5 Questions: When the Bullet Hits the Bone
In this edition of 5 Questions, I have some queries about a Jeff Wincott film that may have slipped under the radar of even the most ardent Wincott fans, 1996’s When the Bullet Hits the Bone.
In When the Bullet Hits the Bone, Wincott plays Dr. Jack Davies. After working in the emergency room for over a decade and witnessing first hand what drugs have done to society, he’s had enough. Depression sets in and Jack is wandering around the streets drunk off his ass and that’s when his life changes for ever. Jack stumbles into an alley and finds a damsel in distress named Lisa (Michelle Johnson) things get worse when the limousine of powerful drug dealer Nick Turner (Douglas O’Keeffe) pulls up and Turner’s chief henchman Daemon exits the limo with a gun and starts shooting, and that leads us to my first question…
1. Who was the thirteenth President of the United States?
This is the question that history buff/head tough Daemon (Roy Lewis) asks Jack Davies (Jeff Wincott) just before he shoots him. This is Daemon’s thing, he asks his would be victims history questions, with the notion that if they answer them correctly he won’t shoot them. But we eventually learn that even when they answer correctly he still shoots them and the reason for that is because Daemon is an a-hole. Jack said that Ulysses S. Grant was the 13th President of the United States, but he was way off (probably because he was born in Canada) and gets shot and left for dead in the alley. For those who are curious, the correct answer is Millard Fillmore. Now as Jack is bleeding out on the pavement he takes his wallet and throws it in the sewer. If he survives, he wants a whole new start.
2. Was coming in heavy to assassinate Jack at the hospital really the best plan?
While Daemon assumes the gunshot he delivered to Jack was a lethal one, Jack managed to hold on and was eventually taken to the hospital. Drug dealer Nick Turner sees a news report of a John Doe that was found in the very alley Jack was shot at and how this mystery man was taken to a local hospital. Turner freaks out because he knows that Jack saw (and memorized?) the license plate of his limo (Bonus Question: How in the hell would he know that?) So he sends Daemon and two other goons to go to the hospital to finish the job. But how are they going to kill Jack? Are they going to do it on the sly and inject something into Jack’s IV? Maybe unplug some machines that are keeping Jack alive? No, they are going to go in there with all guns blazing! Seriously?? Did they think nobody would notice? Or were they planning on just killing everyone who got in their way?
3. Do you think Allison regretted her decision to help Jack?
When Jack wakes up in the hospital after being in a coma, he immediately knows that Turner’s guys are coming to get him. (Bonus Question: How in the hell would he know that?) Jack convinces Allison Doherty (Torri Higginson), a nurse at the hospital, to help get him out of the hospital before the assassins show up. She is reluctant at first, but before you know it, she is helping him and even letting him shack up at her place. Allison falls head over heels in love with Jack. To say this feeling is a one way street would be a major understatement. The two share a bed, but Jack never even touches Allison. And while he’s sleeping he’s calling out the name of the women he tried to help in the alley the day he was shot, Lisa. Allison is in the mother freaking friend zone. Many would consider that a fate worse than death, but when Jack is helping her with her groceries one pleasant afternoon, she is murdered in a drive by that was intended to kill Jack! I’m not sure what Allison’s life was like before she met Jack, but I can’t imagine it was worse than what happened after she got involved with him.
4. Wouldn’t Jack have needed some sort of ID to withdraw the kind of money he takes out of the bank?
Jack subscribes to the theory that one can’t grieve forever an makes it his goal in life is to help Lisa. Lisa is more or less stuck working for Nick Turner. Things are messy there because at one time Lisa and Nick were an item and the two had a daughter. Nick uses their daughter as a pawn and forces Lisa to help him with his dirty business. But again, Jack is determined to give Lisa and her daughter a new life and get them away from those damn drugs. Jack, realizing he’ll need some start up money for this new life he wants to give Lisa, goes to the bank and withdraws all the money in his savings. Remember earlier when I told you he threw his wallet in the sewer?!?! I would think the bank would want to see some Photo ID or at least your bank card if you are withdrawing $23,000. (Bonus question: Who has an exact amount of money like that in their account at anytime? It wasn’t $23,178.15 or $23,985.53 nope it was $23,000 even).
5. Why is this movie called When the Bullet Hits the Bone?
The title of this movie made little sense to me, but before I get into that let me talk about the movie’s alternate title… Bullet in the Dark. There are literally no night scenes in this movie, so how could there be a bullet in the dark?!?!? Anyway, the only reasonable explanation as to why the movie was titled When the Bullet Hits the Bone is that the person who was responsible for naming the movie is a huge Golden Earring fan.
