We had such a wonderful time watching the performance of The Rich Nathanson Vanity Project that we decided to launch straight into the movie and skip the Nancy Sinatra Preshow Entertainment.
Well, I'm not egotistical enough to review my own tape, so I won't. (You weren't there? We killed!)
So, onto the movie. June's Random Movie was:
PRIMAL FEAR.
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of gag movies. Movies that hinge on that final twist. You know, PLANET OF THE APES (the telling, not the retelling), BOYS FROM BRAZIL (we saw that last month), THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE OTHERS. Short story movies that were arguably made into long form. Cool twists. And I'm not talking about Luke, I am your father crap. Hell, I even love ZARDOZ and I never even saw it.
As you may have guessed, PRIMAL FEAR is one of these movies. Anchored by an amazing performance by Edward Norton, PF moves from one scene to the next without a wasted frame. This film can be studied scene by scene for what each scene does subtexturally (is that a word?). And believe me. I know. For at the risk of sounding too geeky, I did just that. Watched the movie one scene at a time and broke it down into text and subtext. In fairness, I wasn't doing it for fun. I was writing something similar and it really helped. But the by-product of the exercise made me really appreciate this movie.
Other cast members include Richard Gere (he's the star, but Eddie steals the show), Laura Linney, Alfre Woodard, Terry "The Stepfather" O'Quinn, Steven Bauer, Frances McDormand, and Frasier's dad before he got shot and couldn't walk. It's directed by Gregory Hoblit, who did many HILL STREET BLUES episodes before doing PF. Man, for a first film, he kicked some ass. I was so eager to see his follow-up film, FALLEN. But unfortunately, it blew. I still think Hoblit knows what he's doing and is a terrific director.
Anyway, I can't give too much away, since it would be unfair if you haven't seen it. But let's just say this: Some parts are a bit trite, even hack-y. Yet, it doesn't matter. You get sucked in. And for those of us who enjoy getting sucked in, and you know who you are, this is a movie for you.
