The Manchurian Candidate

Tags

1960's, Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra, James Gregory, Janet Leigh, John Frankenheimer, Laurence Harvey, The Manchurian Candidate, Thriller

Film Title

The Manchurian Candidate

Director

John Frankenheimer

Starring

• Frank Sinatra as Major Bennett Marco
• Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw
• Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Eleanor Iselin
• Janet Leigh as Eugenie Rose Chaney
• James Gregory as Senator John Iselin

A most unusual and highly compelling slice of Cold War paranoia and trickery, The Manchurian Candidate still holds intense power today, for its winding plot, direction and acting. With various switches in tone and much food for thought, it’s a movie that definitely burns into the brain with its intricate plot and terrifying notions.

During the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers, headed by the distant Raymond Shaw and included Captain Bennett Marco, their group is ambushed. After the war, they return to life in America, but something is amiss. For starters, Raymond is given the Medal of Honor, though we later see that he was a loner in his company and that while the men all say that “Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life”, there is something not right about it. The main person who it impacts is Marco, now a captain, who experiences a recurring nightmare of his dazed platoon being observed by Chinese and Russian agents, as a cold Raymond murders two of their members. Delving deeper, Marco comes to realise that the platoon was brainwashed while in captivity, with particular attention lavished upon Raymond. Yet while he has these parts of what looks like an elaborate Communist conspiracy, it’s getting it into some semblance of reality and reason that proves difficult for him to understand. At first not helped by Army Intelligence, when a fellow member of the squad speaks of the same thing, he receives some backing. Marco isn’t going down without a fight, as he rushes to uncover sinister machinations that continue to grow more complex. Meanwhile, Raymond’s mother Eleanor Iselin begins to use her pernicious influence to further her zealous and easily led husband John Iselin’s campaign. She is linked to something dark, but to explain it would be to spoil it. With memories eventually slotting into place, Marco knows that Raymond is unwittingly being commanded and primed to do something terrible. But can Marco put the pieces together before something truly horrifying can take place?

John Frankenheimer crafts this political thriller with a considerable amount of unusual tension, layering events through a dreamlike haze, yet still making it in the realms of reality when it comes to the underhand tactics of power angle. His off kilter approach to such dynamite material is rapid and complex, trusting the audience to pay attention and follow the labyrinthine plot at play. It’s a daring high wire act keeping all the contradicting parts of irony and terror going, but Frankenheimer is up to the task and does it with intelligence. The Manchurian Candidate is a film filled with political manipulations, dastardly ploys for power and the things people are willing to do to gain a foothold in government. While it’s all shot through the eyes of the Cold War, the atmosphere of it is still very apparent and topical today. This suggests that The Manchurian Candidate was a film ahead of its time in what it depicted and how it visualized it. And talking of visuals, the surreal touches and how it bleeds into reality are strikingly evoked. Repeating motifs of Queen of Hearts playing cards, rhyming phrases and unusual tricks are all in there to tease us. A prime example of the effectiveness of The Manchurian Candidate is the dream/flashback of Marco. In it, the camera starts turning and we witness his troops sitting and listening to what seems to be a lecture on plants given by a posh lady. As the camera continues its journey, it cunningly reveals that it is a brainwashing exercise by Communist agents. Such sly precision and the overlapping cuts between the two extremes are marvellously structured and disquieting. Much can also be said about the unnerving close-ups and deep focus, which in black and white, really stay with you. This is a movie that is genuinely unpredictable from scene to scene with its ever-changing tonality. From surreal to hard-hitting, baffling to cynically up front, The Manchurian Candidate keeps you on your toes with its intricacies and corkscrew plot. Twisting and turning away is the order of the day and with unusual and intentionally mysterious parts that are scattered in there, it is a brain teaser of the highest order. One can definitely say that this is a movie that is rewarding on repeat viewings, as you’re bound to discover something you hadn’t thought of the first time. Certain areas like the unusual scene between Marco and a mysterious woman named Eugenie where they communicate almost in code, are kept ambiguous and esoteric, ensuring your rapt attention and providing the overall feeling of a complex puzzle box that the film greatly projects. If ever there was a movie that provoked thoughts, it was The Manchurian Candidate. As for the music, it has a slowly percolating menace to it that strums away in the background and uses haunting repetition to enhance the feeling of hypnosis.

