Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 25-July-04
Spoiler Rating: Low

Out of Sight (1998)

Steven Soderbergh was heralded for "sex lies and videotape" in 1989 and celebrated for the one-two punch of "Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic" in 2000, but for my money his finest hour came with "Out of Sight" in 1998. This crime-caper/drama/comedy/romance has more class and more cool than just about any other movie I can think of, and it represents the moment in Soderbergh's career when his distinctive cinematography, editing, and use of music came together in perfect harmony.

Since I'm listing the strengths of "Out of Sight" (which, admittedly, is a goofy and somewhat confusing title), major kudos must be given to Scott Frank, who wrote the screenplay from an Elmore Leonard novel. The action moves effortlessly between the past and the present, Miami and Detroit, prisons and private homes, and several points in between, producing an effect that engages the audience without alienating it. Bringing together a number of colorful characters on both sides of the law, it also features a smorgasbord of razor-sharp dialogue that's funny, disturbing, seductive, insightful, and always, always spot on. Heck, even a murderous thug threatens rape with a clever play on words, and it jibes so well with the stylishness of the film that it wasn't until my eighth viewing that I thought "would a lowlife really be so quick-witted?"

Of course, sophisticated efforts behind the scenes must coincide with strong work in front of the camera if greatness is to be achieved and, yes, "Out of Sight" boasts a terrific cast as well. There's Ving Rhames as a cuddly criminal with a guilty conscience; Don Cheadle as a boxer turned serial "whackjob;" Albert Brooks as a smarmy billionaire (think Martha with a toupee); Steve Zahn as a stoner who gets in over his head; and a host of smaller but no less entertaining personalities. Most of all, there are stars George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, who own their characters so completely that (in his case in particular) you can't imagine anyone else in the roles. Clooney lends all of himself to good-hearted, practical-minded bank robber Jack Foley, and his physical stature, ironic detachment, intelligence, and sex appeal make a potentially implausible character entirely real. During a prison breakout, he meets his match in Lopez's Karen Sisco, a US Marshal who always gets her man (and has an unfortunate habit of pursuing the bad ones). From their first spark-filled meeting in the trunk of a getaway car to their unforgettable tryst in a Detroit hotel (the greatest pre-sex scene ever filmed), these two go after a connection such as few people ever experience, all the while remaining true to their hard-boiled, restless selves.

One might call "Out of Sight" a romantic movie, only it lacks the saccharine, predictable plot; or an underworld movie, only it's missing the stupid, uninteresting characters. Thanks to a brilliant script and Soderbergh's masterful melding of elements, it's actually a high point of both genres, a film that is consummately shrewd, sexy, and smart.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.