RUSH
A film review by Sandy Grossmann
Copyright 1992 by Sandra J. Grossmann
Cast: Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Max Perlich,
Sam Elliott, Tony Frank, Greg Allman, Special K McKray
Director: Lili Fini Zanuck
Screenplay: Pete Dexter, based on Kim Wozencraft's
semi-autobiographical novel
Cinematographer: Kenneth MacMillan
Length: 2 hours 10 minutes
I've waited for this film for more than a year; high expectations seemed reasonable given the cast and Wozencraft's novel. In some ways, these expectations were more than met. Parts of RUSH fill the screen with such force and angst that they spill into the rest and lift the film from the mediocre to the accomplished. Yet to be fair, the film has too much Hollywood rubbed into it. I'll explain that later. For now, let's visit the story.
Why would anyone actually choose to be an undercover narcotics cop? A hatred of pushers? A thrill at worming your way into a closed, secret society? A love of danger with the accompanying high that only an adrenalin rush can give you? And once you get there--once you are a narc--how do you insinuate yourself into this other lifestyle without having it permeate your very sense of self?
Kristin Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the novice who wants to "make a difference." She's driven by ideals. In direct contrast is Jim Raynor (Jason Patric), the experienced narc who picks her for his partner. If he ever felt the same drive, it was several lifetimes ago. Now he does his job, he does it well, and he does nothing else.
Why did he pick Kristin for his partner? He says it's because of her edge--something he saw in her during a competitive track event that he watched. But she is also a tender young thing, completely unsullied. The contrast between them is extreme, and his attraction to her speaks volumes about his own psyche. He trains her carefully, gently, quietly. She is very willing: the best partner Jim could ever pick, and the worst one. (Think how much further you used to go on a dare than you would have gone on your own.)
On the surface, all they have to do is buy drugs without having their cover exposed, put the drugs in manila evidence folders with the pertinent details of the buy, and hand the folders over to Captain Dodds (Sam Elliott). The drug busts will occur all at once.
So much for the surface. The danger of the job is that they must appear to be heavily into drugs. They are "on-stage" full-time, and their work requires total immersion in a drug-based lifestyle. If the only way dealers will trust them is to take drugs with those dealers, so be it. But what happens to a narc when the adrenalin rush is surpassed by a different type of rush? And what happens when ties to dealers or informants become stronger than ties to other cops and the "outside" world?
Zanuck has said that she didn't want to glamorize the allure of drugs but also didn't want to fill the screen with cliche-ridden images of rat-infested drug dens. She said she wanted to present the challenges and choices of the characters without manipulating the audience. She accomplished part of her goal: the audience sure does get acquainted with the challenges. Less successful is Zanuck's goal of showing choices. Jim and Kristin seem forced into much of what occurs, rather than making choices. In fact, this film has large gaps between events, undermining the impact.
Sometimes it's hard to know where the director had problems and where the script fell short. Many of the problems seem to result directly from screenwriter Dexter's adaptation of the Wozencraft novel. The gaps between vignettes make for a very sudden decline instead of a gradual one. And the ending? It is W R O N G. Simple-minded Hollywood.
However, it is clear that some of the directorial decisions were, uhm, suboptimal. One scene in particular was supposed to show desperation but struck me as downright laughable. Another flaw that rests squarely on Zanuck's shoulders is the use of Eric Clapton's "buy-my-CD" score: it sometimes drowns out the dialog. (And the occasional guitar solo is demandingly loud, detracting from what the actors are trying to do.)
Zanuck's strength may be in eliciting controlled performances from her actors. The role of Raynor must have been quite a challenge: he is inarticulate. He simply cannot talk about what he is going through. Patric turns in an outstanding performance, using physicality instead of dialog to communicate with his partner and with his audience. In a couple of scenes, he portrays Raynor as bewildered, vulnerable, frightened, and out of control. Most actors tend to hold back something; they play at being exposed. Patric does not play at it, and his performance is beyond acting. In another scene earlier in the film, he inserts a needle into his arm. Matter-of-factly, a demonstration for the rookie. Watch that scene closely. It's not done with special effects. Patric inserts the needle for real: it's frightening, just as Zanuck wanted.
Leigh's performance is weak at the beginning but deepens substantially around a quarter of the way through the film, and in the last half, she is superb. When Patric and Leigh share the screen, they are riveting. Their partnership is outstanding. Equally impressive is Max Perlich as a strictly small-time middle-man. Considerably less convincing is Sam Elliott, who always seems to be posing for the camera. Most of his scenes slow the pace of the film. Greg Allman has received praise for his performance, but not by me. He lacked the menace and presence demanded of his role. Directly contrasting Allman's lackluster performance is Special K McKray (yes, that's what the credits said...), who plays a dealer and turns a 5-minute scene into the definition of danger in the drug world. Whew.
Bottom-line time. Is the film worth seeing? Yes. Look past the Hollywood machinations in the script, the occasional directorial goof, and a few unconvincing moments. Underneath the problems are performances that occasionally nail you to your chair and routinely overcome most of the problems with the film. It's worth going to see, and it's a promising first film for Zanuck, but some may prefer seeing this at matinee prices. (A few unique, effective shots won't make it in TV aspect ratio, so don't wait for video.)
Sandy Grossmann sandyg@sail.labs.tek.com
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