Fatale Begierde

"Unlawful Entry" kept me on the edge of my seat, or should I say the edge of my bed. Ray Liotta proved with this performance that few actors can play the apparently shy guy with evil tendencies better than him. The movie also presents some good "What if" questions. In the pivotal scene, Liotta grabs the burglar who ran into Kurt Russell's house and put a knife to his wife's throat. In an earlier scene, he explains how he'd beat the living crap out of that burglar if he had the chance. Well, one night Liotta gives Russell the permission (him being a cop) to "beat the living crap out of him" and Russell totally panics and refuses. Meanwhile, I'm thinking to myself, "If Madeline Stowe were my wife and that moron put a knife to her throat, I would've taken that nightstick and beat him to death." But then again, I'm saying that while sitting comfortably on my bed, watching the movie. I'm not in his shoes. I'm sure many people would panic in that situation.

Though the movie kept my eyes glued to the screen, I could've done without certain plot conventions towards the end. I don't have to spoil it for you. You've seen thrillers in the past, you know what I'm talking about. And the writer could've trimmed the use of lines like "Get the f**k out of here," "Stay the f**k out of my house" and "Stay the f**k away from my wife" or "If you touch her, I'll kill you." I think those lines have popped up in every movie thriller I've seen. But the best reason to see this movie is Liotta's flawless performance. On those grounds alone, this movie is well worth seeing.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

A couple are befriended by a police officer who answers their burglary call, but his attentions increase to a point of obsession and he beings to make their lives uncomfortably difficult pushing them both to breaking point.

Released the same year as spate of 1992 thrillers including Single White Female, Basic Instinct, Traces of Red, Consenting Adults and Final Analysis name a few Unlawful Entry is a tighter than the aforementioned. It's easy to knock a film in retrospect, as it's been done so many times since but at the time while not totally original it encompassed the best of the genre. Jonathan Kaplan delivers a very entertaining obsession flick and while borrowing elements from Pacific Heights (1990),Cape Fear (1991) & (1962) Lewis Colick's screenplay plays out interesting character developments and arcs especially as Kurt Russell's Michael Carr unravels and Ray Liotta's Pete Davis unveils.

Liotta is perfect as Davis an unbalanced police officer and Russell hams it up, debatably a little too much, as the aggravated husband. There's an overlooked supporting cast, including Ken Lerner and Madeleine Stowe in her heyday. James Horner's score is strong and of its time and it all adds up to an engaging thriller that would later be emulated in Lakeview Terrace (2008) and The Fan (1996).

Worth viewing if only for the underrated Liotta in one of his better roles.

Unlawful Entry along with Breakdown is another Kurt Russell film which is excellent yet doesn't receive the highly acclaimed fanfare. Actually this movie has two main stars (Russell and Ray Liotta) who are pitted against each other, resulting in a very interesting and intense emotional roller coaster.

What makes this movie great is that it has 2 actors who are very good at portraying emotional characters. Russell and Liotta are rivaled by none in depicting characters of struggle, grit,intensity and emotion. The films script and directing by it's producer Jonathan Kaplan is perfect.

Without a doubt there is something about Liotta's eyes, when he speaks, they have emotion written all over them. After watching this movie you feel that even though Liotta's character of Officer Pete Davis was initially a functioning member of society, without a doubt this guy has some serious issues and probably isn't working with a full deck. The scene where he has sex in his police cruiser with the female he earlier stopped for a ticket is almost astonishing and very eerie. This is an indication of this films mood and tone.

Russell meanwhile excellently plays his role as a husband who is struggling dealing with a policeman who; going with his instincts, is a little "off". Madeleine Stowe comes off perfect as his sexy and sultry wife who innocently is unsuspecting in realizing officer Davis's true intentions.

Without a doubt Unlawful Entry is about Michael Carr(Russell)VS Pete Davis. They square off in various ways culminating with a memorable physical confrontation at the end. One scene of note is when Officer Davis responds to the Carrs home on a hoaxed security system call. Officer Davis walks into the couples bedroom holding a flashlight during a lovemaking session and Russell fires off to him "Get the bleep outta my house!!". Later he warns his wife that "this guy is sick and he's after you". Incredibly at the onset Madeleine (Mrs Carr) doesn't believe so.

If you like a fast moving suspenseful thriller then Unlawful Entry has a lot in store for you. Director Jonathan Kaplan treated me to a classic with this score. One of Kurt Russell and Ray Liotta's best films, and neither one are shabby actors. In fact both are 2 of my favorites because they have a way of bringing to life the characters they play. Check this film out.

I remember seeing this film in theaters in 1992 at the tender age of 12, and I can recall now how frightened I was. That just goes to show the professionalism involved in this first-rate thriller. When a cop is on your back, what are you gonna do? Call the cops? Hmmmm....Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe struggle to find that answer here. Ray Liotta has never been creepier. Kurt Russell shines yet again in a role balancing the everyman we can relate to and the hero we cheer for in the end. One of the best thrillers of the 1990s.

I've heard people who took in a viewing of this movie say it was slow. I didn't feel it was slow. There was scenes that didn't directly deal with the main plot, but I liked that because we get to know what kind of people these are and just not some vaguely sketched characters. It's here the movie works because it lines you up and scares you in real world fashion. The reality to the proceeding give it the urban horror feel and not something made up that we could never identify with or seeing happening in our real lives.

The cast carries this out efficiently while if I had any complaint about the movie it would be Kurt Russell in the smaller role as the husband. I really like Kurt Russell and unfortunately there isn't a lot for him to bite into as the real star of this movie is Ray Liotta. Who I feel bad for lately since he hasn't been able to escape this sort of psycho role, but there's no denying that he's good at it and he is largely what makes Unlawful Entry rank amongst the best of the urban psycho dramas. The story might be predictable in spots, but good performances and great atmosphere go a long way.