolong his agonies. 

PAYBACK was a modest hit upon its release, and as the years pass it has become something of a forgotten gem. Despite Gibson’s star power backing the film, I feel like if co-writer/director Brian Helgeland’s movie is remembered fondly for anything this many years later, it should be for the contributions of its supporting players.