A simply marvellous cast of actors flesh out this shocking and impactful movie. Frank Sinatra leads the way, projecting a tormented yet determined manner as the crusading Major. Playing against his usual persona of cool and suave, Sinatra finds an exemplary change of pace that shows of his dramatic muscles. Often times, we are perplexed as he is in all this conspiracy and web-spinning, but his unwavering desire and desperation is what truly makes Sinatra ideal in this role. Laurence Harvey’s detached and remote demeanor fit perfectly with his character of Raymond, who is brainwashed into a remorseless killer for sinister purposes. Yet Harvey finds real moments of pathos and sympathy beneath the aloofness, contributing a tragic layer to the character. Yet it’s Angela Lansbury who is the person you remember most for her startling performance as the mother from hell. At first seeming to be just overly smothering, slowly and subtly her power crazed motives and single-minded persistence come through in chilling effect. Mrs. Eleanor Iselin is a master manipulator who pulls the strings of everyone, delivered with gusto and alarming coldness by the great Lansbury. Angela Lansbury formidably plays this woman as a shocking, monstrous and calculating harridan, insistent on getting what she wants and doing everything it takes to get it. For those who mainly think of Lansbury for her motherly and sweet roles, her performance here should make you re-asses that due to its jaw dropping impact and delicious evil. Janet Leigh appears as a most enigmatic lady, who you aren’t sure what to make of. Her scenes with Sinatra have a most unusual and eerie feeling as they raise so many questions, which is part of the beauty of it. James Gregory aces it as the buffoon and bombastic Senator, manipulated like a marionette by his wife for her own gain.

Menacingly suspenseful, darkly cynical and still timely after all these years, The Manchurian Candidate is a classic piece of mounting psychological tension and political satire That triumphs, complete with supreme direction and excellent acting.

Sorry, Wrong Number

Tags

1940's, Anatole Litvak, Ann Richards, Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ed Begley, Film Noir, Harold Vermilyea, Sorry Wrong Number, Thriller, Wendell Corey, William Conrad

Film Title

Sorry, Wrong Number

Director

Anatole Litvak

Starring

• Barbara Stanwyck as Leona Stevenson
• Burt Lancaster as Henry Stevenson
• Ann Richards as Sally Hunt Lord
• Wendell Corey as Dr. Alexander
• Harold Vermilyea as Waldo Evans
• Ed Begley as James Cotterell
• William Conrad as Morano

A well paced and inventively structured film noir thriller, Sorry, Wrong Number makes fantastic use of its setting and unfolding of dark mystery to form a tight and tense movie. Expanding on a famous radio play yet keeping a certain flair for drama in a limited setting, plus a fine cast headed by Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster, Sorry, Wrong Number is recommended viewing for noir and thriller fans who will no doubt find it very satisfying.

Leona Stevenson is a demanding, selfish heiress who is largely bed-ridden and when we meet her, alone in her Manhattan apartment. She gets more than she bargained for when she accidentally overhears a phone conversation(thanks to a telephone glitch) between two men, plotting and arranging a woman’s murder that very night. Leona has been trying to reach her husband Henry, who works for her father’s pharmaceutical chain, but hasn’t been able to locate. Panicking over the horrible plot she overhears, she becomes desperate to stop it happening. The fact that she only caught little bits of the conversation doesn’t help when she calls the police, due to a lack of clear evidence. Calling whoever she can think of for attempted help or news on Henry, through various flashbacks, revealing events and machinations fall into place regarding everyone it covers. We see Sally Hunt Lord, who was once romantically linked with Henry, Leona’s Doctor Alexander who holds important information about her, her controlling father James, a chemist named Waldo Evans, a mysterious gangster Morano and of course Henry himself, who we glimpse as feeling emasculated and weak thanks to his overbearing spouse. An underhand and malevolent scheme is also found here, but just how does it link to Leona and the planned murder? Growing more anxious and distressed as pieces slowly come into fruition but still remain confusing, Leona is left to decipher them before it is too late.

Anatole Litvak dials up the suspense with skill, letting the film play out largely in real-time and lets us discover many alarming things without spoon-feeding them to us. His control over ambience is also evident in how the mystery is gradually evinced and how it turns out differently than one might have wondered. Often times in some movies, flashbacks can often feel more than a bit redundant and overused. The same can’t be said of Sorry, Wrong Number, as the dips into the past are crucial to our understanding of the characters and their reasons for actions that may come back in some dark form. Sorry, Wrong Number provides a great exercise in visual style with panoramic and gliding camera shots that take in important details that tell parts of the story in a teasing but imperative way. The characters have a sense of change in them from the flashbacks to present, further giving a level of both distrust and curiosity. There is a heightened paranoia and isolation as Leona is prone to overreacting but thus time is telling the truth and all alone in her apartment. The home is often somewhere we consider safe which is reversed here. Then again, the nefarious and murky atmosphere of outside as the various facets of the puzzle come together is equally as dark. There is no real place of safety, which plays beautifully into the sinister heart of film noir and allows the film to have the feelings of a pitch-black noir. The twists are complex and unexpected, yet only sometimes confusing, thankfully the shocking nature of it all is intact and on display. Drama and genuine menace can be heard in the fine score by the amazing Franz Waxman, who really knew how to ramp up tension and suspense with his music.

