Payback (1999)
Director: Brian Helgeland Cast: Mel Gibson, Maria Bello, Gregg Henry, James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, David Paymer, Deborah Kara Unger Screenplay: Terry Hayes, Brian Helgeland Producers: Bruce Davey, Mel Gibson Runtime: 102 min. US Distribution: Paramount Rated R: strong violence, language, drug use, sex
Copyright 1998 Nathaniel R. Atcheson
I don't like the concept of theatrical trailers: they give the audience unrealistic expectations. More importantly, though, they tend to mislead viewers. This is the case with Payback, an intensely violent and sarcastic film about a man who just isn't nice at all. The previews make Payback look like a piece of cynical fluff, in which Mel Gibson struts around casting one-liners at his leisure, and occasionally shooting bad guys in a goofy and trivial way. The previews may get people in the theater, but at least ten people at my screening left long before the credits rolled. So, consider my warning: Payback is not a lighthearted Friday night at the movies.
With that said, I can admit that Payback is not a bad movie. True, it is very dark -- director/co-writer Brian Helgeland clearly has an aversion to overhead lighting. And it's often ridiculously violent; aside from a several sadomasochistic sex segments, we get to see numerous people undergo violent deaths from multiple angles. And Mel Gibson gets his feet crushed by a psycho with a framing hammer. It's never a pleasant film: the characters are more reprehensible than likable, and most of them enjoy inflicting pain on others. There are some funny parts, but it's not a funny film on the whole. Payback is well-made, but it left me feeling pretty drab.
The film is based on a novel called The Hunter, which spawned the 1967 film Point Blank. In Payback, Gibson plays a crook named Porter (don't ask about his first name). The film opens with Porter lying unconscious on a table, as someone removes a couple of bullets from his back with a pair of pliers. "Not many people know what their life's worth," he says in a voice-over. "I do. Seventy grand. That's what they took from me, and that's what I'm gonna get back." That statement basically sums up the entire film: Porter does everything he can (and with as much indifference as possible) to get his money back.
There are a lot of colorful characters we get to meet along the way; the first one is Porter's wife (Deborah Kara Unger), a heroin addict. In a flashback, we learn that she betrayed her husband with the help of a slimeball named Val (Gregg Henry). In present time, Porter's main target is Val, but when he learns that the money Val stole went to a crime syndicate, Porter must travel higher up the ladder, and eventually deal with the head guy (Kris Kristofferson). Porter's love interest is a prostitute (Maria Bello) with whom he has a seedy past. Other actors featured in prominent roles are James Coburn (as one of the many crime bosses) and David Paymer (as a low-life associating with a couple of crooked cops).
The rules you can use in detecting the fate of a character are as follows: 1) if female, she's a hooker or a drug addict, and will usually end up beaten severely; 2) if male, he's a crime lord or a drug dealer who will eventually betray Porter (if he hasn't already) and get shot multiple times or blown to pieces with lots of explosives. It's not meant to be pleasant; it is, after all, a crime thriller about bad people. But when your "good" guy is the meanest of a group of really mean dudes, you need to find his one good trait and exploit it. That's the main problem with Payback: I was never given much of a reason to like Porter.
The problem isn't in Gibson's performance; in fact, he's really quite good, and plays the character stone-faced and without a glimpse of sympathy. He's a burn-out of the worst kind -- the kind who places no value on human life. The subplot with his girlfriend is clearly intended to make him a little more human; Bello is effective in the female role, but the relationship never really develops and therefore doesn't resonate the way it needs to. It's not that Porter is a loathsome guy: there are times when he'll win you over. It's just the rest of the time, when he simply shoots people because they're standing in his way, when you'll think twice about really sympathizing with him and his financial issues.
The preview does promise comedy, and I'll admit that there are a few scenes that had me exploding with laughter. One scene, near the beginning, has Porter staring into a mirror, practicing his smile so he can fit in with the rest of the human race. The scene in which Porter confronts Mr. Fairfax (the Coburn character) is truly hilarious, especially when Fairfax finds out that Porter just wants $70,000. "Hell, my suits cost more than that!" he shouts as Porter makes his way out. There's a superb running joke that Porter keeps having to correct people about the amount of money he wants (everyone thinks it's $130,000). And then there's the S&M subplot, featuring a surly Asian prostitute (Lucy Alexis Liu) that is both hilarious and brutal.
But when you're not laughing, you'll probably just be cringing from all the violence the characters endure. I read that the test screenings had people saying the film was too dark, and that Helgeland walked away from the project when the studio ordered that some scenes be re-shot. I can't imagine the picture being more dark than it is, but I suppose it's also possible that Helgeland's original cut made Porter a more likable guy. And even though the theatrical trailers make the film look like an exercise in action-comedy, the final version isn't a complete failure -- it has most of the right elements, and Helgeland does a great job with style and tone. But in a movie where the hero is more terrifying than the bad guys, there better be a darn good reason to like him. I gave up trying about half way through.
Psychosis Rating: 6/10
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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