CAUGHT
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: undetermined Running Length: 1:59 MPAA Classification: R (Sex, nudity, violence, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Edward James Olmos, Maria Conchita Alonso, Arie Verveen, Bitty Schram, Steven Schub Director: Robert M. Young Producer: Richard Brick, Irwin Young Screenplay: Edward Pomerantz based on his novel, INTO IT Cinematography: Michael Barrow Music: Chris Botti
Because it lacks a precise ideological agenda, CAUGHT is something of a departure for veteran director Robert M. Young (NOTHING BUT A MAN..., DOMINICK AND EUGENE, SHORT EYES), a film maker known for socially and politically-motivated dramas. In fact, this is little more than an erotic, contemporary tale that plays like a Greek tragedy (OEDIPUS, to be exact). CAUGHT crossections a dysfunctional family whose uncomfortable stability is disturbed by the introduction of an outsider.
That outsider is Nick (Arie Verveen), a homeless Irish drifter trying to survive on the streets of Jersey City. Luck is with Nick, for when he ducks into a fish store to escape the police, the owners, Joe (Edward James Olmos) and his wife, Betty (Maria Conchita Alonso), take pity on him. They offer him a room, board, and $80 a week to work as Joe's assistant. Nick accepts, not intending to stay for long. But days turn into weeks, then months, and, soon, the young Irishman is more dear to Joe and Betty than their real son, Danny (Steven Schub), a failed standup comic who lives in Los Angeles.
Nick treats Joe like the father he never knew, but his feelings for Betty are more complex. Although he regards her as a mother at the outset, he is powerless to stop a growing attraction. Eventually, after one-too-many moments of hightened sexual awareness, their relationship is consummated. From that point on, Nick and Betty are all over each other at every opportunity. A further complication arises when Danny returns home with a wife and son to find that his place has been usurped.
CAUGHT examines psychological and emotional family bonds as they apply to the "real" son and the "adopted" one. The film also explores the most intense kind of sibling rivalry, a jealousy that is rooted in Oedipal impulses. Danny has many reasons to hate Nick, but he doesn't go over the edge until he recognizes the sexual nature of Nick and Betty's relationship.
The final scenes close the story in an unforgettably stark manner. Although a relentless premonition of doom hangs over this picture, we're still not quite prepared for the brutal twist of events that marks CAUGHT's climax. Even though the movie's overall arc is somewhat predictable, and occasionally melodramatic, it's impossible to deny the cumulative impact.
CAUGHT contains isolated moments of visual poetry that accomplish for fish displays what EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN did for food preparation. Joe teaches Nick the tricks of boning shad and placing snapper on ice in a manner that offers the greatest customer appeal. In his words, "it's a gimmick -- a gimmick and an art." Joe loves selling fish -- for him, it's more of a passion than a profession, and Nick's enthusiasm for it forms the basis of their relationship.
Edward James Olmos and Maria Conchita Alonso, both of whom worked with Young in ROOSTERS, are in fine form. Alonso radiates sexuality, and many of her scenes with newcomer Arie Verveen smolder, even when the two are fully clothed. Steven Schub occasionally overplays his bitterness, but, in general, his portrayal of Danny is a study of grief and anger born through personal and professional failure.
CAUGHT opens and closes with an image of fish caught in a net, struggling to escape. It's an apt metaphor, since all the characters in this film are trapped by fate in one way or another. Due primarily to its dark, unsettling tone, CAUGHT has yet to capture a distributor. Hopefully, this is only a temporary condition, because thought-provoking tragedy like this deserves a place in American cinema.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin (or) http://www2.cybernex.net/~berardin
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