Tightrope

Tags

1980's, Alison Eastwood, Clint Eastwood, Dan Hedaya, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Tuggle, Thriller, Tightrope

Film Title

Tightrope

Director

Richard Tuggle

Starring

• Clint Eastwood as Detective Wes Block
• Geneviève Bujold as Beryl Thibodeaux
• Dan Hedaya as Detective Molinari
• Alison Eastwood as Amanda Block

A thriller that functions as a study of the lines between the hunter and the hunted blurring and strange sexual predilections, Tightrope retains an impact as it explores one man’s journey into murky waters that are complicated by startling links with a killer.

In New Orleans, a spate of sexual murders among prostitutes and massage parlour girls is baffling the police. Experienced and tough Detective Wes Block is the main person investigating, while having his own demons to contend with. His wife left him a while back and he is caring for his two young daughters. While he’s a dedicated father, there is a void in his life that he fills with a dark and possibly damaging string of nocturnal activities, they will become integral later on. Beryl Thibodeaux works at a council centre for a rape prevention program that teaches women self-defense and offers shelter from abuse. She advises Block on certain aspects of the case, but Block is initially standoffish with her. Investigating further, Block discovers that he shares quite a lot of similarities with the killer; the main one being the frequenting of downtown New Orleans for hookers in exchange for kinky encounters. This profoundly disturbs Block, who is trying to balance the dark and good of his life carefully. Unfortunately the killer is very much on his tail and when women that Block has employed the services of start to fall, it starts to get extremely personal for Block. Added to this are his growing feelings for Beryl that seem almost foreign as he’s met by a woman who takes no guff and is far from willing to surrender. He must now track down the taunting killer, who seems to know about his own dark needs and is using it to his advantage to torment him.

The unobtrusive direction brings more attention to the story than just having visuals( which are very good at setting the seedy atmosphere) doing it for them, letting it play out as a slow burn that takes its time with what it wants to say. Richard Tuggle is in the director’s seat, though there have been claims over the years that Clint Eastwood actually directed most of it. Whatever the case with who directed it, Tightrope grabs the attention in a way that isn’t obvious, but still enthralling to watch nonetheless. Where Tightrope particularly soars is in the exploration of how Block sees women, and how his deviant side is given a kicking once the killer latches on to him. This proves to be fascinating to watch, particularly in how his relationship with Beryl forms and he begins to let his guard down, for perhaps the first time in a while. What Tightrope sometimes lacks in tension, it makes up for in character development and thematic value. Saying that, there are a number of chilling scenes, not least when Block’s family are targeted by the killer and the case gets very anguishing for him. It’s more the examination of the man and his attitudes that really makes Tightrope worth the watch, with the thriller parts still there but exceptionally allowing the other content to emerge. The seedy underbelly of things is never far from view as Tightrope isn’t afraid to project the unusual sexual angle to the murder, but these are thankfully not just there for sick exploitative material. They actually serve a purpose and to be honest, a lot of the horrible things that happen occur off-screen. Jazz is featured heavily in the film and excellently counteracted by an electronic pulse whenever darkness drives on the scene, providing a flip on the usually relaxed big band stuff that we hear in the beginning.

Clint Eastwood, through subtle degrees of vulnerability and encroaching shock, excellently layers his performance as the detective haunted by his own behaviour and having it replayed in grisly fashion. Just a stiffening of his neck or a slight uneasiness in his eyes says a lot more than simple dialogue can. Eastwood wisely doesn’t make Block an out-and-out creep, rather a tormented man who wants control and finds it through strange sexual activity. This is offset by his clear love for his daughters and how much he cares about them. Bringing the two sides together makes for one of Eastwood’s most understated yet vulnerable performance. Geneviève Bujold is equally as good playing the rape councillor who is far from a damsel and more than a match for the tough Eastwood. she is also the person who breaks down the wall Block has put up, thanks to her deep understanding and persistence. Bujold splendidly imbues her part with a sympathy and  believable forcefulness that ensure her character is taken seriously in the passionate way she helps Block and others. Dan Hedaya is somewhat saddled with role of sidekick police partner but does pretty good, while Alison Eastwood is convincingly mature as Block’s oldest daughter who just wants her dad around a bit more. It helps that she is really Eastwood’s daughter because the bond between them is very touching.

A dark film that doesn’t shy away from anything sleazy yet wisely rises above exploitation levels, Tightrope features a complex performance from Clint Eastwood that makes it extremely watchable, especially given the disturbing content. More of a character study than out-and-out thriller, the attention given to the characters is what makes Tightrope that something different.

