Frantic (1988)

 Frantic (1988)

Roman Polanski’s Frantic is a stylish, absorbing thriller with a dynamite performance from Harrison Ford. The first hour of the film is the best part with Ford’s character becoming increasingly frantic. The last part of the film falls into more conventional tropes, but it remains thoroughly entertaining. Watching Ford trying to search for his missing wife despite no one believing him is stuff that makes you want to bite your fingernails off. This proves what a master Polanski is when it comes to providing thrills (and not the cheap kinds). It looks like an artsy European-style thriller on the outside, but it goes deeper than any trailer or plotline would suggest. I also recommend patience. The film takes some to get going, but it will hook you.

Polanski shocked the world when he made Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. The latter is actually one of my favorite films of 1974. He (and the superb Jack Nicholson) took a mundane story and turned it into something exciting. While not to the high standards of Chinatown, Polanski did something similar here. He must have been excited to work with a big budget and a movie star again considering he was exiled from the United States because of his extremely problematic personal life, which of course explains the European backgrounds for all of his most recent films. Regardless, Polanski is the master of tension, and he further proves his expertise throughout. His direction isn’t perfect because some scenes take forever to complete (the Paris nightclub sequence) and he indulges more than he should have, but he mostly returns to form.

The film’s cinematographer, Witold Sobocinski, is in fine form with his camera. He gave the audience some satisfying views of Paris and apparently captures the feeling of what it is like to travel in this French city. As the film marches on, he later captures the grimy underworld feeling of the city. He shot the action very well, I must mention. The film also hosts one of my favorite composers, the great Ennio Morricone. While he did not create his best score, he still managed to make a memorable theme that blended well with the overall mood and action.

Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) travels to Paris with his wife, Sondra (Betty Buckley) to attend a medical conference. When they arrived at the airport, Sondra accidentally picked up the wrong suitcase. No biggie, right? After they arrived in the hotel room, Richard unwinds by taking a hot shower just as Sondra received a phone call. When Richard left the shower, Sondra disappeared. He corresponds with the hotel, the police, and the American Embassy but they hardly showed concern. In fact, the police say that his wife is cheating on him, and it happens all the time. The increasingly desperate Richard decides to take matter in his own hands. He later meets Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), a small-time drug dealer, and realizes that she is the actual owner of the switched suitcase. Reluctant at first, she decides to help Richard track down his wife. That said, things could get dicey if the suitcase falls into the wrong hands.

This movie is a prime example proving that without Han Solo or Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford has the acting chops to carry thrillers like these. He is responsible for carrying the film as he is the prime actor with barely any support. His performance is heartfelt, emotional, and of course he can handle an action scene. Emmanuelle Seigner does a good job, although you can tell that Ford is the way better actor.

Overall, Frantic is the best movie Polanski has done in a long time. While it does not reach into the stratosphere as Chinatown, it is still a very tense, well-made thriller. The first hour is where Polanski exceeds the most. Once we start moving into the terrorist plotline, things get a bit conventional and predictable. Still, it was a mostly entertaining finish. Exotic locale, great performance from Ford, and a screenplay drooling with tension made this film a recommend. It may have been a commercial disappointment, but it is worth seeing. It is one of the underrated thrillers from the 1980’s.

My Grade: B+