(Work those Summer Whites, Kevin baby…)
CAST: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Dalton Thompson, Iman,
DIRECTOR: Roger Donaldosn
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and rather unfortunate love triangles straight ahead…
In our last review of THE TOURIST, we discussed just how flaccid the chemistry was between Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It was like watching two magazine covers trying in vain to mate. Before that, though, we discussed in our review for AGAINST ALL ODDS (review # 207) that Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward pretty much ignited the screen with their love (and lust) connection - so much so that it pretty much made the movie. Fortunately, the screen couple of our latest review have more in common with Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward, and much less with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Thank. God.
In NO WAY OUT, Kevin Costner plays Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell, an officer in the U.S. Navy who is posted to the Pentagon. There, he is assigned to work as a liaison for the Secretary of Defense, David Bryce (Gene Hackman). Assisting Tom in his duties is college pal Scott Pritchard (Will Patton), who is also Bryce’s right-hand man. So far, so conflict-free, right? Well, not for long.
Turns out the last time Tom was in D.C., he attended a party thrown by Bryce and his cronies, which is where they met for the first time. But if Bryce was the most exciting person Tom met during that evening, there wouldn’t be a movie. Nope, Tom also meets the vivacious and alluringly unpredictable Susan Atwell (Sean Young). Remember how I mentioned in our review of AGAINST ALL ODDS that you can tell a couple has very strong chemistry when you can’t wait for them to rip each other’s clothes off? Well, let’s just say we don’t have to wait too long for that to happen here.
Sure enough, Tom and Susan get bored with the old farts yukking and boozing it up - and decide to take off in a limo. “Show us the Monuments!” barks Susan to the limo driver - right before going down on Tom and basically proving that the only Monument she’s interested in is the one in his pants. In other words, this is one of the better first dates in the history of Western Civilization. If not the best.
Flash forward a few months, and Tom’s got his new job as Bryce’s liaison and a cushy new posting in our nation’s capital. And, just to make everything perfect, he reconnects with Susan and, well, let’s just say that the Fuck-a-thon continues as if that, ahem, “break in service” never happened. If there were such a thing as Frequent Fucker Miles, Tom and Susan would never have to pay to fly anywhere ever again.
All in all, everything’s peach right? Wrong. See, there’s one little problem in this equation. Turns out that our lovely Susan is also… David Bryce’s mistress. Yup. That’s right. Tom is fucking his boss’s floozy. Which is probably one of the more awkward situations in the History of Western Civilization. And pretty much proves the adage that one should not play with fire - or his boss’s mistress.
Sure enough, Bryce begins to suspect that Susan is seeing someone else - and confronts her about it. Let’s just say this tete-a-tete ends quite badly. For Ms. Atwell and a lovely plate-glass dining room table, that is.
To cover up his accidentally killing of Susan, Bryce and his loyal lapdog Scott engineer a cover story that she was seeing a Russian spy - a mole in the Pentagon that is now an urban legend - and that this person was the one who killed her. Before you know it, the CID and Pentagon authorities begin a manhunt with the intent of uncovering who her secret lover is.
Damn. I hate it when that happens. And so does Tom, who is bewildered by this turn of events. I mean, just the other day he had it made: a great posting, a glamorous job, and sexy chick that could suck the paint off a fire hydrant. And now, he’s the target of a fabricated witch-hunt. Or, more appropriately, mole-hunt. Meanwhile, Scott employs some ruthless thugs to find out who else knew about Susan’s tryst with Bryce - and silence them forever.
Will Tom be able to prove his innocence? Will he convince his pursuers that Bryce was the actual killer of Susan? How far will Scott go to try to pin the blame on someone else? What happens when Scott learns that Susan’s friend Nina (Iman) knew all about her affair with Bryce? Will Scott’s thugs go after Nina, too? Or will Tom save her? And how will he prove that Susan was Bryce’s mistress? Why doesn’t he just go to the National Enquirer and get this taken care of once and for all?
