Intermission

Directed by: Volker Schlondorff

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon, Chloe Sevigny

Rated: R

Granted, Hollywood of late has not been known for its originality, but it seems a bit strange when the industry jumps on a "critical" bandwagon rather than a monetary one.

Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential" proved to be one of the best-reviewed films of 1997. Critics ate it up, but when one examines the bottom line, the big bucks just never really rolled in. Which isn't to say it's not a worthy film. It's definitely on my "Best Of" list for '97.

The surprising thing here is all the hubbub "L.A. Confidential" created concerning the comeback of film noir. For one thing, if the film's grosses weren't that spectacular, why should we expect the industry to start pumping out a new line of noir movies?

Secondly, while not in as great abundance as they were in the '40s and '50s, noir films still come along with some degree of regularity. There was "The Usual Suspects" a few years ago, "Body Heat" and the remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," both in 1981, as well as "Against All Odds," "After Dark, My Sweet," "The Grifters," the great "The Last Seduction" and a long list of other fine examples of the genre.

If you ask me, noir has been alive and well, just thankfully not overplayed. As any dog fancier will tell you, over-breeding usually weakens the breed. I hope noir is not in for a cinematic version of what happened to the Dalmatian recently (which was, come to think of it, caused by a movie).

The latest in the line of neo-noir movies is director Volker Schlondorff's "Palmetto," based on the novel "Just Another Sucker" by James Hadley Chase.

Schlondorff is not exactly a household name in America (he did direct the science fiction fable "The Handmaid's Tale") but is a greatly respected director in his native Germany. He's the man who gave us the screen version of "The Tin Drum."

Despite the recent notoriety it's been receiving, it's a great movie, taken from a classic piece of post-war German literature. I'm sure the director is wondering how "The Tin Drum" might be construed as pornographic when he's allowed so much leeway for sex and violence in his latest effort.

As "Palmetto" opens, former journalist Harry Barber (Woody Harrelson) is being let out of prison. It seems some new evidence has turned up, proving that Harry was innocent all along. While the judge supposes Harry will be grateful, Harry wants to know about the two years of his life he spent, as an innocent man, in prison. Who's going to give that back?

Harry moves back in with his girlfriend, Nina (Gina Gershon), and begins looking for work. A chance encounter with a beautiful blonde gets Harry a high-paying, if somewhat risky, job offer. No matter that it's against the law. Harry still figures somebody owes him.

Rhea Malroux (Elisabeth Shue) is married to the richest man around Palmetto, but she and her step-daughter are just a little unsatisfied. They've decided to stage a fake kidnapping, get a quick $500,000 from Mr. Malroux, and live happily ever after.

All they need is a menacing voice on the phone and someone to pick up the ransom. That's where Harry comes in. Since nobody's going to get hurt and Mrs. Malroux is very persuasive (she does, remember, look like Elisabeth Shue) Harry signs on for the scam.

Any student of film noir knows that nothing is ever as it seems in these movies and the guy that gets the shortest end of the stick is usually the "nice guy" right in the middle. Harry is no different, and "Palmetto" takes us on a bumpy, twisting and twirling ride with new layers unfolding at several turns.

In the end, the plot seems rather complicated but scene by scene it's never hard to follow. One of the best things about a film noir is watching it unfold, so a more detailed discussion of the plot would be doing the viewer a disservice.

It's not a great film not even in the same league with most of Schlondorff's work but being a fan of this sort of thing I have to say I enjoyed it. Harrelson can be a bit hard to take at times I keep expecting him to break character and revert to Woody from "Cheers" but Shue, Gershon and especially young Chloe Sevigny, as Odetta Malroux the "kidnap" victim, are extremely matchable, and give the movie a fair amount of its style.

Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

[[In-content Ad]]