‘ FILM LIST
I This section aims to provide a review ot every film to be seen in central Scotland over the nextlortnight. Forprogramme times see individualcinema listings.
(U)- Universal. suitable lorall ages.
(PG) - Parental Guidance suggested as some scenes may be unsuitable loryounger children.
(15)- No one underthe age 0t 15admitted. (18)— No one underthe age at tBadmitted. :‘s—New Release.
lThe American Friendi 1‘ l \\ llll
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Frantic (15) (Roman Polanski, US, 1988) Harrison Ford, Betty Buckley, Emmanuelle Seigner. 120 mins. Polanski‘s Chinatown, with its ambience ol doomed inevitability and seedy all-pervasive corruption, is probablythe bestthrillermade outwith the post-war tilm noir era. Earlier works like Repulsion and Knite In The Water are masterpieces ot unsettling mood and visceral tension. With Frantic, it is heartening to see him return to a genre within which he has operated with such past mastery. The film partially redeems the waterlogged lailure ot Pirates but it is along way trom Chinatown, Jake.
Harrison Ford, ever ready to test his acting prowess, stars as Richard Walker—an ordinary, anonymous American cardiologistwhojourneys trorn San Francisco to Paris with his wile Sondra (Betty Buckley) to attend a medical conterence. Unknown to the couple, they have accidentally picked up a wrong case at the airport. Instead ol toiletries and clothes, they have unwittingly gained possession ot a much coveted krytron, a high precision electronic delonator used on nuclear weapons.
Jet-lagged and woozy, the Walkers check into the Grand Hotel. Richard steps into a relaxing shower and emerges dripping wet to discover that
men
18th century Ireland. An CXlrittlrdlllttl'} attention to detail and a \ ixual at} le that elleetix Cl} t'L‘pl'UtltlL‘e‘\ the look ()l eontemporar§ paintings are the maior polnlx ol interest. L‘ttxll} outueighiiigthe meandering: narratix e thread. but this ixa got'geoth llllll all the same. lidinburgh: l'llllllttltINL‘.
I Batteries Not Included i t’( t ) t Mantle-it Robbins. [8. 1987) Hume ( ‘ron_\ ii. .lexsiea land}. Frank \leRae. ltltiminx, Desperate elderl} residents ol a threatened tenement bloek are \ ixited b} ll‘lL'lltll} alien ereaturex \\ ho help them l'L‘\t\l the menace ol the piopert} tlmeltlpen. l.£tCl\lll\ll'L‘ Spielbei'u-produeed adx eiitiire. niee elleetx but eliildren \\ ill be bored. Strathehde: (‘lydebank I”.
I Beetlejuicei l5 l ('1 im Burton. l'S. l‘lbb'l (ieena l)a\ l\. Alee Bald“ in. \liehael Keaton. 02 mins. Reeeiitlt deeeased. and \et‘} ehai‘mmg .\'e\\ linglaiid eouple. the Maitlaiidx. ha\ e dillietilt} m adltistiiigto the alterlite. Not the least ol theii \xorriex l\ the tasteless relui'bixliiiieiit ol their old home by a nasty \eu York yuppie lamil}. and the) exentualh eall on treelanee bio-e\orei\t lietelggetixe t pronouneed ‘lieetle-iuiee" l to deal \\ tilt the problem in
lll\()\\n inimitable lashion.
lixuberantlt eeeentrieeartoonixli eapers. a movie that et‘eatex llx ox» ii eomie C(t\ttltt\ Where the iiiie\peeted l\ the norm (ireat luii it all I\ too. (ilaxgou : ( 'aiiiioii Saueltiehall Street. litliiibuiuh: (‘annon Sll'tllllL‘l}dL‘1()tlL‘Ull:\\t.()tlL‘ttll llamiltoii, . I Big Business t l’( i ) t.lini .-\braham\. l 'S. [938) Bette \lidlei'. Ill} '1 omlm. l'ted \Vat'd. lzduard llerrmanit. 03 Hill“. You'x e \eelt ideiitieal t“ in min ie\. no“ meet the double identieal In in thin ie. Riixe and Sadie ('l'omlin and .\lidler i me the heads ot eorporate giant .\loiama\. abotit to take in er a small rural lirm and in so doing atlraet the I'L‘\l\l;llch' ol the loeal eommunit} that the} \end Rose and Sadie ('l'otttlilt and \lltllet i lit the big eilt to light their ease. (‘ould the l'L‘\L‘llll‘lL‘llL‘C\ betueen the women hax e \tlltlL‘lllllth todo \\ ith a llti\pllitl ltll\-tlp mam tears betoie.
()tlll'ittle'titINl} ereak} eomie latee. \\ ith rampant oxeraetmg pummelliiig L'\L'll the most haul-hearted old eoduer into smiling, (ilaxgou: (ariiioii ( ‘lai kxton Road. (iroxx eiioi'. ( )deon. lzdmbiu gli; ()deon. (‘entralz (‘annoii Stiatheltde: (‘annoii Kilmarnoek. ( )deoii A} r. ( )deon llamilton.
FRANTIC
his wite has disappeared. The hotel stall seem inditterent to his concern. The authorities tind him a trille hysterical. His non-existent command at French is a severe handicap. Suddenly, romantic glamorous Paree has become a hostile, unwelcoming loreign land where the distraught Walker stands virtually alone in his desperate search lor Sondra.
Whilst credltably recounted, Frantic
never quite grips or twists or enthrals in T
the way a great thriller should. Rather old-lashioned in its content and execution, it makes a welcome reliel trom the many hi-tech, gun totin‘ yarns inlesting the screen. However, warmed-over versions of Hitchcock are no substitute tor the lreshness and vital edge one might have expected trom Polanski.
Q!
Harrison Ford is suitably dour and anguished as the husband lorced to conjure up cunning and untapped physical resources under trying emotional circumstances. He copes commendably with portraying an ordinary man coping with extraordinary events.
Leggy newcomer Emmanuelle Seigner also makes an impression as the languid, streetsmart Michelle who aids and abets Walker in his search through the druggy, criminal underworld ol the city alter dark.
A good, solid, old-fashioned entertainment but one can imagine
Frantic being made quarter at a century
ago with say Cary Grant and Brigitte Bardot, except in 1988 it might not appear so dog-eared or humourless. (George Bailey)
The List 16- 2‘) September 198811