A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997)

On the surface of it, a man in a wheelchair dying of spinal cancer might seem to be an unlikely protagonist for an action film, but as A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997) proves, though the body be confined, the imagination may be feverishly overactive. The movie, directed by droll stylist Stefani Ames, delves into the rich fantasy life of a terminally ill patient who seems to have seen every film noir detective flick ever to reel off the adventures of a manly gumshoe and a breathy, wise-cracking moll. The real-life, terminally ill segments are presented in living color; the rich dream sequences unfurl in deadened black and white, a visual clue that a deep and thorough irony is at work in A Gun, a Car, a Blonde.