POINT OF NO RETURN
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Date Released: 3/19/93 Running Length: 1:48 Rated: R (Violence, language, sexual situations)
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney,
Anne Bancroft, Harvey Keitel
Director: John Badham
Producer: Art Linson
Screenplay: Robert Getchell and Alexander Seros based on
Luc Besson's LA FEMME NIKITA
Music: Hans Zimmer
Released by Warner Brothers Pictures
Maggie (Bridget Fonda) is a strung-out member of a gang bent on robbing a drugstore to get their fixes. Things go wrong, the cops show up, and a fierce gunfight ensues. In the aftermath, a police officer finds Maggie cowering in a corner. Without hesitation, she shoots him in the head. This earns her a death sentence which is commuted - on condition that she agree to work for "The Government" in a secret capacity as an assassin. Her mentor in this new training is Bob (Gabriel Byrne), who, after she shows uncooperative tendencies, informs her that if she doesn't begin to apply herself, the result will be a bullet through her brain. Maggie gets the message and soon becomes one of the most promising trainees.
Let me begin by making it clear that I have no particular prejudice for or against remakes, whether they be of American or foreign films. I generally try to judge the movie on its own merits as well as making the inevitable comparisons to its precursor. I liked SOMMERSBY, for example, because it was an entertaining and enjoyable story, despite the fact that it made some significant changes from THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE. I disliked THE VANISHING, because it took a taunt, effective ending and muted it Hollywood-style, leaving behind a husk that was laughably absurd.
POINT OF NO RETURN makes few changes from LA FEMME NIKITA. In fact, the American version is so close to the French that in many cases it's more like a translation than a remake (camera angles and dialogue are frequently identical). Director John Badham (STAKEOUT) obviously made a detailed study of the original before embarking on the remake. While the details of the last caper are changed and the ending has been slightly manicured, there are no wholesale alterations. Through the entire movie, up to and including the closing scenes, the spirit of the original has been kept intact. There are no Hollywood-induced embellishments. For the most part, POINT OF NO RETURN plays like LA FEMME NIKITA in English.
One of the reasons that POINT OF NO RETURN is so enjoyable is that it's like none of the recent crop of thrillers, all of which seem to involve some apparently-benign outside force infiltrating a home or office. POINT OF NO RETURN is fresh, featuring a script with a few twists and turns (although no surprises for those who have seen NIKITA) and a heroine who is at the same time sympathetic and murderous.
While some of the direction and camerawork in POINT OF NO RETURN are inferior to those of NIKITA, the casting of Bridget Fonda is an excellent move. Ms. Fonda brings more humanity and regret to Maggie than Anne Parillaud does to Nikita. Maggie is distraught at each killing she participates in; it takes Nikita longer for the effects of her job to wear her down. That's not to say that Fonda is better in the role, simply that the changes give the audience a slightly different perspective on the character.
Gabriel Byrne is adequate as Bob, but Dermot Mulroney is weak. I never bought the relationship between his J. P. and Maggie. At its best, it's contrived; at its worst, it's completely implausible. Mulroney does nothing to flesh out his character. He is, without a doubt, the weak spot of POINT OF NO RETURN, even as Harvey Keitel's deadpan performance as Victor the Cleaner is the high point.
Because of the closeness of the two films, it's difficult to rate POINT OF NO RETURN much differently than NIKITA. Both tell a fun (if completely implausible) story with lots of violence and action. POINT OF NO RETURN boasts Bridget Fonda's more-humanized assassin; NIKITA has crisper direction and the decisive advantage of being "the original." Those who have not seen the French version will enjoy the remake. Those who watched - and liked - NIKITA will probably be pleasantly surprised at the faithfulness of POINT OF NO RETURN to its inspiration.
Rating: 8.4 (B+, ***)
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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