Barbara Stanwyck impressively heads the cast as the pampered heiress Leona, whose night is turned into waking hours of terror once she hears the murder plot. Stanwyck strongly gets across the various mood swings and changes from past to present of the character, that are very intriguing to watch. Moving from self-absorbed and entitled to terrified and near mental collapse as everything unravels, Stanwyck covers it all with the assurance of the great pro she was. Her biggest achievement is that she telegraphs that Leona is not just some innocent victim in all of this, but a manipulative and petulant woman who we still feel some form of sympathy for in her time of horror. Burt Lancaster plays with his somewhat tough guy image to find something spineless and tired within husband Henry. While there is darkness to him, we aren’t quite sure to what extent it will emerge, mainly due to the excellence of Lancaster in the part. He may just be misunderstood or possibly to easily lead into something fishy , Lancaster suggests a mixture of both. There is a good ensemble of supporting characters played by great actors, who somehow or another slot into this mystery. Ann Richards is quietly convincing as a former flame of Henry’s, while Wendell Corey supplies us with much knowledge as the doctor. Probably the most sympathetic character is the chemist who is somehow sucked into the dark web of dealings, and played with understated gravitas by Harold Vermilyea. Ed Begley and William Conrad flesh out the other two people who have bearing on the complex story.

A tense and efficient noir, Sorry, Wrong Number is just the ticket for when you want some murky thriller of complex motives, nice performances and atmosphere to watch.

Road Games

Tags

1980's, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Franklin, Road Games, Stacy Keach, Thriller

Film Title

Road Games

Director

Richard Franklin

Starring

• Stacy Keach as Pat Quid
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Pamela “Hitch” Rushworth

A tight and bristling with tension thriller that takes a leaf out of Hitchcock’s expertise with suspense, Road Games makes for quite a ride that begins slowly and then gets quicker. Peppered with unexpected touches, it’s undoubtedly an underrated thriller.

Pat Quid is a sardonic truck driver in Australia who specialises in the transportation of meat. He picks up his latest load of pork in Melbourne and then deliver it to Perth. To pass the time, he often speculates on the lives of those he passes on his long journey on the Nullarbor Plain. Quid is a man of tall tales and almost endless trivia, which he regales his pet dingo Boswell with. A lot of this is to make the journey he’s taking to deliver the goods more bearable and quench boredom. On the large and arid Nullarbor Plain, he becomes aware of a certain green van that he saw earlier on his journey. It was at the motel he couldn’t check into and Quid becomes suspicious about this van that always seems to be there and who the person behind the wheel is. After hearing on the radio of a maniac who has been murdering young women, he starts to believe that the man in the van is the culprit. Around this time he picks up Pamela Rushworth, a young woman looking for adventure and who he nicknames Hitch. Bouncing off each other’s humour and ideas, the two play the idea of catching the killer. Hitch believes Quid’s story, even though the police don’t. The duo take it upon themselves to solve the mystery, as no one will listen due to a lack of evidence. The thing is the killer always seems to be one step ahead, and through a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, implicates the innocent Quid. When the killer seems to up the stakes, it becomes a game of cat and mouse as Quid attempts to bring him to justice. It’s a matter of proving it first that is the problem and when Hitch disappears, Quid is put into action.

Richard Franklin is on good form directing this slow building ride into creepiness. His measured pacing is peppered with a certain humour(which I’ll come on to soon) and a feeling of something very sinister around the corner. The Nullarbor Plain makes for a fascinating landscape to set Road Games due to its vast and unpredictable nature. Plus it provides a beautiful backdrop for the tension to take residence in subtle ways. The homages to Hitchcock are well worth the price of admission, with the basic premise of thinking you know something but without any prove is highly reminiscent of the great Master. While it references him, it never becomes a parody and stands on its own merits and talent. What sets Road Games apart from some thrillers is that while the main premise is morbid, the interactions between Quid and Hitch are funny and endearing. Going from a sassy script that sets up a nice rapport, the scenes of them deliberating are funny and sparkle with witty observations. And this extends to scenes of Quid with just his dog as he watches other drivers go by and guesses what they are like, much like the protagonist in Rear Window debates the lives of his neighbours. And while a thriller, Road Games has a lot in common with the road movie genre, only adding a darker and more inquisitive angle to it. The odd misstep now and then does nothing to diminish the effectiveness of Road Games in creating an atmosphere of burgeoning suspense. And because Quid is so tired by his job and worn out by the endless journey, there is that suggestion that maybe he is in fact making up something fanciful. We know there is a murderer on the loose, but is it the person in the van that Quid thinks it is? That very idea is alluded to in some surreal scenes of overlapping road marks and sweltering heat that show him under pressure. This adds a little more mystery to the already curious story that is woven with flair and precision. Road Games is one of those slow burns that is filled with a real dread that becomes more pronounced in the latter stages, which suits it down to the ground. The sheer atmosphere and possibility of Quid maybe not being the most reliable character in his thoughts is a great strength of the picture. A shimmering, adventurous and even jaunty tone to the music is perfectly counterbalanced by the gradual suspense it produces, filling the two capacities of fun and sinister.

