Incognito

A bit of a pleasant surprise (considering its lack of theatrical release in the NY area), Incognito is a fairly involving drama/thriller involving a disturbed artist who's gotten so entangled in the underworld of art forgery he's never formed an identity of his own...he does a great Rembrandt, but Irene Jacob spots it as a fake, which both infuriates and attracts him...a murder occurs and the pursuit is on, with him trying to clear his name and trying to become a "real" artist...Patric is a little too brooding and pouty, making him hard to like for much of the film (C. Sheen or J. Depp could make him a much more sympathetic "bad" boy), but beautiful location work (widescreen, too -- I saw the laserdisc -- on video it's probably a mess) and the lovely & talented Ms. Jacob make it a surprisingly unique experience...check it out.

"You don't like people," says Marieke to Harry Donovan, challenging him to name one counter-example. It is no surprise; Harry is not very likable himself. The angry-but-brilliant artist is a cliché, but Jason Patric makes it work. His character finds some sort of healing in his rendering his father into a fake Rembrandt he makes in the movie, at the same time melding his relationship to his father into his own psyche. I would like to have seen more art and art commentary in this movie, but you can learn a lot from it.

This is a typical B-thriller that airs on a Friday night. Because of that, my expectations for the movie weren't exactly huge. But I really felt enjoyed when watching this, it was in fact quite exciting. The story about a an art forger who fakes a Rembrandt picture is a quite good one, and was a relieving difference from most other B-thrillers. Although I doubt that the way he fakes the painting is possible in real life, it was very well made for this film. Remember, it's only a movie. The acting is mediocre. Not good, but not bad either. That doesn't matter much here, because it's the story that makes this a pretty good movie. The film takes place in Europe, something I liked for a change.

Yes, the production values of INCOGNITO (especially the gauzy photography) smack of "B" Level production, this film shines for a few reasons, most notably the peek into the world of Art, Art History and Art Forgery. Anyone who considers themselves curious about both Rembrandt, his place in the art world, and the art world's place in history will enjoy this movie. This movie's depiction of the steps in the creation of a counterfeit masterpiece are possibly the best half-hour of film I've ever seen. The performances are excellent, and it deserved better than Direct to Video. Especially good are the performances of Rod Steiger, Jason Patric and Irene Jacob.

Harry Donovan is an art forger who paints fake Rembrandt picture for $500,000. The girl he meets & gets into bed with in Paris, Marieke turns out to be an arts expert. Harry's clients are using to check the counterfeit picture he painted. I knew this was going going to be a class A film but it does give a good the peek into the world of Art, Art History & Art Forgery. Anyone who considers themselves curious about Rembr&t, his place in the art world, & the art world's place in history will enjoy this movie. There are some interesting moments in this film, particularly for those who love art. The movie is actually much more complicated that the short summary I have provided. Jordan Katz's screenplay is full of authoritative, fascinating facts about how art is variously made, copied, authenticated & exposed as fake. 'Incognito' could serve as a handy tool for teaching courses in the detection of art forgery. Directed by John Badham, a Hollywood hack with a decent commercial track record (Saturday Night Fever, Short Circuit, War Games, Stakeout) Jason Patrick is really good in his role Patric is believable in his role as a suffering artist & skillfully shifts from unlikable to sympathetic. ; Irene Jacob is also good as his girlfriend (she is known for her films with Krzysztof Kieslowski) Rod Steiger plays a small role but still has the staying power of the great actor we know. The romance with Jacobs, who plays, Marieke van den Broeck, reminds us of a "39 Steps" Hitchcock kind of way. The European locales (Dutch, Spanish,Parisian) are very much like paintings & the director & cinematographer did a good job here. Too bad the DVD transfer was so poor. The film is well-directed. I found the DVD transfer poor & grainy etc. I guess in 1997 transfers were not as good as now. The movie looked pretty poor on my big screen HDTV. I think this film had limited release fared poorly & was sent right to DVD. Really I don't know why as it really a pretty acceptable thriller.