Obsession fatale

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.

When I first watched this film, I could not help but marvel at how brilliant Ray Liotta was at his role. Even though Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe both gave very good performances, it is Ray Liotta that stands out the most. I found that the transition that Liotta made between playing a nice guy to an obsessed and jealous psycho was absolutely outstanding.I believe he deserved an award for his exceptional performance. Not many actors could pull off a performance like Liotta did. Overall I felt that this film was a well thought out thriller, and was well cast. It definitely deserves the credit it gets. I would thoroughly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

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 is by no means a great film; not even by genre standards, but it still stands out as a more than adequate example of the genre, and aptly portrays the basic thriller tradition. Next to thrillers from the same period; films like Basic Instinct, Unlawful Entry may seem a little tame, but as it puts the focus on its trio of central characters, the film becomes more interesting than it would have if experienced director Jonathan Kaplan had tried for more action and sex scenes. The film portrays the frightening idea of someone 'above the law' abusing their power for their own means, and does this through police officer Pete Davis. The action centres on married couple Michael and Karen Carr, who call the police one night after a thief breaks in and holds the wife to knife point. However, it turns out that they've actually made things worse for themselves as the officer sent to the house takes a liking to Karen, and thus makes it his business to infiltrate their relationship and try to take Michael's wife for himself...

It has to be said that the film doesn't offer much in the way of surprises, as the plot is purely formulaic and can be likened to any number of similar films, but somehow the familiarity of the plot gives it something of a relaxed feel, and while experienced movie watchers will feel that they've seen it all before, the film is carried off with enough panache to see it through. Unlawful Entry relies a lot on its actors, and the three at the centre of the story manage to deliver worthwhile performances. Kurt Russell gets toned down in his role as the unlucky husband, while Madeleine Stowe doesn't get to do any heavyweight acting, but at least looks nice. The pair doesn't really have any chemistry together, which is a shame and brings the piece down - but this is offset by a conniving Ray Liotta, who manages to get under the skin despite looking a bit like David Hasselhoff. The film is always interested, but never really intriguing; although the plot does work well and the ending is fitting in context. Overall, this is not great or a must see film; but its decent enough and I don't regret watching it.

"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)