Stacy Keach wonderfully plays Quid as a snarky, wise ass with bundles of imagination to spare. His world-weary demeanor and one liners make him a character you enjoy being in the company of, especially when he becomes suspicious of something deadly ahead. The fact that he is prone to imaginative ideas is also addressed, but Keach overall makes Quid a likable, every man hero in the narrative. Jamie Lee Curtis has fun as the sassy hitchhiker with a smart mouth and a quick talking way. Although young, she has a certain maturity that is put along her desire for something exciting to happen in her life. As they are the two principal people throughout, they are very charismatic and enjoyable to watch together. And the platonic chemistry that is filled with heart and a genuine care( not to mention sparkling banter) makes for cool watching.

A Hitchcockian thriller with a surprising amount of snap and verve gone into it, Road Games is both fun and tense, gaining mileage from a witty script, a growing feeling of dread and the main pleasure of and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Scream of Fear

Tags

1960's, Ann Todd, Christopher Lee, Ronald Lewis, Scream of Fear, Seth Holt, Susan Strasberg, Thriller

Film Title

Scream of Fear

Director

Seth Holt

Starring

• Susan Strasberg as Penny Appleby
• Ann Todd as Jane Appleby
• Ronald Lewis as Robert
• Christopher Lee as Dr. Pierre Gerrard

An atmospheric triumph of mounting tension and shocking reveals, Scream of Fear supplies The basic idea of the plot has been done many times before, but Scream of Fear excellently plays with this formula by twisting into something unexpected and shocking. A strong thriller from Hammer indeed. If you want thrills, Scream of Fear is a guarantee to supply that need.

Penny Appleby is a pretty young woman who has been paralyzed for over ten years following an accident on a horse. She has largely lived in Switzerland, but returns to see her father( who she hasn’t seen for a long time) after a companion of hers drowns leaving her devastated. Her father now lives on the French Riviera and has married again, to a woman named Jane. Penny hasn’t met his new bride yet, but thinks Jane is fine upon arrival. The family chauffeur Robert also does his best to make her at home, while she recovers from the shocking loss of her friend. Yet Penny is also puzzled that her father has seemingly gone away from business , as she expected to reconnect with him again after so long. On her first night in the house, Penny encounters something shocking. Seeing a light on in the summer house, she ventures out to check and discovers what looks like her father’s corpse. Terrified, she exits quickly and explains her findings to Jane and Robert . Yet when Jane inspects the summer house, there is no sign of a body. She puts it down to stress and an overactive imagination, calling upon the services of the mysterious Dr Pierre Gerrard to calm the panicked Penny down. Penny is left confused yet convinced that something bad has happened to her father. After seeing his body again, before it promptly vanishes once more, Penny becomes more certain that there is a nefarious plot being undertaken to drive her mad. Penny enlists Robert to help her, mainly because he appears to be the only person who doesn’t think she’s losing her mind. But as Penny investigates, we soon find that everything is a lot different and maybe even more sinister than initially envisioned, leading to a whole host of surprises.

Seth Holt knows the exact ways to suggest something chilling and slowly reveal enough in teasing and mounting suspense. A real feeling and essence of mystery is ever-present in Scream of Fear, right from the opening to the end. As aforementioned, the basic story of someone believing others are attempting to drive the mad has been done many times, but Scream of Fear still keeps it all very riveting and startling by inserting a few tricks of its own. There really is a genuine unpredictability to Scream of Fear, so much so that even when you think you’ve got a handle on things, it completely fools you.  We are left to speculate and guess what capricious machination will befall Penny, as the plot thickens considerably. A big asset in Scream of Fear is the black and white cinematography, which is suitably ghoulish and mysterious right from the opening frames, letting you know that something deeply mysterious is at work. An effective usage of close-ups and nice angles allows the suspense to rise, with a swimming pool sequence where a nasty surprise lies at the bottom is rightfully tense and well lensed as a standout scene. Sound is a key thing in Scream of Fear, and the way its employed is pretty darn impressive. Eerie silence and seeming calm of the surroundings( specifically the outside and glimpses of cliffs and the sea on the French Riviera) that prove to be anything but are captured with. The music knows exactly when to appear and not be too intrusive, letting the mystery and thrills take the biggest stage.

The beautiful Susan Strasberg is just the right person to play the emotionally besieged Penny. She possesses a resilience and alternating vulnerability that is perfect for the part. Penny may be put in danger throughout the film, but she’s intelligent and not just a mere damsel who’s depending on everyone else to help. If anything, she refuses to let her paralysis slow her down and has adjusted to it with a deep independence. Strasberg plays Penny with a self-reliance and steadfast determination to uncover what sinister acts are being committed. Ann Todd successfully stars as the stepmother ,who appears to be a reasonable person but also remarkably shifty in the long run of things. Ronald Lewis is on hand to play the square-jawed, handsome and apparently loyal chauffeur who aids Penny in her search for the truth. Christopher Lee, although not seen as much as I’d liked, is still quite good as the mysterious doctor who is hanging around whenever strange things happen.

Unpredictable and slowly adept at building tension, as well as pulling you in, Scream of Fear is a successfully creepy and unexpectedly smart thriller that really does an impressive number on you. its nothing is as it seems angles make it a fine thriller and one that deserves more attention.

