STRIKING DISTANCE
A film review by Jon Webb
Copyright 1993 Jon Webb
This is the film whose working title was THREE RIVERS when it was made in Pittsburgh some months ago. I remember that the city offered extremely good cooperation during the making of this film; they willingly shut down streets, closed tunnels and bridges, at the convenience of the filmmakers.
All the cooperation paid off. The film is like an advertisement for Pittsburgh; it conveys a wholly different image from the conventional one of a worn-out steel town. Pittsburgh is clean, a city of rivers. We should be able to use this film to recruit new faculty and students.
The orientation of the film, toward's Pittsburgh's rivers, is strong enough to make one think of Pittsburgh differently. It seems like we all should have boats, to give the impressive Pittsburgh Rescue Force something to do.
The plot is the obvious cop-movie plot. A policeman has suffered damage in the past as a result of his encounter with evil. He has been weakened to his very soul. He must confront the evil again; will he triumph.
There's very little surprise in the film, though I suppose the ending qualifies. A few scenes were oddly filmed, and for that reason striking: for example, the shot of the three people tied to chairs, and the drowning scene at the end. It's something of a fresh view.
But basically, this is a Bruce Willis film, with Bruce using brutality softened by sarcastic quips to get his way, which is always right.
-- J
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