FACE/OFF
A film review by Ted Prigge
Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: John Woo Writers: Mike Webb and Michael Colleary Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Dominique Swain, Gina Gershon, Alessando Nivola, Nick Cassavetes, Harve Presnell, John Carrol Lynch, CCH Pounder, Margaret Cho
I had only seen one John Woo film before this and that was "Broken Arrow." Not a bad film (I give it about two and a half stars) but nothing great. But what I noticed was Woo dealt with a great topic - that being nuclear warfare. And while he didn't really get too into it (although I guess one could argue that we really need to treat these pilots who have to take care of these nuclear bombs with care and at least some respect), he had a lot of action. And the action overtook the idea he had presented and made it into only a fair film. But with "Face/Off," he wonderfully balances bloodbaths with plot and depth. Not a bad move.
"Face/Off" is a film about identity, irony and obsession. It deals with the obsessions of an FBI man, Sean Archer (John Travolta), with a maniacal criminal, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), who had killed his son in a sniper attack on him. Six years later, Archer finally captures him in a beautifully executed action sequence which winds Troy in a coma and probably death. Archer revels in the fact that he can quit the bureau and promises his wife (Joan Allen), whom he has secluded from his life for the past six years that everything will be better.
But the thing is before the big capture, Troy planted a huge bomb somewhere that could ignite a city block. The only people who know where it is is Troy, but he's in a coma, and his brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), a paranoid little man who was captured easily in the big opening bloodbath. Pollux will only tell his brother so a surgeon comes in and tells Archer about an operation that could have him switching faces with Troy and duplicating his voice and whatnot. This is a totally ridiculous proposition but, to Woo's credit, he handles it at least semi-believably, as long as the viewer suspends their imagination. Archer doesn't really want to, since he promised his wife a new life, but he's been so obsessed with him that he's the only man who knows him perfectly. So he does it and goes to prison to get the location of the bomb. Then Troy wakes up...
Troy takes his identity and leads his life while Archer (now Cage) is stuck in a bizarro prison. Meanwhile, Troy (now Travolta) is having sex with his wife and becoming more or less of a father figure to his daughter (the new Lolita, Dominique Swain), who has become someone who likes to switch her clothes and identity about thrice a day.
There is surprising depth to the film, which is mired in ironic scenes. For instance, Archer has to confront many people he put away when he was who he was before and two people he pushed around in his pursuit of Troy. And in one of the best scenes in the film, Troy visits Archer's son's grave with his wife, knowing he had accidentally killed him. He feels bad about it, since it was an accident, and we see it on Travolta's face brilliantly. There are many surprises in the film, so I will not divulge any more of the plot.
There are some problems with it though. For one thing, it runs way too long (Roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes, with 10 minutes of previews). And the final scene is very sappy and doesn't mesh well with the film, which is very cool.
But the good things weigh out the bad about 100:1. There are enigmatic bloodbaths, wild scenes, a huge mexican standoff in a tiny, well-lit church, and even a grandiose battle scene orchestrated to "Over the Rainbow." And the acting is awesome. Allen is wonderful as the removed wife who doesn't know what to make of her husband acting up and all sexy and stuff. And Swain gets to play an interesting character who is far and away from the usual removed daughter. And Gina Gershon and new director Nick Cassavetes are amazing as an amoral brother and sister pair.
But it is Travolta and Cage who shine acting-wise. They both have to play themselves and they do it nicely. Cage gets to overact in the beginning then has to become the brooding, depressed and confused Archer after a half hour or so. And Travolta gets to play the baddie for most of the film, which is fun 'cause he's so good at it.
John Woo has finally made a wonderful film which has depth and wild action sequences which are a wonder to watch and fun to laugh with. Some of the stunts are actually jaw-droppingly cool. While many dumb action films live up to their name and are totally stupid, this one has a brain AND a nervous system.
MY RATING (out of 5): ***1/2
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