The standout scene from the screenplay features Dennis Hopper as Clarence’s (Christian Slater) estranged father, Clifford. Clarence and his new wife, Alabama (Patricia Arquette), surprised Clarence’s father with a visit before they escaped Detroit for Los Angeles. Clarence wanted his father, a former cop, to see if he could look into the crime they committed — killing Alabama’s violent pimp and mistakenly taking a suitcase full of cocaine.