 

Obsession

Tags

1970's, Brian De Palma, Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, John Lithgow, Mystery, Obsession, Thriller

Film Title

Obsession

Director

Brian De Palma

Starring

• Cliff Robertson as Michael Courtland
• Geneviève Bujold as Elizabeth Courtland/Sandra Portinari
• John Lithgow as Robert Lasalle

An unearthly and mysterious homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Obsession comes courtesy of Brian De Palma and displays him at some of his most overwrought and haunting. Complete with a spellbinding score and slowly more twisted story, Obsession has a lot in it that won’t leave your mind in a hurry.

Michael Courtland is a wealthy real estate developer in New Orleans with a great business, along with a beautiful wife Elizabeth and daughter Amy. Then out of nowhere to destroy this idyllic life, Elizabeth and Amy are kidnapped by criminals, who demand a very high ransom for their release. Going to the police and desperately trying to get his family back, Michael agrees to a rescue mission that looks like it could be successful. The plan is to take a briefcase to the drop point with fake money and a tracking device implanted, thereby leading the police and Michael to the whereabouts of his captured family. Unfortunately, the attempt to retrieve Elizabeth and Amy goes horribly wrong and after a lengthy chase, the kidnappers along with Elizabeth and her daughter die after their car crashes into the river. Over a decade later, Michael is still haunted by the loss of his family and totally obsessed with the memory of them. On a business trip to Florence with colleague and best friend Robert Lasalle, Michael visits an old church where he and Elizabeth first met. To his surprise he comes across Sandra Portinari, an art historian who is the mirror image of Elizabeth. Although completely at a loss as to why Sandra looks so much like his late wife but seeing that this could be a second chance, Michael gets completely infatuated by Sandra. The sprightly and effervescent Sandra returns the favour and the two fall quickly in love, though it is very obvious that Michael wants to recapture something that he had with Elizabeth through Sandra. Though Robert is concerned for his friend as he finds the whole thing very uncanny and worrying, Michael goes ahead and brings Sandra over to New Orleans with plans to marry her. But Sandra quickly grows fascinated by Elizabeth and begins acting odd, as if something about her predecessor is behind it. It looks as though history may well repeat itself with more fatal incidents, just as Michael believes he’s been given another shot at life. What follows is something that you will most definitely not be expecting.

Brian De Palma revels in channeling Hitchcock for this film, and does a pretty commendable job at emulating him. The devil is in the detail and the archness of De Palma’s approach, which genuinely makes for good viewing in this most twisted mystery. It can be said that Obsession gets a bit overly clever at times and has maybe one twist too many in its bag of tricks, but regardless of that it is a very compelling mystery thriller. The sprinkling of an atypical romance that eventually becomes disturbing allows the film to be one that is sure to reap benefits of repeat viewing. The screenplay from Paul Schrader is purposefully mysterious and knows exactly when to keep its cards close its chest.  And even when it goes overboard, the largely visual story is there to bolster things in an exquisite way. Almost everything in Obsession is shot through a shimmering filter that renders events in a fantasy and otherworldly aura from the very start, for a mystical experience that is not what it always seems. The employing of this form in the cinematography and direction of De Palma is sumptuous and extremely captivating, with nary a frame wasted to paint its unnatural and spooky on a large canvas. Many scenes are free of dialogue which gorgeously lets us fill the blanks in and allows the visuals that abound to weave this particularly dark story, which has a romance in it that takes on another connotation as the rug is pulled from under you. The use of Bernard Herrmann to score the film further evokes Hitchcock, as Hermann scored some of the Master’s best films. Here he imbues things with a deep choral angle that sounds like a returning vessel to the world of reality, while accentuating the hypnotic impact Sandra takes over Michael and later the presence of Elizabeth on Sandra herself. The score is ever-present in the film and it would simply bot have half the impact it does without the mournful yet eerily romantic music from Hermann.

Cliff Robertson is credible in the lead role of a man whose life is shattered, then is given what he believes is another shot through whatever intervention it is. Robertson may be a tad too subdued at times, but his stoic face and gradual shifts in temperament within the chilling story, fill in any gaps and still make it a very good performance. Geneviève Bujold is stunning in the dual role that merges as one on more than a few occasions. Bujold is beautifully ethereal and almost angelic in the best possible way, lending well to the haunting vibe of the overall story and the possibility of a spirit, at least in Michael’s mind, returning once more. You can’t take your eyes off her when you see her on screen as either Elizabeth or Sandra. It is Bujold that sticks most in the memory once Obsession has finished for her transfixing work. Stealing the scenes whenever his presence is required is the versatile John Lithgow, seen here as a disreputable businessman with the gift of the gab. An extrovert with a suspicious mustache, reptilian smile and slightly unusual glint in his eye, he’s a man you can’t help but find funny but also quite hard to read, which is where the excellence of Lithgow’s work lies.

