The Big Easy is a 1986 American neo-noir[3] romantic thriller film directed by Jim McBride and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, and Ned Beatty. The film was both set and shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1]
The film was later adapted for a television series for two seasons on the USA Network (1996–1997).
Plot
New Orleans police lieutenant Remy McSwain investigates the murder of a local mobster, leading police to suspect a war between two crime families.
Anne Osborne, a state district attorney, arrives to investigate alleged police corruption. After seeing firsthand some unorthodox practices by Remy, Anne accuses him of being on the take. He argues that she lacks an understanding of how the system works in New Orleans for police.
Despite Anne's suspicious and apprehensive feelings towards Remy, they form a romantic relationship. When Remy is allegedly caught accepting a payoff in an Internal Affairs sting, a furious Anne is tasked with prosecuting him. With Remy's fellow officers' assistance, crucial evidence is destroyed and suppressed; the charges are dropped, at which point Anne, now clued in, is conflicted over her personal feelings for Remy and her duty to uphold the law.
It is later revealed that Jack Kellom, Remy's boss, who is his mother's fiancé, and detectives De Soto and Dodge Roe Smith are behind the spate of murders to cover their involvement in heroin smuggling that they operate from a boat yard. Kellom goes to the boat and is confronted by De Soto and Dodge. Kellom suggests getting rid of the drugs, but De Soto shoots Kellom. Remy and Anne arrive and are confronted by De Soto and Dodge, and a shootout ensues, resulting in De Soto being shot by a fatally wounded Kellom. Remy shoots Dodge with a flare gun, starting a fire. Remy and Anne barely escape before the boat explodes.
The final scene shows Remy carrying Anne into her apartment, then the two dancing; it appears they were just married.