Catchfire

Throughout this movie, I found myself shaking my head, awed that a movie could be so horribly bad. All Dennis Hopper did was create his fantasy, then film it. "Dull, unintelligent man gains complexity by sparing the life of a beautiful artist, forcing her to have sex with him and then winning her heart". I don't have a problem with that in itself, but he attempted to justify it by throwing in some "artistic expression" which was laughably misplaced. Jodie Foster's character had potential which was left largely untouched, many times she edged on being complex, but unfortunately most avenues went unexplored. Dennis Hopper's character was, well, flat. Never before have I winced while watching a film, but did repeatedly during this one. The kicker was when "The End" flashed up on the electronic message board. Ouch. What a mistake for all involved.

Dennis Hopper's go-for-broke-on-a-slim-budget black comedy about a hit-man falling for his target, a strange but alluring young woman who makes pop art out of neon signs. I enjoyed bits of "Backtrack" (see that, not the butchered European print entitled "Catchfire") such as the gorgeous theater in New Mexico where Jodie Foster hides out or the funny scene where she's pacing around in the bathroom, trying to decide how far she should go with her pervy kidnapper. Unfortunately, the knockabout editing leaves the film feeling somewhat disjointed and the actors are occasionally encouraged to just wing it, but without funny results. I didn't mind the ending--I was hoping for an upbeat one--but these characters don't turn out to be particularly smart people. They're dizzy, lustful little cyphers, and they might've been more engaging if they'd been written with brains.

This film mixes some features rarely found together: mob violence, guns, murder, chases and crashes, a woman in jeopardy... AND some understated humor, would-ya-believe romance and kindness to animals, and a happy ending of sorts.

Dennis Hopper took his name off the cut version, which apparently omits, among others, parts of scenes featuring Jodie Foster's nudity. This is the version I saw, and even thus cut I give the film a 7.

The plot is straightforward: a hitman (Dennis Hopper) hired to kill a woman (Jodie Foster) who witnessed a mob murder gives her the option of staying alive and being "his." Then, since he defaulted on his assignment, they must flee mob reprisal.

My relatively high rating is based on Hopper's direction and on the acting, principally of the two main stars. (Joe Pesci and Dean Stockwell contribute wryly amusing mafioso figures.)

This is certainly not a comedy or romance film, nor is it intended to be. Nor is it "warm human drama." It's not at all slapstick or maudlin.

What impressed me most were Hopper's characterization and the scenes of their developing relationship. Hopper's Milo is a professional killer, a man of little polish (contrasting the wheelchair-ridden Vincent Price as the mob boss).

But a man's a man, for all that. Especially good is a scene early in their relationship, in which the hitman expresses his awed smittenness for his then-captive. His plain-spoken awkwardness shows, low-key, the loneliness and vulnerability of a man who has not experienced much love in his life.

And if you think a woman in such a situation could never respond favorably (albeit gradually), you don't know much about women -- and I don't mean the Stockholm Syndrome(?), that phenomenon of hostages warming up to their captors. The dynamics of their relationship -- the gradual, subtle shifting of their feelings and reactions -- are masterfully but quietly, almost incidentally, portrayed by Foster and especially Hopper. This film is certainly in the European style.

Still, you action fans shouldn't stay away; though not much gore, there is a sufficiency of sinister dread, gratuitous violence, and crashings and burnings.

I really liked everything about this movie...until I watched it spiral out-of-control into a nosedive ending. At some point, the whole tone of the movie changed....probably when the hit-man and his quarry finally meet. The premise is enticing...a man is hired to kill a young woman...but first he must locate her. Difficult, as she is in hiding from both the Mob AND the cops. She abandons her apartment, and the hit man moves in....by going through her personal things, he hopes to discover where she might have fled. More and more, he discovers her personality, her soul....and begins to fall in love with a person he has never met. What a great story! And someday, someone will make a better version of it. This one fell apart too quickly. Perhaps, once meeting her, the hit man should have spared the victim's life....without explanation...just turned and walked away. The End.

As I said, Hopper plus Foster = great chemistry. These two make a great movie out of a plot that is absolutelu unbelievable. What hit man falls in love with his hit sight unseen? What hit falls in love with her hit man after a one night stand? What hit man has a helicopter set aside for just the right escape? What mafia boss has ten or more hit men who can't hit a one man target? You see, this is a plot that no one could believe in. But, no one cares, because you are so involved in the evolution of the relationship between the Hopper & Foster characters that you overlook or forgive everything else. These two are so powerful that they make Fred Ward look like a character actor.

This is a violent movie where the violence never seems to override the comedy/relationship/slice of life issues that the film portrays. Plus, you get to see Jodie Foster naked!?! Who would have thunk it? By the way, she has a very nice body.

I don't know how this movie has not become a cult favorite, but give it time. It is a gem!

PS Don't overlook a dynamite performance by Joe Pesci, who is not listed in the cast. Go figure.