Superficially the story of a murder and the building of a case against the murderer, the film -- which concludes Monday night -- also works as a gripping tale of good against evil in which evil seems to hold all the cards. Korty pulls the knot very very tight, generating industrial-strength suspense without resorting to cheap scare tactics.
The script by Andrew Laskos is said to be based on a true story and certainly doesn't lack for credibility. Dennehy plays Det. Jack Reed, an honest cop who doesn't have a lot of company, at least not on the South Side of Chicago where the story is set. His dogged attempt to solve the murder of a mob lawyer's beautiful wife pulls him into a tangled web of corruption that involves fellow cops, judges, even the chief of police.
In its portrayal of one good lawman facing almost insurmountable odds, the film recalls Phil Karlson's "Walking Tall," but it's more subtle and sophisticated, touches more bases and doesn't rely on lots of violence to keep you riveted. It does rely on Dennehy's ability to make a viewer sit up and take notice; he has no trouble doing that.
There's a tiny defining moment early on, when Dennehy as Reed pays a visit to the local mob boss and, asked to leave, is briefly grabbed by one of the flunkies. "No, no, don't ever touch, huh?" says Reed, pulling away. "That's a bad idea. Trust me." Dennehy underplays scenes like this exquisitely.
Part 1 opens with the discovery of the victim, and the rest of the first night is made up of a flashback showing how she met and married the lawyer, thinking him her salvation, finding out he's the opposite. Embeth Davidtz plays the woman, Dianne Masters, and knowing how she'll end up, cold and blue in the trunk of a sunken car, immensely enhances the poignancy of the journey she'll make, from dewy-eyed compliance to defiant independence.
That she founds and runs a shelter for abused women is no coincidence. Alan Masters (Treat Williams) turns out to be her worst nightmare times ten. He's the kind of scum that lives beneath slime. Everyone expects Dennehy to be intimidating on the screen, but Williams also turns in a performance of surprisingly high impact. Davidtz is remarkable at charting the growth of her character, each upward step taking her closer to her doom.
Susan Ruttan does a good job in the relatively small role of the detective's wife, and Lisa Eilbacher is extraordinarily affecting as Nina, a friend of Dianne's married to a crooked cop who is also a spouse abuser. The scenes of domestic violence are properly terrifying but not overdone. Korty is a director who can impart much more than he shows.
The pervasiveness of the corruption that surrounds Reed and hampers his search for the truth grows more and more ominous. Unfortunately, the road leads eventually to courtroom hokum that not even Korty can do much to distinguish, but you do get an ending that is satisfying and conclusive.
Obviously even Reed -- known around the precinct as "the Jesuit" for his ideals -- will be tempted along the way. A superior who's on the take and who bristles at Reed's determination tells him, "You know, Jack, I could get you more money in the next hour than you could make in 20 years."
The film confirms one's worst suspicions about corruption in high places and reaffirms one's most fondly held hopes that there'll always be one brave soul around to rock the boat, turning it over if need be. It's good to be told that now and again.
'Nightmare' Another Sunday night, another garbagey CBS movie. This week it's "Nightmare in the Daylight," an irritating and far-fetched thriller airing at 9 tomorrow on Channel 9. CBS executives seem determined to blow the Sunday night franchise they've held for over a decade by programming one dreadful movie after another.
Jaclyn Smith plays a teacher visiting San Francisco with her husband, a high school principal attending a convention. Out from amongst the potted plants creeps Christopher Reeve as a sleazy Los Angeles lawyer who upon seeing her begins to insist that she is the wife he lost seven years ago during an earthquake in Mexico. The body was never recovered.
Thus begins a series of bizarre harassments that usually end with Reeve being chased away by the wife or the husband or a combination of the two. Of course we know that eventually there'll be a showdown a' la "Cape Fear" in which the woman will have to confront her accuser one-on-one. My, but it's a long time coming.
First we have to take a walking tour of San Francisco. Then Reeve breaks into her hotel room. Then he has her abducted and brought to a friend's house. And yet whenever the beleaguered couple appeal to authorities, they're told by the cops that, gee, there's really nothing they can do until the guy actually inflicts bodily harm. Baloney.
Smith is beautiful as always, but she seems like she should be hosting a network morning show rather than acting in silly movies like this. Reeve is embarrassing; another Superman bites the dust. The surprise denouement will be no surprise to anyone who's been paying close attention, but anyone who pays close attention to tripe of this ilk is probably in big trouble.
from movies based on true stories database by Traciy Curry-Reyes