This film started out with everything a producer could hope for. It had a great director, a bona fide superstar as leading man, a terrific female lead and an interesting premise for the story. The beginning of the film is masterful. The spouses of two air crash victims go about the routines of their lives as the news of the disaster creeps into the fringes of their consciousness. As most of us do, they regard the news with a disconnected interest, another news story about strangers dying. Suddenly, it occurs to Dutch (Harrison Ford) that his wife said she was going to Miami and he discovers two awful truths, that she was killed and that she was traveling with another man. He then informs the wife of that man that her husband was on the plane. The treatment of this entire chain of events was extraordinarily well done.
Unfortunately, after this the story bogs down and becomes highly contrived. Dutch then becomes obsessed with knowing everything about the illicit relationship. This is almost believable. But he also drags Kay, (Kristin Scott Thomas) into the vortex and they develop this complicated relationship of grief, passion and maybe even love. Not so believable.
The microscopic character study that ensues of the complex emotions and reactions of the characters is well done, but the viewers find themselves wondering why they have to watch it since most sane people would just have let it go. After all, the offenders are dead, and little is to be gained by knowing the details of the betrayal.
The story also introduces a completely superfluous subplot about the pursuit of a crooked cop by Dutch, a detective in internal affairs. The only distant connection to the plot is the fact that Kay and Dutch are together during the shootout with the bad cop.
As filmmaking, this film is first rate as would be expected from Sydney Pollack. The color and exposures were particularly rich and the scenes compelling. I particularly liked the scenes from the tango nightclub. There were a broad range of different settings and situations and all were handled with great realism.
Harrison Ford was asked to play a character quite different from his customary strong, direct and dynamic roles. This character was far more complex than any he ever attempted and Ford didn't have the range necessary to give a satisfying performance. He was fine in the cop scenes, but in the scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas he was overly subdued, almost like he was medicated. This made his performance seem lifeless.
Kristin Scott Thomas, on the other had was brilliant. She showed incredible command of all the myriad emotional states that Kay sustained. As a British actress playing an American, her accent was flawless, though the character being from New Hampshire should have had a New England accent.
Overall, I gave this film a 7/10. Despite the plot flaws, it was well constructed and as a character study it was excellent. Most viewers will find such in-depth character studies slow and boring, so if you are looking for pace, you might want to pass on this film.
Unfortunately, after this the story bogs down and becomes highly contrived. Dutch then becomes obsessed with knowing everything about the illicit relationship. This is almost believable. But he also drags Kay, (Kristin Scott Thomas) into the vortex and they develop this complicated relationship of grief, passion and maybe even love. Not so believable.
The microscopic character study that ensues of the complex emotions and reactions of the characters is well done, but the viewers find themselves wondering why they have to watch it since most sane people would just have let it go. After all, the offenders are dead, and little is to be gained by knowing the details of the betrayal.
The story also introduces a completely superfluous subplot about the pursuit of a crooked cop by Dutch, a detective in internal affairs. The only distant connection to the plot is the fact that Kay and Dutch are together during the shootout with the bad cop.
As filmmaking, this film is first rate as would be expected from Sydney Pollack. The color and exposures were particularly rich and the scenes compelling. I particularly liked the scenes from the tango nightclub. There were a broad range of different settings and situations and all were handled with great realism.
Harrison Ford was asked to play a character quite different from his customary strong, direct and dynamic roles. This character was far more complex than any he ever attempted and Ford didn't have the range necessary to give a satisfying performance. He was fine in the cop scenes, but in the scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas he was overly subdued, almost like he was medicated. This made his performance seem lifeless.
Kristin Scott Thomas, on the other had was brilliant. She showed incredible command of all the myriad emotional states that Kay sustained. As a British actress playing an American, her accent was flawless, though the character being from New Hampshire should have had a New England accent.
Overall, I gave this film a 7/10. Despite the plot flaws, it was well constructed and as a character study it was excellent. Most viewers will find such in-depth character studies slow and boring, so if you are looking for pace, you might want to pass on this film.