OUT OF SIGHT A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Imagine the sexy Jennifer Lopez almost bursting out of her expensive suit and you nestled up right next to her. To sweeten this dream sequence conjure up this vision with the two of you stuck close together in the confines of an automobile trunk speeding down the highway. That's just the wonderful predicament that George Clooney finds himself in the midst of in OUT OF SIGHT.
(Female readers can recast the entire first paragraph to have Lopez being the lucky one since Clooney with his new full flowing hairstyle is Lopez's equal when it comes to sensual good looks.)
Elmore Leonard novels normally feature the quirky low-lifes of the criminal world, along with their just as unusual police pursuers. Of the many pictures made from his books, the most recent three are GET SHORTY, TOUCH, and JACKIE BROWN, this one is arguably the best. The first big budget picture by director Steven Soderbergh of SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE fame demonstrates his dedication to character development over plot.
As richly textured as a Brueghel painting, the story meanders along giving the players adequate, sometimes more than adequate, time and space to develop their characters.
Scott Frank's screenplay skips backwards and forwards in time with great glee, which makes paying attention important. The effect of this fairly random method of storytelling is to add layers and dimensions that a straightforward rendition would miss.
The plot has Jennifer Lopez playing a smart, tough and voluptuous FBI agent named Karen Sisco. Luckily for her (and him), she witnesses a prison break during which she is captured by a handsome, middle-aged bank robber named Jack Foley, played suavely by George Clooney. It is in the trunk on the way out that they begin to sense the physical attraction they have for each other.
Soderbergh saves the consummation of their relationship for much later in the film. When it does happen, against the lush backdrop of a Detroit snowfall, he concentrates on the tension up to the time they take their clothes off rather than after, which is never shown. Their flirting at the cocktail lounge beforehand and their partial disrobing in the hotel bedroom is more erotic than many more explicit scenes found in other films. Soderbergh realizes that it is the anticipation of the affair that is frequently as satisfying, if not more so, than the tryst itself.
Between the prison break and the lover's assignation is a long cat-and-mouse game in which Karen tags along with the FBI team looking for Foley and the other escapees. Her motivation for locating him is rather dubious.
Along the way we meet a string of curious characters. Ving Rhames plays Buddy Bragg, Foley's sidekick, who feels obligated to have many long phone calls with his religious sister so he can confess his sins. When he once made the mistake of baring his soul before the crime, she called the cops.
An almost unrecognizable Albert Brooks plays a prisoner named Richard Ripley, who is patterned after Michael Milken. Only Brooks's voice gives his identity away during the prison sequences.
Steve Zahn is the ever-stoned Glenn Michaels. Wearing a series of sunglasses, he is every con's worst nightmare for a partner.
And this is only part of the talented cast.
Audience's enjoyment of the picture will depend in part on their ability to derive satisfaction from such a cornucopia of corny characters. Thanks especially to the hot chemistry between the two leads, the picture will delight most viewers even while the lack of much narrative drive may frustrate them. There are worse things to do than hang out with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney for two hours.
OUT OF SIGHT runs 2:02. It is rated R for violence, profanity, and sexual situations and would be fine for most teenagers.
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