Now this film a hidden gem, id never heard of this before buying it and only ordered it because of the cover and the fact that Elliot Gould was in it. Wow was i surprised...
Check out my review after the jump....
I love a twisty turny sort of film, flicks like 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR and NORTH BY NORTH-WEST. One day while browsing the crime section on Amazon this film popped up and i was intrigued by the cover, for a start it has a group of men holding guns and looking like they'd just robbed a bank and below them are photo's of Christopher Plummer and Elliot Gould. Gould was the selling point for me as i love 70s Gould, he was the jewish badass of films such as THE LONG GOODBYE and CAPRICORN ONE, thrillers where he played the kind of everyday hero. So i clicked add to basket and totally forgot about it. Then three weeks later it comes through my letter box and wow what a film i didn't expect the film to be this cool...
(source: IMDB)
THE CAST:
Elliot Gould plays Miles Cullen, the mild mannered bank teller at the first Toronto bank, he has his sights set on the lovely Julie (Susannah York), but she is the mistress of the bank manager. Gould is spot on, he plays Miles as being a closed book at the start but as the plot evolves becomes more and more open as he gets deeper and deeper into the game of whits between himself and Christopher Plummer. His character is your normal everyday working stiff, lives by himself with only a tank full of tropical fish for company and after the attempted robbery becomes a sort of hero. He starts to get more cunning and cleverly manages to outsmart Plummer on countless occasions. This is one to rank up high as one of the greatest Gould roles...
Christopher Plummer plays Harry Reikle the determined bank robber and this role is so far removed from head of the Von Trapp family that you'd never believe he was the same man. Reikle is a master criminal, not in the sense of say Blofeld or someone, but he's smart and cunning and will stop at nothing to get the money and destroy Cullen. Plummer is at times pure evil, a real psychopath. He is brilliant.
Susannah York is Miles' reality check, he knows she is the manager's mistress but still loves her, she develops feelings for him during the film but Miles turns cold and moves her along trying hard not to involve her in the crime. York is an attractive woman and during the scenes with Gould you could cut the sexual tension with a butter knife. But although billed 3rd she has more of a supporting role.
Celine Lomez plays Elaine, the woman who captures Miles and steals his feelings for Julies away, but she has a motive, in actuality she is Plummer's girlfriend and he has sent her to seduce Miles and find out where the money is. Lomez is very attractive and the fact she has a french accent just makes her more appealing, but while watching her i kept thinking of Margot Kidder in DePalmer's SISTERS.
There are some smaller supporting actors and the most obvious is a very very early role for the legend that is John Candy, as one of Gould's work colleagues.
THE DIRECTION:
The film was directed by TV director Daryl Duke and although at times it does look like an episode of Columbo it's still very well shot, and im guessing it had a bit of low budget. But whatever budget there was is used and everything is thrown onto the screen. One scene is truly shocking involving a shatterd fish tank and Elaine's neck. Duke had mainly shot episodes for tv shows such as Night Gallery and the Richard Chamberlain mini-series The Thornbirds, but this is his crowning achievement.
THE SCRIPT:
The scrip is based on the Novel Think of A Number by Danish writer Anders Bodelsen and was adapted by Oscar Winning writer/Director Curtis Hanson who made L.A Confidential and Eminem Bio flick 8 Mile, here he gives us a darkly comic twisting story of a battle of whits and due to the excellent writing, brings out the excellent performances.
THE DVD:
Lionsgate release the film on 3rd of April 2007 in a remastered 16:9-1:18.1 anamorphic transfer and the film looks brilliant, the colors are vibrant and the night shots are very clear. The sound has also been remastered and allows you the privilege of hearing Hansen's script.
The DVD is bare bones and doesn't have any extras. This is a bit of a shame because a Gould/Plummer commentary would have been welcome but i suppose that because it's 32 years old and Plummer is in his 80s it would be slightly difficult. There is a trailer i believe though.
MY VERDICT:
A brilliant ingenious thriller that should have been given a more wide release as it's on available on region 1. And i believe this is the only film where you can see Plummer in drag, infact the scene with Plummer dressed as woman reminds me of Willem Defoe in The Boondock Saints, when he dresses as a prostitute. But alas I have only one gripe with the film...why does the dvd cover have absolutely nothing to do with the film, it seems Lionsgate are trying to cash in on money spinning Oceans 11 films which co-incidentally co-star Elliot Gould.
FILM: 9/10
DVD: 7/10 (for picture and sound only)
Check out my review after the jump....
//////////////WARNING! SPOILERS AFTER JUMP\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I love a twisty turny sort of film, flicks like 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR and NORTH BY NORTH-WEST. One day while browsing the crime section on Amazon this film popped up and i was intrigued by the cover, for a start it has a group of men holding guns and looking like they'd just robbed a bank and below them are photo's of Christopher Plummer and Elliot Gould. Gould was the selling point for me as i love 70s Gould, he was the jewish badass of films such as THE LONG GOODBYE and CAPRICORN ONE, thrillers where he played the kind of everyday hero. So i clicked add to basket and totally forgot about it. Then three weeks later it comes through my letter box and wow what a film i didn't expect the film to be this cool...
