Out of Sight (R) *** 1/2 (out of ****)
Chemistry between romantic leads can make or break a film, and never in recent memory has it more "made" a film than in Steven Soderbergh's witty, slick, sexy adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel. _Out_of_Sight_ jumps back and forth in time to tell the twisting tale of suave bank robber Jack Foley (George Clooney, rebounding well after his disastrous turn as the Caped Crusader), out to make one big score after escaping from prison; hot on his trail--and hot _for_ him--is tough U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (the ever-sultry Jennifer Lopez), who falls hard for Jack's charms after being briefly locked in a trunk with him during his prison break.
Although _Out_of_Sight_'s intricately structured plot requires the audience's undivided attention, Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank (who also adapted Leonard's _Get_Shorty_) are less concerned with story than they are dialogue and the quirky characters that deliver it, and the film offers a wide array of memorable personalities, such as Jack's collaborators in the planned big heist: stoner Glenn (Steve Zahn); the menacing Maurice, a.k.a. Snoopy (Don Cheadle); his clumsy bodyguard White Boy Bob (Keith Loneker); and Jack's partner Buddy (Ving Rhames). Most memorable of all, though, is the central duo of Jack and Karen, who are both acutely aware of the danger of their mutual attraction yet are completely powerless to resist the thrill. The impossibly glamorous and charismatic pair of Clooney and Lopez absolutely sizzle from their first moment together; the soulful, smoldering gazes they lay upon each other are sexier than any explicit scene could ever be. It is their effortless rapport that carries the film and jumpstarts its sometimes-flagging energy.
Michael Dequina
mrbrown@ucla.edu | michael_jordan@geocities.com
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