OUT OF SIGHT
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Universal Pictures Director: Steven Soderbergh Writer: Scott Frank, novel by Elmore Leonard Cast: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks
At the beginning of a 10-round prizefight, two contenders come out and touch gloves as a sign that they don't really mean each other harm: it's just part of the game. Then they pummel each other as though to belie their act of camaraderie. By the end of round 5, one guy's eye is virtually closed, the other is bleeding from the nose. The crowd cheers. What would happen if, before coming out for the sixth round, each fighter called a half-hour time out and both existed for the nearest luncheonette for a cappuccino and a chat? "How's your little baby doing?" says one, while the other responds, "Is your mother OK after her surgery?" Would they still have the same fight in them when they returned to the ring? Hardly.
This is the premise of "Out of Sight," a crime story mined by novelist Elmore Leonard--also known for "Get Shorty"--for comic resonance. It's a metaphoric boxing match between a charming bank robber and a beautiful federal marshall who is chasing him and rounds up getting pursued instead. He, Jack Foley (George Clooney), has just broken out of prison where he is serving a thirty-year sentence; she, Karen Sisco, is a federal cop who can get a jump on her career by bringing him in but is hindered by her romantic feeling for him. As the novelist states, "Like if she were to make a T with her two hands, calling for a time-out....It would be okay then to say hi, how're you doing? They stand there talking, polite to each other. He might say something about her shooting at him and she'd say heah, well, you know....You have time for a drink?...The next time she saw him, she'd cuff his hands behind his back and take him in."
Director Steven Soderbergh, known for spare statements as in his celebrated "...sex, lies, and videotape," and for the dry humor of that great monologue, "Gray's Anatomy," helms against type by finding a broadly comic tone in this movie version of "Out of Sight." Filmed in bold color by veteran Soderbergh cinematographer Elliot Davis, the film comes right to the point by opening without credits on a bank robbery that that is so smooth and confident that you need not wonder that the perp is a veteran of 200 such escapades. Caught when his car would not start, he is given a 30-year jail sentence as a incorrigible criminal, then manages to break out--but not without interference from federal marshall Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), who happens to be on the scene. Sisco is overpowered and, in the key scene, is tossed into the trunk of a getaway car together with Foley. Their conversation proceeds like anyone's dream first-date, leading to instant Stockholm syndrome. The two are in love, an unlikely pairing which provides much of the comic impact of this delightful caper movie.
A good deal of the story is centered on the way both Foley and Sisco live in anticipation of their next meeting. As with any good romance film, a great deal is put in the way of their getting together, not the least being that she is obligated to bring Foley in while he needs both to avoid her and to consummate his attraction. Soderbergh films with striking hyperrealism in one scene, as Foley and Sisco get together for a romantic interlude in a dazzling night club and, as they converse they fantasy the inevitable conclusion to the evening's dalliance. Soderbergh also makes Elmore Leonard's novel cinematic by use of flashbacks, frequently dashing from some of Anne V. Coates's briskly edited scenes to incidents involving Foley's stay in the Florida prison.
For George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, "Out of Sight" stands as their best work. Clooney has lost his signature cocked-head, smiling mannerisms while Lopez, who substitutes for the blond agent of the book, conveys her conflict with every move. In the convincing and jocose side roles, Dennis Farina portrays Karen's understanding dad, Steve Zahn a drug addict who talks too much, Albert Brooks a multimillionaire jailed for insider trading who confides too readily in his jailmates, and best of all Ving Rhames as Buddy, famous for confessing his crimes to his sister who promptly turns him in each time. Gary Frutkoff's production design dazzles, particularly in his conception of a night club on a snowy night that makes Detroit look like Davos.
Rated R. Running time: 123 minutes. (C) Harvey Karten 1998
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