Dressed to Kill

Tags

1980's, Angie Dickinson, Brian De Palma, Dennis Franz, Dressed to Kill, Keith Gordon, Michael Caine, Mystery, Nancy Allen, Thriller

Film Title

Dressed to Kill

Director

Brian De Palma

Starring

• Angie Dickinson as Kate Miller
• Michael Caine as Dr. Robert Elliott
• Nancy Allen as Liz Blake
• Keith Gordon as Peter Miller
• Dennis Franz as Detective Marino

A mystery thriller with a lacing of dark humour, Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill is a relentless excursion into sinister mood and sleight of hand tricks that are for the most part strikingly done. The plot gets a bit overwrought, but the various surprises and mood is what this movie is all about.

Kate Miller is a dissatisfied and sexually starved housewife in New York, who can’t escape her feeling of loneliness. Although she has her young and bright son Peter, her marriage is largely devoid of much passion or excitement. She attends therapy with a psychiatrist by the name of Dr. Robert Elliott, where she unloads her problems to him. Although she flirts with him, he rebuffs her because of professional ethics and wanting to keep a distance. Later, the bored Kate visits a museum, where she is pursued and herself pursues a mysterious man, culminating in a sexual encounter. After this, Kate plans to leave but shockingly discovers that her conquest appears to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Reeling, she runs out of his apartment and heads for the elevator, contemplating what to do. Kate’s troubles get a lot more deadly as she is slashed to death in an elevator by a mysterious blonde woman, whose appearance is obscured by dark glasses. Just after the horrific murder, streetwise hooker Liz stumbles upon Kate and briefly catches a glimpse of the killer. Liz is then suspected of the killing, the main detective on the case not believing that there was someone else in the elevator. Desperate to prove her innocence and scared for her safety, Liz teams up with Kate’s smart son Peter(who is already investigating by himself through his collection of devices he has made) to uncover the identity of the killer, before Liz ends up the next victim of her slaying. Meanwhile Dr Elliott keeps getting threatening phone messages from a patient of his, who may very well be the killer and someone who enjoys taunting him. Things turn out pretty unexpected for everyone involved.

It’s an overblown film to be sure, but that is why it attracts in the ways that De Palma uses that melodrama. To be honest, I don’t think he is going for a really subtle approach. And given his signature style, he’s not just going to tone it down, he’s going to go to places that shock and surprise with his liberal use of theatricality along the way. What we are left with is a film that is more concerned with mood and atmosphere than plot, that still bears that feeling of tension, mixed with archness that De Palma does so well. The perverse yet riveting atmosphere is apparent in the dreamy, surreal soft focus of two pivotal scenes pulls you in, while obviously paying a debt to Hitchcock’s iconic Psycho. But the most sterling example of craftsmanship is the museum scene. In it Kate catches the eye of a stranger and the two engage in a stalking game that plays out spectacularly and seductively. The roles of cat and mouse switch between the lonely Kate and the stranger, ultimately making us part of the voyeuristic tapestry at work . Without barely a line of dialogue, De Palma pulls out every trick in the book; finding an array of expressive angles and movements to put us in the moment and tell a story simply through visual impact. It’s a scene where everything comes together as an example of pure cinema that should be celebrated. I think to appreciate Dressed to Kill it is best to watch it a few times to take in how well crafted it all is. You genuinely notice little bits that seemed trivial at first, yet have a massive bearing on the creeping proceedings, something which Brian De Palma chooses to have fun with. So for all the head-scratching moments that don’t make sense, the hints and symbolism of Dressed to Kill gleefully toy with our ideas of what we think we know. This frequently is the case of us being devilishly lead astray and made to believe one thing( when in fact it’s something quite different) and that’s where quite a lot of the watchability of Dressed to Kill lies. The macabre humour seeping through Dressed to Kill also adds to this; finding irony in pretty dark and perilous situations before turning up the chills for effect. Granted, some instances feel a bit much, the level of dark comedy is a welcome and quite unexpected quality put into often sardonic effect here. Dressed to Kill is a little bit over praised at least in my book, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that it’s still a pretty nifty and swift thriller of panache that still made an impact on me. A gloriously grand and frequently alluring score plays into the dark and sexually prominent tones of the film right off the bat.

Angie Dickinson is very effective( especially given the fact that most of her performance has no dialogue). Through the little nuances of her face, we witness her boredom and sadness with her marriage, as well as how she craves sexual excitement. A beautiful woman with an aura of class and sexiness, Angie Dickinson plays the ill-fated woman exceptionally. Michael Caine is rightfully detached and urbane as the psychiatrist who seems relatively calm, but who may in fact be something else. With sublime subtlety, Caine brings a level of class and maybe a touch of enigma, without going overboard which is a credit to his abilities as an actor. Nancy Allen is pretty good as the quick talking Liz, who is sucked into the most twisted case and must prove her own innocence. The part is pretty much a standard hooker with a heart of gold trope, but Allen plays it well and makes her a likable girl sticking to her wits. The unlikely hero role of Kate’s investigating son Peter is filled out splendidly by Keith Gordon, whose gawky appearance and unwavering collection of detective moves make him a relatable down-to-Earth teenager looking for answers in his mother’s death. In a flashy supporting role, Dennis Franz provides a lot of the sardonic humour as a tough-talking and hard-boiled detective, with a seasoned attitude to match. He’s not in the movie a lot, but when he is, Franz is a delight as the salty and uncouth man investigating the baffling murder.

