GATES OF EDEN

Anyone who has seen the films of Quentin Tarantino or the Coen brothers will have a good idea what to expect here. Ethan Coen, co-creator of FARGO, BLOOD SIMPLE and other acclaimed films, has penned these monologues read by actors who have starred in his deliciously sardonic, iconoclastic and often violent screen fantasies. Unfortunately, neither he nor his brother directed these tapes, and she who did, Elisa Shokoff, has failed to elicit consistently interesting performances. The majority sound as if the narrators were handed their scripts seconds before recording them. However, William H. Macy, who first acted in David Mamet's WATER ENGINE in the '70s, stands out as a weights and measures inspector who thinks he's Mike Hammer. Y.R. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 99]