THE PLOT:
This is an imaginative plot, yet one with which the viewer can readily identify. A bank teller is held up at gun point in his bank. Luckily for him he receives a clue that this is going to occur and diverts most of the cash into his own safety deposit box, leaving only a nominal amount for the crook. The ruse works well, but for the fact that the crook resents the fact that he has been outsmarted. There ensues a terrific battle of wits involving the clever but basically "moral" teller, and the cunning and totally uninhibited bank robber, which involves several other people in ways which would change the teller's life forever...(source: IMDB)
THE CAST:
Elliot Gould plays Miles Cullen, the mild mannered bank teller at the first Toronto bank, he has his sights set on the lovely Julie (Susannah York), but she is the mistress of the bank manager. Gould is spot on, he plays Miles as being a closed book at the start but as the plot evolves becomes more and more open as he gets deeper and deeper into the game of whits between himself and Christopher Plummer. His character is your normal everyday working stiff, lives by himself with only a tank full of tropical fish for company and after the attempted robbery becomes a sort of hero. He starts to get more cunning and cleverly manages to outsmart Plummer on countless occasions. This is one to rank up high as one of the greatest Gould roles...
Christopher Plummer plays Harry Reikle the determined bank robber and this role is so far removed from head of the Von Trapp family that you'd never believe he was the same man. Reikle is a master criminal, not in the sense of say Blofeld or someone, but he's smart and cunning and will stop at nothing to get the money and destroy Cullen. Plummer is at times pure evil, a real psychopath. He is brilliant.
Susannah York is Miles' reality check, he knows she is the manager's mistress but still loves her, she develops feelings for him during the film but Miles turns cold and moves her along trying hard not to involve her in the crime. York is an attractive woman and during the scenes with Gould you could cut the sexual tension with a butter knife. But although billed 3rd she has more of a supporting role.
Celine Lomez plays Elaine, the woman who captures Miles and steals his feelings for Julies away, but she has a motive, in actuality she is Plummer's girlfriend and he has sent her to seduce Miles and find out where the money is. Lomez is very attractive and the fact she has a french accent just makes her more appealing, but while watching her i kept thinking of Margot Kidder in DePalmer's SISTERS.
There are some smaller supporting actors and the most obvious is a very very early role for the legend that is John Candy, as one of Gould's work colleagues.
THE DIRECTION:
The film was directed by TV director Daryl Duke and although at times it does look like an episode of Columbo it's still very well shot, and im guessing it had a bit of low budget. But whatever budget there was is used and everything is thrown onto the screen. One scene is truly shocking involving a shatterd fish tank and Elaine's neck. Duke had mainly shot episodes for tv shows such as Night Gallery and the Richard Chamberlain mini-series The Thornbirds, but this is his crowning achievement.
THE SCRIPT:
The scrip is based on the Novel Think of A Number by Danish writer Anders Bodelsen and was adapted by Oscar Winning writer/Director Curtis Hanson who made L.A Confidential and Eminem Bio flick 8 Mile, here he gives us a darkly comic twisting story of a battle of whits and due to the excellent writing, brings out the excellent performances.
THE DVD:
Lionsgate release the film on 3rd of April 2007 in a remastered 16:9-1:18.1 anamorphic transfer and the film looks brilliant, the colors are vibrant and the night shots are very clear. The sound has also been remastered and allows you the privilege of hearing Hansen's script.
The DVD is bare bones and doesn't have any extras. This is a bit of a shame because a Gould/Plummer commentary would have been welcome but i suppose that because it's 32 years old and Plummer is in his 80s it would be slightly difficult. There is a trailer i believe though.
MY VERDICT:
A brilliant ingenious thriller that should have been given a more wide release as it's on available on region 1. And i believe this is the only film where you can see Plummer in drag, infact the scene with Plummer dressed as woman reminds me of Willem Defoe in The Boondock Saints, when he dresses as a prostitute. But alas I have only one gripe with the film...why does the dvd cover have absolutely nothing to do with the film, it seems Lionsgate are trying to cash in on money spinning Oceans 11 films which co-incidentally co-star Elliot Gould.
FILM: 9/10
DVD: 7/10 (for picture and sound only)
I got a real kick out of some of your comments. As someone who was an adult when this was released in theaters, I have been a fan of this film for many decades. You're right. The cover art choice is ridiculous! I think your comments don't do justice to Celine Lomez. She has a sensuality that Margot Kidder can only dream about.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would warn viewers that this movie has some particularly sickening, violent scenes, maybe not by today's standards, but definitely not for the feint of heart. The up-close-and-personal nature of the violence makes it more sickening than any of those bloody, mass murder scenes that are so popular. There are those who will love the film because of those scenes and those who will love the film despite those scenes.
Having said that, I think the script is brilliant, witty, taut and clever. It brings together extremely talented actors, whose performances are perfection (okay, Susannah York is a bit cold).
thanks for the really insightful comment, i agree with you on the violence in the film, some of the scenes are very difficult to watch due to the involvement of women being the victims, i always find scenes like that hard to watch.
ReplyDelete