So if you can handle the often overwrought story and sleight of hand tricks and unusual twists are your sort of thing, Obsession should work for you as a sinister yet beautifully filmed mystery, from the skillful hands of Brian De Palma. It definitely deserves notice at least from where I’m standing.

Dead Ringers

Tags

1980's, David Cronenberg, Dead Ringers, Geneviève Bujold, Jeremy Irons, Psychological Drama

Film Title

Dead Ringers

Director

David Cronenberg

Starring

• Jeremy Irons as Beverly Mantle/Elliot Mantle
• Geneviève Bujold as Claire Niveau

A haunting and unusually devastating psychological drama from David Cronenberg, Dead Ringers show him at some of his most talented and most restrained. Even without the overt gore of his other movies, Cronenberg fashions Dead Ringers into something that really gets under your skin.

Beverly and Elliot Mantle are identical twins and gynecologists, who are well-respected in their field and have been known for their bright ideas from a very young age. While the brothers are identical in terms of their physical appearance, they are very different when it comes to their personalities. Elliot is the suave, well-spoken one, while Beverly is quiet and awkward. The brothers are unusually close and even live in the same apartment as well as operating the same business in Toronto, Canada. The two brothers have a certain arrangement that they have done for years. With Elliot being the cad of the two, he seduces many women and when he grows bored with them, secretly passes them on to the shy Beverly. Due to them both being identical in looks, the women remain unaware of any such change. Yet this very perverse practice is shaken with the arrival of actress Claire Niveau as a patient. She comes to their clinic due to her infertility, which is diagnosed as a trifurcated cervix, which makes it very unlikely that she could bear children. Elliot soon seduces Claire, who is an unusually passionate but troubled and at times masochistic woman and then passes her on to the quiet Beverly. But as they flip with their identities and toy with her affections, Claire begins to notice differences and calls them out. The inconsiderate Elliot is not really bothered that Claire severs ties, but for the sensitive Beverly, it truly devastates him as he has fallen in love with her and for once in his life wanted something that he didn’t share with his twin. Eventually, Beverly manages to talk to Claire and she continues her relationship with just him. Yet with this new love comes Claire introducing Beverly to prescription drugs of which he soon becomes addicted to. And after Claire temporarily leaves to work on a film, Beverly begins to crumble and become more delusional. Elliot panics about this and decides he must take drastic and horrifying action as their symbiotic closeness is torn apart from beneath them and shattered forever.

David Cronenberg creates an arresting film on a psychological level that delves into certain themes and brings horrifying parts of them out in a slightly more clinical way than usual. He wisely doesn’t judge the character’s actions and portrays them as all flawed people, rather than the good twin and the bad twin. His unnerving directorial stamp is definitely over Dead Ringers, no doubt about that. But there is a level of restraint to the film that lets haunting atmosphere and consequences spring from the examination of the unusual relationship shared by Beverly and Elliot. There are about two sequences that will make viewers feel a bit queasy, in particular the creepy dream scene of the brother conjoined by a disgusting growth. But scenes like this one are integral to the story that Dead Ringers tells and thankfully they don’t detract from the psychological nature of the movie at all. It is the relationship and the breaking apart of it between the twins that holds the most disturbing factor in the narrative. Both of them have distinct personalities, but by being physically identical, they are in essence robbed of one form of individuality. They are extremely codependent on the other and dark actions and shifts in events that happen to one of them, has a bearing on the other in strange fashion as they both fall apart. A deep sense of tragedy lingers over Dead Ringers and the deliberate pacing helps this take shape, as both Elliot and Beverly confront their dependence on the other and how they are in a sense one soul in two bodies and personalities. A melancholy score from Howard Shore underlines the theme of inevitable tragedy and melding of personas for the two twins with a haunting sadness that is difficult to escape.

Further adding to the success of the unusual film is the stellar work from the cast, in particular a marvellous Jeremy Irons. Essaying the two twins must have been a challenge to do, but Irons plays the role without a hint of nervousness. He delineates the two distinct personalities with deep effect and conviction; from Elliot’s flagrant seductive outlook that turns to horror to the shy and passive movements of Beverly, the more sensitive and sympathetic sibling. He turns in two excellent performances, that through subtle gestures, let us see the differences between the two but also how similar and bound to each other they are. It truly is masterful work from Jeremy Irons that showcases him at his very best. As the wedge that comes between the brothers, Geneviève Bujold is also excellent, conveying intelligence but an inability to realize what she has set in motion by entering the Mantle’s lives and introducing Beverly to drugs.

Disquieting, riveting and bolstered by the bravura work of Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold, Dead Ringers will leave you floored and chilled with its examination of identity, dependency and sibling relationships.