Out of Sight

When released in 1998, "Out of Sight" was Steven Soderburgh's most mainstream film to date, after he burst onto the indie scene a decade earlier with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape". Based upon the novel by Elmore Leonard ("Get Shorty", "Jackie Brown"), the movie tells the tale of odd couple Jack Foley (George Clooney), a career criminal, and federal marshall Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). After a unique first encounter, their paths continue intersecting, with various degrees of intent, to comprise the bulk of the story.

Similar to the Soderburgh-helmed "Ocean's Eleven", "Out of Sight" blends the standard apples and oranges of genres into a delicious smoothie. This is a drama, minus the driving intensity, light-hearted enough to pass as a comedy. It's a comedy, but not of the HAHA sort. The humor lies in things like Clooney's glances, JLo's relationship dilemmas, the paradox of Ving Rhames' self-righteous thief, and the sheer absurdity of Don Cheadle's gangsta. It's also a romance and a cop-and-robber story, but neither love nor crime is the whole point. All of these pieces unite to form a fantastic puzzle of a picture.

The tasty complexity is further deepened by the non-linear storytelling technique. Flashing backward here and there throughout the film is a good choice because the viewer can only fully understand the previous events with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Plus it eliminates what could have been a painful first half hour of exposition, instead spreading the backstory through the rest of the film.

The stylistic singular color palettes for different locations that Soderburgh later used magnificently in "Traffic" are present here as well. From bright sun-drenched Florida to the ice cold blues of Detroit, this technique serves as virtual atmosphere, allowing one to determine the geography even without the convenience of titles. In a non-linear film like this, that ease in recognizing time and place facilitates comprehension of what is happening when. Unique among Soderburgh's work (to my recollection) is the film's use of occasional freeze frames. Stopping the picture for just a second or two, Soderburgh gently identifies poignant moments, obvious or not, allowing an extra moment to deservedly linger on them.

With the high technical accomplishments, the acting almost doesn't matter, but the slightly understated method works wonders. Clooney is his usual suave self, complete with snappy dialogue and a cornucopia of confidence. In a role that "Enough" can only dream about, JLo almost looks like a real actress (joke). She is absent her too-common ditziness and easily holds her own, despite being a tad too glamorous. Rhames, Cheadle, and Albert Brooks are their usual solid selves, playing parts both similar and drastically different from their wheelhouses. Everyone seems to have perspective in their parts, not utilizing excessive gravity or levity, but rather hitting the appropriate notes as they inhabit their roles to perfection. Ultimately you believe all of these actors in their parts, even if JLo's skirts are entirely too short for a federal agent.

Like "Ocean's Eleven", "Out of Sight" is a very good film, merging quality in all aspects of film-making into a fully enjoyable two hour experience. The main themes of crime and love are basic, so the movie doesn't soar to remarkable heights. But if you're looking for a brilliantly made film that you might have missed on its theatrical run, espy Out of Sight and settle in for a quirkily involving night. If you saw it a few years back, check it out again to see Soderburgh's foundation for his own excellence.

Bottom Line: A wholly absorbing movie that serves as a film-making clinic of brilliance. 8 of 10.

Great film. The characters seemed believable. The dialog well written, sharp, but not overly polished, no character has a monologue. How often in the 90's do we see a thriller, or crime mystery, or a buddy film, all components the film plays with, and would consider a discussion about the script? Leonard has a way with the practical aspects of crime, the fist fight and shoot outs are awkward, characters miss their mark more often than not, they run out of gas. How often in an action film does the hero miss a shot? I'm sick to death of wildly unbelievable stories, huge explosions and car chases. The photography is very well done and the soundtrack is fantastic. Of particular note is the editing, of which the film received an oscar nomination. One of the best love scenes in a contemporary film. What you hope you get with an adult crime movie, sleek, smart and sexy.

This movie is okay, it did not provide me much excitement. It is a noir-love story buried inside a heist movie inside an action film.

However the movie is more interesting for everything that surrounds it rather than what happens in it. It is funny to see how similar it is to the Oceans' movie. They share all the same ingredients, except for the brutal violence that is in this movie. But the rest is pretty much on point, the camera work, the music, the dialog, the characters, even the tone with the witty funny light hearted lines.

The actors are what elevates the film : the plot is very simple but it has this old-school-hustlers charm to it. The film has flashbacks and attempts to do non-linear storytelling, but it is not necessary, the characters actions drive the movie.

George Clooney is suave robber Jack Foley, a character that is suave and cool, but not too much. He is street-wise and self-aware, he is the thief with a heart of gold. He is smart but that does not prevent him to fail in almost any of his schemes. We root for him not only because he his cool but also because the odds are against him. A character so efficient so relatable, so compelling that it will be the basis for glamour-superstar Danny Ocean.

Jennifer Lopez is young try-hard Jennifer Lopez. It is endearing to see the freshness and naivete of her character. She is basically the female love interest and her role revolves around being obsessed with Clooney. Again the contrast modern Jlo is the most enjoyable.

