The Negotiator (1998) Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, J. T. Walsh, Regina Taylor, Siobahn Fallon, Paul Giamatti, Joey Perillo, Nestor Serrano, Jim Jenkins, Randy Walker. Written by James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox. Directed by F. Gary Gray. 138 minutes.
Rated R, 3.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
"The Negotiator" is one of those films where you can virtually see the gears turning in the writers' heads. Having come up with a nifty concept - - what if two top-notch hostage negotiators faced off against one another -- the writers must figure out how to get the characters into their proper places, and that's where the film suffers. Plot contrivances, overly abrupt attitude changes and awkwardly grafted-on action sequences keep this thriller from hitting the bull's eye, although it still entertains despite the problem areas.
Shrewd casting helps. Two of the finest actors working today, Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey are masters of intensity. Jackson's specialty is creating fiercely intelligent characters with a love of language, while Spacey takes a more low-key approach, focusing on droll, erudite types who mask their humanity with layers of finely-honed cynicism. What a treat to watch them interact in the same film.
Combining elements of "The Fugitive" and "Die Hard," "The Negotiator" deals with a very good man in a very bad situation. Danny Roman (Jackson) is one of Chicago's best hostage negotiators and a bit of a show-boater. After a tense, well-staged opening scene, where he risks his life to rescue a little girl held captive by her deranged father, Roman promises his recent bride that he'll stop taking such extreme chances and start coming home every night for dinner. As any seasoned moviegoer knows, cops making statements like that are just begging for trouble.
Sure enough, trouble finds him when his partner, ready to spill the beans about departmental embezzlement of retirement funds, is murdered and Roman becomes the prime suspect. The film hits an awkward spot here, as the department turns against the heroic cop almost instantly. While the move is handy for the plot, it just doesn't wash. As a number of real- life police situations have shown, officers are generally given the benefit of doubt within the department even when their misdeeds are witnessed by many. The idea that Roman's fellow officers, knowing what kind of man he is, would turn against him based solely on shaky circumstantial evidence is patently unbelievable.
Realizing that his life is about to be destroyed by a lazy plot device, Roman makes a desperate move, taking hostages in the 20th floor Internal Affairs office. As a "Dog Day Afternoon" street scene develops, Roman insists he'll only speak with Chris Sabian (Spacey), another top hostage negotiator from a different precinct. Roman's logic is clear. Since any of the officers he knows could be involved in the embezzlement scheme and murder, the only chance he has of getting to the truth is by dealing with an outsider. But can he get Sabian to believe him and become an ally instead of an adversary?
"The Negotiator" works best during its middle section, as the mind-games between Roman, Sabian and the rest of the force are in full flower. Jackson gets the lion's share of the good scenes, tersely explaining Hostage Negotiation 101 to a patrolman trying to talk him down, and making Internal Affairs Inspector Niebaum (the late J.T. Walsh) sweat as he interrogates him while explaining how he can tell whether or not a man is lying simply by observing his eye movements.
Spacey has a ball as the tightly-wound Sabian, attempting to maintain a modicum of cool while trying to outthink both Roman and a lot of trigger- happy cops. Spacey's dark eyes radiate a keen intellect that enhances the palpable tension propelling the story.
As entertaining as Jackson and Spacey are, their characters would have been more involving had they been given some shading. Each actor establishes a tone for his character and essentially stays there for the entire film. Roman and Sabian are dynamic, but they seem defined solely by the film's extreme situation. Some insight on how these men became the way they are would have helped broaden the characters.
Two of the supporting hostages make a strong impression. The always entertaining Paul Giamatti is a hoot playing a snitch with a fatalistic loosey-goosey attitude, and Siobahn Fallon, the peculiar farm wife from "Men in Black," is fascinating as a secretary whose loyalties are maddeningly uncertain.
Of course, when dealing with a high-concept storyline, you have to figure out how to resolve the situation, and "The Negotiator" falters in this department, with plot contrivances and standard-issue action scenes diminishing the tension so carefully established before. Some major revelations are telegraphed earlier in the film, making the big surprises not all that surprising.
Despite its flaws, "The Negotiator" succeeds more than it fails, maintaining a satisfying level of tension for most of the film and providing a strong showcase for the contrasting acting styles of Jackson and Spacey. Had the filmmakers been as careful with the script as they were with the casting, this could have been a real beaut.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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