Silly as parts of it get, Dressed to Kill stands out for its visual impact and De Palma verve on display. Logic is not exactly present, but the fun of Dressed to Kill lies in its often shocking and macabre content that ratchets up suspense and sprinkles it with a knowing, ironic wink. At tad overrated in my book, but still a highly effective and surprising thriller displaying the skill of Brian De Palma.

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.

 

Body Double

Tags

1980's, Body Double, Brian De Palma, Craig Wasson, Deborah Shelton, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith, Mystery, Thriller

Film Title

Body Double

Director

Brian De Palma

Starring

• Craig Wasson as Jake Scully
• Gregg Henry as Sam Bouchard
• Melanie Griffith as Holly Body
• Deborah Shelton as Gloria Revelle

An outrageously and stylishly updated reworking of Vertigo and Rear Window, Body Double dials up the lurid material and shocking content. It may bite off more than it can chew, but Body Double is by and large a spellbinding example of Brian De Palma’s signature direction and his gleefully unapologetic content.

Jake Scully is a B-movie actor with a big problem. As he often stars in horror films(frequently as a vampire) he has to be in confined spaces. The trouble is that his latent claustrophobia has evinced itself of late and has lost him jobs. Out of work, things get worse when he finds his girlfriend cheating on him. He moves out and is struggling to find a job, when he meets the charming Sam Bouchard. Also an actor, he takes pity on Jake and takes him under his wing. Sam is currently house sitting for a rich friend and offers Jake the place to stay. Jake jumps at the chance and is taken to the panoramic house in the Hollywood Hills. Sam points out that there is a display that will interest him in one of the houses nearby. With a telescope, Jake views the sultry dancing every night of Gloria Revelle, a beautiful, young housewife. What starts as just a glancing curiosity slows gives way to increasing obsession on Jake’s part. Added to this is his realisation that a strange-looking figure is also observing Gloria with ill intentions. Continuing to grow more infatuated with her, Jake follows her and observes her, once again seeing the grotesque figure looming large. Sadly, through his obsession , Jake is unable to stop Gloria’s brutal murder at the hands of the stalker. As the only witness, he can’t do much as the police know that he was also covertly watching Gloria and didn’t report what he saw. Jake can’t help but feel guilty about his indirect involvement and how he could have prevented the murder. Yet various things are not adding up and what seemed coincidental may in fact be pre-meditated. Still shocked, he finds himself more determined to unravel events that look very untoward and discovers a link between the slaying and the world of X-rated movies. Desperate Jake is soon lead into the dark recesses of the adult film industry, where the gorgeous porn star Holly Body may hold the key to everything.

As is befitting of a film by Brian De Palma, Body Double sports oodles of visual effectiveness and cinematic flourish from the very start. He frequently teases and tests us with what we are witnessing and how true it is, best envisioned by a series of scenes in which we believe we are watching the film, only for it to reveal that it’s the making of a film in the story. A fantastic example is when Jake makes his way on to a porn set and it is played out to the tune of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’. At first it just appears to be part of the filmic story, before pulling back to show that it’s an adult production within the confines of the plot. We, as the audience, are permitted to be unwitting voyeurs throughout Body Double, whether we like it or not, due to the use of point of view shots to illustrate the illusion of watching. I must confess that in the latter half of Body Double things start to feel a bit rushed, especially in comparison with the slow burn of the earlier pacing. But the outrageous core and De Palma stamp ensure you keep watching as it redeems itself once Holly takes centre stage and brings a much-needed shot in the arm. So it does get uneven in stretches when it could have been tighter and a bit more coherent, but I found myself very engrossed by Body Double that I can somewhat overlook its collection of flaws and bask in the sheer unpredictability of it all. Body Double is a sly beast that is very mysterious and shrouded in red herrings, that you may not quite realise at first glance. Brian De Palma is very impish in what he presents, frequently reeling us into a twisted fantasy that has its tongue jammed firmly in cheek. He is not caring about whether you squirm or find the content repulsive; this is his vision and what he wants to put out there, like it or not. If anything, the winding plot takes a backseat to the directors love of things cinematic and how manipulative the medium can be. A major plus in Body Double(along with the luscious cinematography) is the mood-setting music, courtesy of Pino Donaggio. Using an electronic pulse to produce a slinky and scintillating ambiance, its music that really gets its talons into you and gorgeously sets a scene. The score is akin to the dance that Gloria performs; it invites you in yet knows how to tease and be mysterious.