Don Cheadle plays the over-the-top villain. It works because is roughness and brutality play off against Clooney's smoothness.

The heist barely matters really, and that is where the film achieves balance. The universe is grounded and realistic (very violent and raw), but the characters effortlessly glide through it. I think that it gives the edge that was lacking in the Oceans' and therefore made those movies rely more heavily on swagger and bravado rather than charm and wit. In Ocean's the world is effortless and cool and suave, the characters are cool and effortless and suave : it deflates the tension somewhat. In Oceans defence, it make the film more palatable for the mainstream. This film on the other hand cannot really escape its genre. It stays in the bounds of the action movie.

This movie really acts a stepping stone for Clooney : it is part Dusk Till Dawn with the gruesome crime story and part Ocean's Eleven with the light hearted heist with no stakes. The movies sexuality is also somewhat interesting. It is very difficult to watch in a post-me-too world. But in a strange way, it reinforce the overall sexual violence that the film portrays. All in all it is a reflection of its era. I believe it stands next to Heat, Reservoir Dogs and others as part of the 90s golden age of heist-movies. The lost art of a simpler time.

Also the best-scene of the film is when a van drives up a snow-covered alley. The mesmerizing way the tires plow through the fresh snow is something I don't recall having seen in film. (Was it special effects ? was it one take ? we may never know)

Critically acclaimed, but definitely not universally seen, I can see both sides of the reasoning behind the attention Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight may, or may not have received. Soderbergh's directorial breakthrough with indie drama Sex, Lies, and Videotape lifted him into the public spotlight as a notable presence in the film industry itself, but didn't gift him the commercial appeal of a Spielberg or Lucas. This was especially apparent after a number of commercial failures following Sex, Lies and Videotape. Out of Sight, represents his first self-acknowledged attempt to gain a foothold amongst the multi-plex masses. As such, in my opinion, it's a very well made, entertaining film. Not a great one, as some would have you believe, but a good one, worth seeing.

Out of Sight features many of the Soderbergh hall marks, in that it is a crime/heist thriller with multi-dimensional storylines, some nonlinear storytelling and quite distinctive lighting and cinematography. But nothing to the degree that finds the story being overwhelmed by pretensions to arthouse significance, as might be claimed of much of his earlier work. It also has a terrific cast, boasts a killer soundtrack and has a couple of really appealing cameo appearances. Michael Keaton bobs up midway through, as a cross pollinating character, both for this film and Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Then Samuel L Jackson emerges unexpectedly to wrap the movie up on a realistically positive, if not traditional Hollywood ending.

What it does have is a narrative based on an Elmore Leonard novel. Leonard novels translated to the screen invariably mean plenty of dialogue, albeit clever and humorous in a frequently blackish way, but a surfeit of dialogue that may conversely lead to perceptions of a lack of action. Think Get Shorty! Be Cool! The afore mentioned Jackie Brown! The list is extensive. Out of Sight is one of these movies; a 2+ hour film with lots and lots of dialogue and earnest discussions surrounding shady "jobs", both carried out in the past and planned for the future, but no big set action pieces. It's the storyline and the characters which are the focus here and none more important than the relationship between non-violent career bank robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) and US Marshall (runs in the family) Karen Sisko.

Their chemistry in their (surprisingly only) 2 key scenes is palpably intense and enjoyable. Both are very good with Clooney consolidating his growing A-list status at the time and Lopez proving, with a deliberately understated sexiness, she can really act and is more than capable of carrying a picture as the lead actress. Terrific support from the likes of Ving Rhames kind of doing what he does in Mission Impossible, Don Cheadle convincing as the jocular, but clearly dangerous key villain and Steve Zahn, as the nervy, out of his depth, comic relief who is the instigator of much of the later action. The bench is just full of abundant talent.

For this writer, Out of Sight, whilst not quite deserving of its critically showered, monumental status, is still a very entertaining, though talky, professionally made, fun, movie experience. It certainly deserved a greater audience on its initial release and likely needed to be promoted/handled better by its studio.

I, too, had a little trouble buying that such an intense relationship was born from such a minor conversation between them in the trunk. However, when I was able to get past that inconsistency in the plot, I found a great movie. Clooney and Lopez have great chemistry and show that they are both actors worthy of recognition. I loved the editing--the choppy cuts and the freezing of certain scenes. And I have never seen a better seduction scene in my life. The supporting cast was great too, especially the incomparably zany Steve Zahn. And once I got past the improbability of the relationship being so intense that she would risk her career for it, I thought that the way that she did risk her career was just great. I laughed out loud at the scene when he waves to her from the elevator. That is just a wonderful illustration that not everything is clear-cut or easy to do. Clooney was phenomenal, so cool...and just resigned to his life. I loved it.

By the way, seeing this movie after Jennifer Lopez has launched her career in pop music simply infuriated me that Hollywood has all but lost a true talent to the world of bubblegum pop.