BAD COMPANY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.8
Date Released: 1/20/95 Running Length: 1:48 Rated: R (Violence, sex, language)
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Barkin, Frank Langella, Gia Carides, Michael Beach, David Ogden Stiers Director: Damian Harris Producers: Amedeo Ursini and Jeffrey Chernov Screenplay: Ross Thomas Cinematography: Jack N. Green Music: Carter Burwell Released by Touchstone Pictures
There's one fundamental question that has to be asked about films like BAD COMPANY: is the script one step ahead of the audience, or is it the other way around? In large part, the answer determines whether suspense mysteries are pulse-pounding or pedantic. In this case, it's something of a mixed bag. For, while director Damian Harris shows aptitude with a kind of picture that's oh-so-easy to mess up, his film occasionally moves too slowly to sustain tension. There are times when guessing what's around the corner becomes secondary to how long it actually takes to make the turn.
With one foot in the noir camp and the other in the modern-day world of covert operations, BAD COMPANY builds its cleverly-layered plot around two central characters. The first, Nelson Crowe (Laurence Fishburne) is an ex-CIA agent with a healthy sexual appetite, an IQ of 141, and a personality that's slightly paranoid. The other, Margaret Wells (Ellen Barkin), aka the "Snow Queen", is Nelson's kind of woman--equally hard and soft, and a graduate from the same femme fatale class as last seductress Linda Fiorentino.
Invoking Fiorentino's name immediately calls to mind John Dahl, and BAD COMPANY is his sort of movie. Although lacking the full atmospheric richness of, say, a RED ROCK WEST, the film nevertheless possesses a stylish appeal. Nasty characters always make for delicious viewing, especially when they attempt to outplot each other. The main difference between Dahl and Harris, however, is that while the former has his actors approach their roles with tongues planted in cheek, Fishburne and Barkin play it straight--sometimes too straight.
As is explained in a terse introductory section, Nelson was riffed from the CIA after $50,000 in gold vanished while in his care. With his field of job options limited, Nelson applies to an outfit called the "Tool Shed", a group of skilled ex-agents who use bribery and blackmail to further the goals of their wealthy clients. The Shed is run by Vic Grimes (Frank Langella), a hard-nosed cynic with a passion for fishing, and Margaret Wells. Together, the two hire Nelson and, after a quick baptism involving a video camera and a revealing tape, he's given his first assignment: corrupt a superior court judge (David Ogden Stiers).
Despite its share of delectable moments, BAD COMPANY is far from the perfect double-cross thriller. Borrowing heavily from dozens of previous entries, this movie stirs the mix to arrive at something that alternates between playfully fresh and poorly-paced. BAD COMPANY frequently sacrifices character development for plot twists, but that's arguably the right choice--force of personality, as embodied by Fishburne and Barkin, is often sufficient. Certainly, film noir doesn't appeal to everyone, but for those that enjoy this sort of darkly convoluted plot, BAD COMPANY isn't as unpleasant as its title might suggest.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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