- published: 15 Feb 2015
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Rush is a 1991 American crime/drama film directed by Lili Fini Zanuck (wife of producer Richard Zanuck) and based on a novel written by Kim Wozencraft. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Patric as two cops in the 1970s who go in too deep on a case: a narcotics detective and his inexperienced partner go after an elusive drug dealer. They become drug addicts themselves and, failing to get the evidence they need, use falsified evidence.
The film begins as seasoned undercover narcotics police officer, Jim Raynor (Jason Patric), greets his police superior, Lt. Dodd (Sam Elliott). The two walk over to a nearby track, where a number of recent police academy graduates are jogging. From this group of officers, Raynor must choose a partner to join him in his undercover investigation, which has been ongoing for two years. His choice of Kristen Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh) surprises Dodd, but Raynor is confident she is the right fit for what he needs in a partner.
Upon leaving the track, Raynor drives Cates to a deserted canyon to observe her skill as a marksman. He explains to her that all they will have is each other in this assignment. They are caught between the legal world and the illegal underworld, belonging to neither and only able to trust one another. This is a difficult and demanding job, one that will take them both to the brink. Though initially startled by Raynor's intensity, Cates insists she is capable of doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Later at Raynor's apartment, he teaches Cates how to properly shoot up heroin. Cates informs Raynor that she was instructed how to expertly fake drug use at the police academy, which arouses a strong negative response from Raynor. He informs her in no uncertain terms that she will be put in situations where she will have to take the drugs they will be buying. The drug dealers they will be doing business with are not stupid, and if she tries to fake drug use in front of them, she will get both of them killed.