FACE/OFF (1997)
Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary; Produced by David Permut, Barrie Osborne, Terence Chang Actors: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon Directed by John Woo
I had been worried about this film ever since I heard the plot. It's PREPOSTEROUS! Who would buy into such a crazy idea without either being confused or turned off by its ridiculous nature? Given the terribly disappointing career in Hollywood so far for John Woo, I had enough reason to keep a low expectation for "Face/Off." Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the final product. The concept is still preposterous, but everything else is quite well done.
The movie opens with an assassination attempt 6 years ago that results in FBI agent Sean Archer's(John Travolta) little son Michael. It becomes the driving force for Archer to pursue the worst of the worst terrorist Castor Troy(Nicolas Cage). In a breath-taking confrontation within the first half hour of the film, Troy is captured, but remains in a coma. In order to dig out the secret hiding place of a time bomb set by Troy earlier, Archer agrees, with hesitation, to switch faces with Troy to get the information out of Troy's kid brother Poullex in jail. Well, we know Troy would wake up and turn the table on Archer and before you know it, the trap-setter becomes the trapped.
Naturally, Archer is in complete hell wearing his worst enemy's face, becoming the jailed criminal, knowing Troy is now FBI official and his wife's husband. He does manage to escape the maximum security facility and we anticipate an explosive showdown between these two men. I was not disappointed.
Many details in the plot is very far-fetched and illogical. The concept of face-switching is medically IMPOSSIBLE. Travolta and Cage have very different body characteristics which should be easily spotted by Archer's wife (Joan Allen). There is no way for Troy to know the daily routine work of FBI and fool all his associates. Thankfully, the surgical procedure of ripping off one face and putting it onto another person is done as vaguely as possible to avoid being too silly. Surprisingly, the flow of the movie does not stumble over the vast implausibility due to the gripping performances from Travolta and Cage, who sucessfully imitate each other's characteristics in acting within the context of the story. The audience are caught in concerns for the characters and thus are willing to forgive the holes in the plot.
Contrast to almost every big-budget action movie in recent years, "Face/Off" spends numerous quiet moments to develop the story and dig the characters minds, especially the frustration and fear in Archer that not only he's wearing Troy's face, but he's slowly becoming Troy inside too. The characters are interesting because they are not rushed from one fight scenes from another. Many small aspects of the film are not treated with the simplistic formulas. Archer's family problems, Troy's family problems, honorable thieves and crooked law enforcement, evil thieves and good law enforcement, Archer's love for his wife, Troy's affection for his kid brother, and the tangled relationship among Troy's ex-girlfriend (played by Gina Gershon), her brother and her small son. The emotional drama feels realistic without the cheesiness and stupidity of "Con Air". The movie is full of small details that reveal the inner conflicts and motivations of the characters. Cool and neat.
Credit to the writers Werb and Colleary, the romance of two weary adults, Archer and his wife Eve, is presented with maturity and delicate balance. Joan Allen has provided the anchor of sanity to save the film from going 'way over the top and successfully reduced the sense of disbelief and ridiculousness in the audience. Travolta tends to overact a little in Troy's role and makes his character more cartoonish than scary, but the occasional flicks of goodness in him rings true and believable. Cage is refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable as the bad guy in the first half hour of the movie and is reasonably vulnerable and strong as the trapped Archer.
While the drama of "Face/Off" is intriguing, the action sequences are absolutely first-rate (except for the fist fight at the very end) and stomach turning. The first airplance chasing scene and the last boat chasing scene are textbook perfection in action filmmaking, while the church confrontation is most poetic and reminds me the most of the passionate, sentimental and heart-wrecking films John Woo had done in Hong Kong. Although gunfight scenes are abundant in this movie, I don't feel excessiveness as I did watching "Hard-Boiled" because they are nicely paced with quiet moments and human interactions. The characters and emotional intensity in the action scenes make them engaging and meaningful. The master demonstrates *how* a real action movie should be done with passions and fury and pain. It's not all about how balletic the actors move with 2 guns in hand, but more about the rage and hurt and passion and motives of the players involved.
On a last note, I realized recently that the multiple Mexican standoff can be dated back to the days of 20's and 30's pulp detective stories, for it is repeatedly used in every other short story by Raymond Chandler. I'll be damned if Werb and Colleary never read Chandler and borrowed more than a little spirit from his passionate, sentimental and violent tales.
"Face/Off" runs 2 hours and 10 minutes, which does not feel long at all, at least to me. In fact I didn't want the film to end. Again, it proves that realistic characters and human emotions can override implausibility in plot devices. Maybe I can finally say John Woo has made the transition to Hollywood. Although American audience may not be ready to accept his ideals and moral obsession with male bonding, friendship and love, loyalty and betray themes derived from Chinese chivalry stories, he still can successfully incorporate his uniquely imaginative and innovative style with Hollywood good screenplays. Welcome back.
It's a wild ride. I give it a B.
jun
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