I mean, once Billy Joe Bob and Ethel Mae in Arkansas read that the Secretary of Defense was screwing a DC party girl, the cat’s out of the bag, right? And as far as I’m concerned, Tom and Nina can just ride off into the sunset.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I remember the first time I saw NO WAY OUT - and vividly recall just how much it put me on the edge of my seat. A loose remake of the THE BIG CLOCK (1957), this is a movie that Alfred Hitchcock himself would have been proud of. It has also aged quite well, remaining just as suspenseful, sexy, and kinetic as the first time I saw it way back when.
Much of how strongly NO WAY OUT has stood the test of time is the power of it’s central premise: an innocent, ordinary man thrown into extraordinary circumstances. It’s such a timeless hook that it can almost save otherwise pedestrian fare like THE TOURIST. Done correctly and powerfully, it can turn a film into a classic - as in the case of NO WAY OUT.
It helps considerably that the cast is perfect. Many people knock Kevin Costner for his acting abilities. I, however, am not one of them. Sure, he doesn’t fare as well when he strikes out beyond his area of expertise - which is playing likable and attractive “everymen.” But with Tom Farrell, Costner has one of his best roles. This is a guy that you find time and again in the military: smart, handsome, crafty, but also thoroughly decent and straightforward. Someone who likes rules - but also likes to subvert them occasionally. As in his affair with Susan.
Speaking of Susan, Sean Young bursts onto the scene like an alluring force of nature and makes the most of her brief screen time. Young so effectively essays this vibrant, exciting, totally hypnotic woman, that after Susan’s accidental death, her presence hangs over the proceedings like a ghost. This is also because Susan and Tom have made such a great couple, that when the relationship is brutally cut short, we end up missing it for the rest of the film. The character of Susan Atwell is also a bit tricky, because Young has very little time to engage the audience and her two love interests before she disappears from the action - while actually kickstarting it, at the same time. She also has to show all of Susan’s sides within that short period: wild and fun-loving; cool and pragmatic; soulful and sensitive. And she does it smashingly. You understand why Tom and Bryce would be entranced by her.
Speaking of Bryce, Gene Hackman delivers one of his most interesting characters. Confident and relentless on the surface, Bryce’s weakness, like many powerful men, is a woman. After Susan’s death, we see another side to Bryce - that of a lost little boy who finds himself in a hole that he can’t dig out of on his own. Hackman actually manages to generate a degree of sympathy from us, despite his questionable actions.
Speaking of Bryce’s help, Scott Pritchard is an equally compelling character, and Will Patton brings a chilling resolve to the role. This is a guy who only cares about the bottom line - and the bottom line is keeping David Bryce’s name away from Susan’s death. The lengths that Scott is willing to do this (sending his thugs after Tom, Nina, and anyone else who may have known about Bryce’s affair with Susan) instantly makes him the pic’s true villain, not Bryce.
The rest of the supporting cast is equally great. Howard Duff, Fred Dalton Thompson, George Dzundza, and Jason Bernard are all character actors who make their individual roles memorable. The most striking presence, though, is former supermodel Iman as Nina Beka, Susan’s best friend who finds herself imperiled because of her knowledge of the affair. The scene where Tom and Scott go to Nina’s place to question her about Susan‘s “secret lover“, and Tom and Nina have to pretend they don’t know each other, while Scott gets increasingly more threatening, is a master class in suspense.
The only flaw that keeps NO WAY OUT from reaching a rating of ****½ is the final arbitrary plot twist that is thrown in for the sake of being clever. While it does seem as such from a story design aspect, from an honest emotional aspect, it is not only a cheat but also an insult. It’s a credit to NO WAY OUT’s strength as a thriller that this ending ends up being just a minor quibble. You can even pretend it never happened by turning off the TV two minutes before the movie ends.
In the end, NO WAY OUT is a classic thriller that will hopefully continue to age well, and remind us - and Hollywood - about the correct way to inflict suspense on an unsuspecting audience.
