Scott is a special operations soldier known for his professionalism, expertise and ability to get results. After a brief spell at a training facility, he is called in with the FBI to investigate the kidnapping of the president's daughter. Quickly it becomes evident that the kidnappers do not realize who they have and the race is on to recover her before the media and her captors realize what is happening, throwing Scott into a deadly political game.
Whether it be the world of con-men, salesmen of filmmakers, David Mamet has an uncanny ability to write sharp screenplays that generally avoid cliché and raise the level of the film by his influence and so, as writer and director here, the film appeared to have potential to be very good. While I did really enjoy it, the film did have its weaknesses but, as is often the case, these are not in the areas where Mamet is traditionally strong. The plot starts very quickly and tough and continues at such a pace that I doubted it could keep it up but, although it dipped a bit at the midpoint, it quickly picked it up again. As a solid thriller the film delivers no real surprises and it's a measure of how cynical we are as a people to say that the idea of politicians manipulating events, the media and the voters for political gain does not so much count as a 'twist' as it does a given. However, Mamet's cynicism is well timed, as it comes at a time when belief in our politicians seems to be at a low and audiences will be likely to welcome the film's message that, although truth is often the first conflict of any action, it is never the only one.
As a result of this the plot loses a lot of its impact as it pretty much goes where you expect it to even if it does it in a very effective fashion. The plot also falls down in the detail and I was a little irritated by some of the areas that were not filled out. For example I didn't understand the full background to the girl's kidnapping as some details contradicted other details within the story. Also some situations and characters are given far too little time and detail to be able to make the impact that the film demands of them William H. Macy's character being the perfect example; he is meant to be the face of the conspiracy but has few lines until the end and, even then, you'll be none the wiser as to how he fits into the whole situation.
But for my money these issues were minor niggles in a film that was very involving, very enjoyable and very cool! The plot may be the stable stuff of the genre but the writing spices it up no end. The characters talk and carry themselves the way we all wise we could the dialogue is never really trite (well, the 'she's my daughter' scene was a bit corny) and is actually enjoyable to listen to as opposed to many thrillers where dialogue is often a way of explaining the action scenes! Mamet scores a double double in my eyes because I also thought his direction was unobtrusive but also very stylish and interesting. He doesn't use darkness much but he uses a sort of half-light very well to match the material, at times gradually moving his characters from light to dark as they talk. More surprising than the impressive stylistic touches was perhaps the moments of action, which Mamet delivers with real tension and pace not bad for a playwright!
Given the dialogue to work with, the majority of the cast do very well. I'm not a big fan of Val Kilmer and this film will hardly draw the crowds based on his name alone but he is actually pretty good here. Starting the film with a cold emotional delivery, Kilmer is very much the professional he needs to be and is unrelentingly tough and cool until the film demands he struggle with his direction and even then he manages it even if he is less convincing than the first half. Luke appears to have been given a normal rookie role but he is still good and makes a significant impact. Texada is barely used considering her role in the story and she matches the majority of the support cast in the way that she delivers the dialogue well but has little character behind the sharp words. The support are therefore a mixed bunch few have any real characters of substance but generally people like Macy, O'Neil and others all spouting tough dialogue is still worth seeing.
Overall this is not the best thriller ever but it is a very enjoyable one that greatly benefited from Mamet's positive work as both writer and director. The plot may be full of gaps but generally it keeps a great pace from the start to the sombre and satisfying finale. The cast all get plenty of good dialogue to deliver, even if it is only really Kilmer and Luke who get the chance to deliver a performance and generally the film is a very enjoyable, if unsurprising thriller.
Whether it be the world of con-men, salesmen of filmmakers, David Mamet has an uncanny ability to write sharp screenplays that generally avoid cliché and raise the level of the film by his influence and so, as writer and director here, the film appeared to have potential to be very good. While I did really enjoy it, the film did have its weaknesses but, as is often the case, these are not in the areas where Mamet is traditionally strong. The plot starts very quickly and tough and continues at such a pace that I doubted it could keep it up but, although it dipped a bit at the midpoint, it quickly picked it up again. As a solid thriller the film delivers no real surprises and it's a measure of how cynical we are as a people to say that the idea of politicians manipulating events, the media and the voters for political gain does not so much count as a 'twist' as it does a given. However, Mamet's cynicism is well timed, as it comes at a time when belief in our politicians seems to be at a low and audiences will be likely to welcome the film's message that, although truth is often the first conflict of any action, it is never the only one.
As a result of this the plot loses a lot of its impact as it pretty much goes where you expect it to even if it does it in a very effective fashion. The plot also falls down in the detail and I was a little irritated by some of the areas that were not filled out. For example I didn't understand the full background to the girl's kidnapping as some details contradicted other details within the story. Also some situations and characters are given far too little time and detail to be able to make the impact that the film demands of them William H. Macy's character being the perfect example; he is meant to be the face of the conspiracy but has few lines until the end and, even then, you'll be none the wiser as to how he fits into the whole situation.
But for my money these issues were minor niggles in a film that was very involving, very enjoyable and very cool! The plot may be the stable stuff of the genre but the writing spices it up no end. The characters talk and carry themselves the way we all wise we could the dialogue is never really trite (well, the 'she's my daughter' scene was a bit corny) and is actually enjoyable to listen to as opposed to many thrillers where dialogue is often a way of explaining the action scenes! Mamet scores a double double in my eyes because I also thought his direction was unobtrusive but also very stylish and interesting. He doesn't use darkness much but he uses a sort of half-light very well to match the material, at times gradually moving his characters from light to dark as they talk. More surprising than the impressive stylistic touches was perhaps the moments of action, which Mamet delivers with real tension and pace not bad for a playwright!
Given the dialogue to work with, the majority of the cast do very well. I'm not a big fan of Val Kilmer and this film will hardly draw the crowds based on his name alone but he is actually pretty good here. Starting the film with a cold emotional delivery, Kilmer is very much the professional he needs to be and is unrelentingly tough and cool until the film demands he struggle with his direction and even then he manages it even if he is less convincing than the first half. Luke appears to have been given a normal rookie role but he is still good and makes a significant impact. Texada is barely used considering her role in the story and she matches the majority of the support cast in the way that she delivers the dialogue well but has little character behind the sharp words. The support are therefore a mixed bunch few have any real characters of substance but generally people like Macy, O'Neil and others all spouting tough dialogue is still worth seeing.
Overall this is not the best thriller ever but it is a very enjoyable one that greatly benefited from Mamet's positive work as both writer and director. The plot may be full of gaps but generally it keeps a great pace from the start to the sombre and satisfying finale. The cast all get plenty of good dialogue to deliver, even if it is only really Kilmer and Luke who get the chance to deliver a performance and generally the film is a very enjoyable, if unsurprising thriller.