Adapted from the novel by Scott Turow, this film is directed – slowly and unremarkably – by Alan J. Pakula. The two leads are strong but it’s a little flat overall. Worse than that, the motivation of the killer is muddled and there are loose ends that mean the plot doesn’t really work.
There’s a greeny/brown, turgid quality to the visuals. Overall, it’s surprisingly workmanlike and unrewarding. Yet somehow it made $200 million.
Would I watch it again? No.
A writer (James Caan) crashes his car in a snowstorm and is rescued by his “number-one fan” (Kathy Bates), who unfortunately turns out to be a psychopath. She keeps him in her home against his will and forces him to write another book, while regularly having violent episodes and taking out her anger on him.
The real genius of this tightly plotted film is the bleakly humorous thread running through it. Director Rob Reiner somehow makes this terrifying saga into a black comedy. Kathy Bates is cartoonishly scary, and judges it just right.
The suspense is almost unbearable – especially when Caan is exploring the empty house as Bates is driving back to it – and there are a couple of absolutely unforgettable scenes.
It’s a strange mixture of romance, drama, thriller, ghost story and comedy. Sometimes those elements seem to jar, but I rather liked the sense of incongruous genres slamming into one another. Also the story seems oddly preoccupied with the practicalities of being a ghost, despite some inconsistent “rules”, perhaps because the filmmakers were keen to show off the “walking through walls” special effects.
The biggest problem is Patrick Swayze’s acting. There are too many lingering shots of him supposedly looking surprised, bewildered or angry, but he doesn’t have the flexibility or emotional range to convey those feelings. A better choice might have been Michael J. Fox, whose natural charm and gifts for physical comedy would have fitted better.
Despite all the limitations, it’s highly entertaining. And I’m always happy to hear “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers.
The performances are reasonable (James Earl Jones and Joss Ackland also have roles), but there’s something missing. It’s probably unfair to compare this film to Das Boot or K-19: The Widowmaker, but I never once felt I was aboard an actual submarine. It’s oddly lifeless, with a lack of atmosphere and a certain stilted quality. This isn’t helped by Connery, whose “calm” manner is taken to extremes, resulting in merely an expressionless mask.
Motivations stay mysterious: we don’t learn why Connery wants to defect or how his staff feel about it. Nor do we discover why one of the sub’s cooks wants to sabotage the mission.
Another oddity is the use of subtitles in the early stages of the film. Once it has been established that these are Russians speaking, the subtitles cease and their dialogue reverts to English. That creates confusion later when subtitles return and it’s actually unclear which language Baldwin and Connery are meant to be speaking in. It would have been better to use the standard film trope of a non-English language simply being spoken in English – but with accents.
While there’s nothing really wrong with the film, and you could argue that it ticks all the right boxes for a Cold War thriller, ultimately it falls flat. But a more inspired director than John McTiernan could probably have made it work.
I’d heard a lot about this film but somehow never seen it until now. And what a gem it is. Gere’s acting seems to have improved exponentially since An Officer and a Gentleman. He has real presence. And Roberts has an effortless charm. Together, they have plenty of chemistry.
The story is simple but expertly told. It’s subtle, too, where it could have been obvious: Gere’s transformation is slow and realistically gradual, rather than a character U-turn.
There are two criticisms I would make. Firstly, it idealises Vivian's profession. She makes one reference to men always hitting her, but it gives little impression of the true dangers of her work. Secondly, it has the usual tropes of US 80s/90s films in that upward mobility is presented as the only real option to aspire towards.
Those points aside, it’s a pleasure to watch.
It’s about many things; the mafia, obviously, but also family, marriage and changing times in the USA.
Scorsese manages to pull off certain effects (freeze frames, a tiny bit of fourth-wall speaking to camera at the end) without it ever seeming tricksy. The characters seem entirely real. It’s also improbably funny – see Joe Pesci’s character's relationship with his mother (played by Scorsese’s own mother), or the obsession with food (Henry asking his brother to keep stirring the sauce as his life’s falling apart). And Robert De Niro is at his very best.
Although it’s multilayered, it’s also superbly lucid storytelling. You know what’s going on and why, even as the film constantly surprises you. Fantastic music choices too.
Caine is suitably creepy as a seemingly reasonable man who turns into a killer. Elizabeth McGovern is believable as the naive, admiring girl who ends up getting a little too close to him. And Peter Riegert convinces as the cocky, competent boss who takes the job that Graham assumed was his.
There’s both a delicious kind of grim black comedy and enough dramatic tension to keep you hooked. The film also makes a point about the difference between the wealthy and the very poor, and between the young and the old.
The ending isn’t what you might expect, but it does satisfy.
