Enquête dans l'impossible

Director Frank Perry( David and Lisa, Diary of a Mad Housewife)took a true story and turns it in to a very suspenseful film. Starring Oscar winners Cliff Robertson and Joel Grey, the film concerns a murder of a young girl in a small Connecticut town and the police chief(Robertson) who tries to solve the killing. Enter one clairvoyant(Grey) who claims to have visions of the killing and offers to help the police solve the crime.Director Perry keeps the viewer guessing the whole movie as to whether Grey is legitimate or not. Robertson is wary of Grey but keeps him around just by chance he is what he says he is. The ending has a bizarre twist and I wont reveal it here but remember, it was based on a true story and the film is well worth 90 some minutes of your time.

I've been curious to see this since it came out (I was too young then), as it sounded interesting. But no one has ever really claimed this as some underrated classic, and while many idiosyncratic suspense films and cop thrillers of the 1970s have since gotten some of the appreciation they didn't get then, "Man on a Swing" is still a misfire--a movie whose intriguing elements never really turn into "something," or "go anywhere." Even the ambiguity of providing no conventional resolution (because the real-life case didn't have one) doesn't really work, because Perry's direction doesn't make a central virtue of paranoia and ambiguity, unlike better films such as the same year's "The Conversation" or "The Parallax View."

So what we get is a long, somewhat plodding murder mystery with a glum Cliff Robertson not making enough of his role, a host of good supporting actors not really given the chance to do much with theirs, and Joel Grey simply making too much of his part as the clairvoyant. He certainly livens up the film, but as the movie is primarily naturalistic in tone and cinematic style, his very showy, theatrical performance is kind of like placing a snow leopard in a pen of domestic cats and expecting us to think "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense." There are moments when the mixture approaches a kind of chill uncanniness that would have made a bolder film truly haunting. But this one doesn't commit to any path enough to make an impression more than of strong but elusive potential frustratingly unfulfilled.

Cliff Robertson plays the local sheriff who investigates the murder of Maggie Dawson, an attractive young woman. He is offered assistance by Joel Grey, a local psychic. As the plot develops, it becomes clear that either Grey, playing Franklin Wells, has psychic powers, or is involved in the murder. This is undeniably a "B" movie, but the acting, except for the always awful Elizabeth Wilson, is good-great. The writing is very good, with a scene when Robertson receives a Christmas card that shows how a good screenwriter can take an ordinary event and make it near terrifying. The way the sign of the motel scrawls across Robertson's police car window is very clever. Highly recommended.

This is a Virtually Unknown Film Featuring Joel Grey, Fresh From an Oscar,

Dominating the Police Procedural of a Murder-Investigation that is Decidedly Not Normal Procedure.

Law Enforcement and Other Conservative by Nature Foundations have an On-Going "Love-Hate" Relationship with Anything Perceived as "Paranormal".

For Example, the U. S. Govt. Using "Psychics".

Behind the Scenes for 20 Years in What was Called "Stargate",

Developing a "Remote Viewing" Program of Out of Body Explorations of just About Anything.

They Concluded that the Program was a Failure and Halted the Study.

But Not Before Funding the $20 Million and Staying with it for 20 Years.

The Facts Tell a Different Story.

The Insiders Insist there were Many "Hits" well Beyond Chance and the Announcement of Termination was just PR and the Remote Viewing Program just went "Under the Radar".

This Film is a Low-Budget Foray Highlighting Law Enforcement and Their Ultra-Skeptical Inclusion of a Clairvoyant in a Murder Investigation.

The Mystery that Maybe His Information is Coming by Way of More Sinister Methods.

Virtually a 2-Man-Show with the Highlights Grey's Embodiment of a "Trance" Whereby He is "Shown" what Could-Be a "Record" of What Took Place.

Cliff Robertson, Constantly Sucking on Cans of "Bud" and Other Alcoholic Beverages,

and What Today Would Never Pass as a Reality, On the Job, at Work with a Fridge by His Desk at Work.

Otherwise, Robertson's Character is a Non-Descript Non-Entity.

It's the Joel Grey Show because Not Much Else Stands Out.

But it's a Show Worth Catching,

to "Catch-Up" on Hidden Gems of the 70's and Films Neglected, Forgotten,

or Otherwise Lurking in the Shadows for "Buffs" to Discover.

The completely serious film (Man on a Swing) opens with a one minute-20 second scene shot with a camera mounted on the police car roof about a foot behind the flashing light bar. While I am sure it seemed dramatic in 1974, it's impossible to view now without remembering the comedic rendition of the same viewpoint that forms the opening of "The Naked Gun". While I can't be sure this was the only "cop movie" that had a similar opening sequence, it's pretty clear to me that this film alone would have been sufficient to inspire the Naked Gun spoof scene.