The
term “formula film making” usually has negative connotations - it
does for me, at any rate, but what we have here is the epitome of
formula. There isn't a scene in this film that makes me think “wow!
What an original angle/plot arc/cut/etc” but it still works
brilliantly as a well oiled, tried and tested machine rather than
something more innovative and quirky.
We
follow Harrison Ford (in one of his best non sci-fi roles) and Tommy
Lee Jones (perfectly cast and as great as ever) as a doctor who's
been falsely accused of murdering his wife, and the agent tasked with
finding him. As the film progresses Ford evades the police and
simultaneously begins to solve his wife's murder, leaving clues for
Jones (who is extremely capable, as are many of his men, which is
refreshing) as he goes. Though the two leads only meet briefly, Jones
is smart enough to get a good handle on Ford's character, and the two
build an interesting sort of long distance relationship that's
honestly pretty thrilling to see come to it's conclusion, as the two
finally meet and Jones tells Ford that now they can rest. I love the
flip (or rather dig down) in his character here, as their first words
to one another are:
Ford:
“I didn't kill my wife.”
Jones:
“I don't care.”
And that was ad libbed - isn't that great?
The
plot involves lots of evasive close calls and tension, and while this
is formulaic, it's done so well here that I can't fault it. For much
of the movie I was thinking “ah, but the murderer isn't being very
well fleshed out or introduced to our character, that's bad” but
the twist towards the end got me and I rescinded my earlier brain
comment.
What
I like most about this thriller is that it's intelligent - character
and plot, rather than action, drive the story forward, and it
crackles with adrenalin as it does so. Tension is built and plot
points are revealed so expertly that one could pause the film, go
warm up some spaghetti bolognese (um... this is just an example), and
come back to continue it, and be completely sucked back into it's world
within a few minutes (so much so that one may forget about one's spag
bol, let it get cold, then curse it back into the oven with some
fresh cheese on top later on). The minor players are characterised
really well too (and without them falling into cliché holes), even
when they only have a few minutes of screen time.
An
all-round belter of a thriller. It's a little over two hours, but I
wish it was longer. A fast pace, clipped dialogue and solid acting
makes this one of my favourite films of it's genre.
The Fugitive: 81.0