Craig Wasson is a bit of a wooden actor, yet that very thing is used to great effect in playing the unlucky and low-rent star, caught in a web. His very ordinariness and nothing too special appearance plays in well to the way that he becomes utterly besotted with someone he barely knows and then more than a little suspicious that something stinks. Gregg Henry lends an ingratiating and seemingly supportive presence as the actor who helps Jake, but who may be very different behind it all. Melanie Griffith appears late in the film, but immediately makes an impression as the seductive but brighter than you’d think adult film star. While being obviously attractive, Griffith digs into a street smart attitude and subtle vulnerability of a girl who knows how to handle herself, but doesn’t quite realise the extent of how deep she’s in. Both a smart and confident performer( watch as she reels off just what she will do and not do in a movie) and a pawn, the part of Holly is memorably envisioned by Melanie Griffith. Seen with not much in the way of dialogue, Deborah Shelton is still extremely enigmatic and beautiful as the ill-fated woman, whose demise throws Jake into a tailspin.

I wouldn’t say Body Double is the best film from De Palma, yet it definitely displays some of his finest visual direction and penchant for referencing Hitchcock in typically daring style. Body Double, though uneven, is still a very intriguing thriller that reels you in to the mystery and sleazy aura that if builds so well as it surprises you with some very serpentine twists.

Sisters

Tags

1970's, Brian De Palma, Charles Durning, Jennifer Salt, Lisle Wilson, Margot Kidder, Psychological Horror, Sisters, Thriller, William Finley

Film Title

Sisters

Director

Brian De Palma

Starring

• Margot Kidder as Danielle/ Dominique Breton
• Jennifer Salt as Grace Collier
• William Finley as Emil Breton
• Charles Durning as Joseph Larch
• Lisle Wilson as Phillip

Brian De Palma’s first foray into thriller-horror in Hitchcockian style, Sisters is an unpredictable and unnerving movie that shows off what we’d all come to see as staples of his work and how successfully and creepily he’d craft them.

Danielle Breton is a French-Canadian model living in Staten Island and occasionally using her talents for an acting job. She has just appeared on a certain game show and has just been asked out by one of the contestants Phillip. The two hit it off over dinner where Danielle briefly mentions her twin sister Dominique, and how she hasn’t seen her for a while. Once at her apartment, the two share a passionate evening, but nothing can prepare anyone for the events the following morning. He is brutally stabbed by what appears to be a crazed Danielle( or is it the previously unseen Dominique?). Fatally wounded, he makes it to the window and using his own blood, spells out help. In the apartment opposite, industrious journalist Grace Collier witnesses the incident. She reports it to the police, but due to her history of exposing corruption in the ranks she is laughed off. Even when she takes detectives to Danielle’s apartment, there is no sign of a body and she is dismissed. But Grace knows what she saw and thanks to curiosity, she begins digging into the case. Grace also employs an old-fashioned private investigator Joseph Larch; who may be out of the game currently but still has a nose for this sort of mystery. Getting to the bottom of all of this is what Grace plans to do, though she doesn’t realise she’s opening a particularly twisted can of worms that includes Danielle’s former husband who is always sneaking around and much more.

Sisters was the first film from De Palma to be what many would cite as an inception of his trademark direction and themes. You’ve got the nods to Hitchcock, through stalking camerawork that recalls Rear Window and duality that points to Psycho. Split screens are employed in spectacular fashion, lasting for minutes while twinning together things that gain more impact as the film continues. In fact, doubles and duality are displayed in a very unusual and off kilter way that has you uneasy, and allows De Palma to fiendishly pull the wool over our eyes and then surprise is. Throughout the often crazed and baffling story, De Palma’s sure hand and control over what he is directing is in full effect, announcing the many more thrilling movies that would follow this peculiar yet riveting thriller. There is something quite surreal about Sisters, typified in a couple of menacing yet beautiful dream sequences, filmed in black and white and filled with an arch toying with perception( very befitting of the psychological horror we are presented with). Danielle and Dominique are both purposefully mysterious, leading us to not quite know which is which and just what the true agenda may be.  By the end certain things are revealed, just not in the way you’d expect them to be which allows Sisters to be something that won’t leave your memory quickly and puts the mind into overdrive. As creepy and chilling as the film is, De Palma laces a lot of moments with a sort of gallows humour that catches you off-balance, but does a lot to keep the story and our watching of it something unexpected and not at all typical. Added to this is an underlying examination of the way that women can be patronised and used by men; both Danielle and Grace experience many things at the hands of men, in particular Grace whose job as a reporter combined with her gender suffers stigma regarding her talent and choice of lifestyle. This little bit of commentary is yet another string to the movie’s impressive bow. Now some logic is a bit lacking in Sisters, but you’re that engrossed that the tiny flaw can be swept away and forgiven, especially for how minuscule it is. A screaming and alternating score comes courtesy of Bernard Herrmann. The score triumphs with sudden switches in sound and tempo that infuse necessary jolts of terror and spooky mystery.

Margot Kidder pulls double duty as the twins that give the film its title. Displaying very different personas that may actually be false or at the very least mendacious, Kidder blend them together with a jagged result of questions and uncertainty that is a plus for the gripping movie. Kidder plays the varying characteristics of both twins with a deliberately ambiguous approach, lending to the fact that we can never be sure whether it is Danielle or Dominique we are witnessing at any given time. Margot Kidder is very impressive, but it was Jennifer Salt that really caught my attention. Filled with a deep enthusiasm and courage of her own convictions, Salt naturally plays the crusading Grace, who gets more than she bargained for. There is a tenacity within the diminutive Jennifer Salt that suits the role nicely and although her insistence is often the thing that gets the better of her, we want her to succeed and unravel what she can. William Finley is menace personified as the creepy ex-husband skulking around, particularly in the way he uses his intense eyes that never seem to blink and appear to follow you. Charles Durning is wise ass and witty as the private investigator roped into the proceedings while Lisle Wilson has a small but unforgettable part of the unfortunate man who ends up butchered

An eerie and suspenseful movie of stylistic approach and creeping kookiness, Sisters represents the auspicious first entry into the art of scaring and spooking audience that De Palma clearly enjoys.

Deceived

Tags

1990's, Damian Harris, Deceived, Goldie Hawn, John Heard, Thriller

Film Title

Deceived

Director

Damian Harris

Starring

• Goldie Hawn as Adrienne Saunders
• John Heard as Jack Saunders

It isn’t a top-tier thriller but Deceived still manages to be surprising and filled with suspense for everyone to feel. Featuring Goldie Hawn in a dramatic departure from her usual comedy, Deceived is a pretty well executed movie that is often overlooked if I must say so.

Attractive Adrienne, who is an art restorer briefly meets handsome curator Jack at a restaurant when she is stood up on a blind date. They later see each other at Adrienne’s work, and the spark between them is set. After a whirlwind romance, the two marry and we pick up with them five years later where they have a daughter named Mary. Yet trouble and doubt creep into paradise with a series of events that cause Adrienne to question her husband. First of all, a man who works with Jack discovers that a recently arrived artifact has actually been substituted for a fake, but is then murdered before he can tell anyone. A friend of Adrienne’s claims she saw Jack in New York when he said he was in Boston. Plus, many things that Jack has told Adrienne aren’t adding up. Yet just after airing her suspicions about Jack, he is killed in a freak car accident. Devastated by this, Adrienne does her best to be strong for Mary, but can’t shake the feelings of something being very untoward. These are heightened when Adrienne is informed that her seemingly by the book husband was actually using the name of a man who has been dead for over sixteen years, sending her into a tailspin as her suspicions regarding his death come to life. And someone from a distance is stalking Adrienne without her knowledge. It appears that Jack may be very much alive and hiding somewhere, the deeper Adrienne digs. Yet she can’t be sure of anything because of the smoke screens that keep getting thrown up and somehow pull the recent rash of bizarre events together. Somehow Adrienne must make sense of all of these tangled threads as her own life is in jeopardy the more she marches towards answers.

Damian Harris is on hand for directing duties and his handling of the thriller is pretty great. He lulls you into that false sense of security in the beginning before unearthing the sinister nature underneath. The pace is one that really keeps you engrossed for the most part of it all, complete with a few neat surprises. There is a wintry feel to Deceived that plays into the visuals and renders things in a chilly and unusual format. This is employed stylishly when the tension is cranked up and Adrienne is put in significant danger because of her desire to know the truth about the man she called her husband. Not all of the twists that Deceived takes are exactly what you’d call logical and some do fall flat, but most of them are by and large excellent at keeping the audience on their toes. Suspense is handled in a relatively efficient way, with the unraveling of real identity and possible danger for Adrienne take centre stage. Especially in the last half, Deceived becomes quicker and a cat and mouse game emerges, filling the screen with a great amount of thrills. There is something Hitchcockian about quite a lot of Deceived and while it’s nowhere near the work of the great Master, it manages to sustain some chills. Thomas Newman is on music duty and the tension is raised significantly by his switching tempos and sense of creeping suspense.

I really enjoyed seeing Goldie Hawn in a more mature and serious part that showed her in a different light. If her work in Deceived is anything to go by, she should really delve into more drama because she has the chops for it in how she downplays her effervescent and bubbly personality for something effectively subdued. Hawn excels at being very natural and believable playing a woman whose life comes crashing down around her, when she witnesses that her husband really wasn’t the man she thought he was. Levels of vulnerability, feelings of betrayal and ounces of strength help as Hawn gets the audience to sympathise with her and want her to get to the bottom of the knotty events, that may also prove fatal for her if she isn’t careful. Purposefully mysterious is John Heard, who relishes the opportunity to play such a sly and potentially dangerous man. Exuding a calculating charm and smooth approach, the talented John Heard makes Jack someone who may appear genuine, but who clearly has something sinister on his agenda.

Not what you’d call the best thriller there is but pacy and filled with enough twists to keep you guessing, Deceived triumphs based on that and the opportunity to see Goldie Hawn in something serious. For an hour or so of thrills, Deceived could be a winner for you. I personally think it’s quite an underappreciated film.

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.