Il segno degli Hannan

A very decent effort from director Jonathan Demme before he went on to better things,LAST EMBRACE is inevitably compared to the works of Alfred Hitchcock,with many scenes derivative from many of the master's most famous works(VERTIGO,THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH,STRANGERS ON A TRAIN,etc.),but this is actually an effective suspenser in it's own right,with an intriguing plot,good performances and an exciting finale.Roy Scheider plays a Secret Agent just released from care after suffering a breakdown after his wife was killed in a shootout in a restaurant.After finding a woman(Janet Margolin)who has moved into his flat,he begins to suspect someone is trying to kill him after sinister messages in Amharic keep turning up.

The film would've been more superior with more humour and better pacing,but nevertheless this isn't at all a bad Hitch imitation,with the bird imagery(a motif Hitchcock used frequently in his films)and a fine musical score by Miklos Rozsa(who had himself worked with Hitchcock on SPELLBOUND)adding to the atmosphere.The performances are fine,especially Ms Margolin,an undervalued and lovely actress who never quite made it to the top,making her character quite pitiable despite her actions.Her early death at the age of 50 in 1993 was indeed a sad loss for a film performer who deserved better.

LAST EMBRACE was made shortly before Hitchcock's death in 1980;one wonders did he ever see this film? If so,I think he would have quite enjoyed the homage on view,not great,but fairly respectful and entertaining.

6 out of 10

A mysterious man, who works for a mysterious organization, is being chased by some mysterious killers, for some unknown and mysterious reason. Has all the trappings of a bubblegum thriller and when you scrape away all the flashiness that is really all you get.

Not that it isn't entertaining. The camera movements and angles are downright dazzling. I especially liked those frantic zoom shots that look like it's shot from a camera put on a roller coaster car. There is also some interesting use of lighting and framing. Not to mention some terrific on location shooting especially the Niagara Falls finale. The story is very fast paced with a new twist coming with literally every scene. There is also a wide assortment of other gimmicks used that on a non-think level can be fun, especially during the first hour. The haunting music score is good too although it gets played a bit too much.

The problem really comes with the fact that all these twists and turns really add up to a lot of nothing. Too much is left unexplained and the final revelation seems far-fetched. There is a wide segment of other loopholes and there is just the plain old fact that you have probably seen a lot of this before. It also becomes very cliched and even kind of annoying at the end. The film expects you to become close to characters that on the whole are very poorly fleshed out.

The movie does offer a great opportunity to see Janet Margolin who is a very uniquely and naturally beautiful woman. Even when she is made to look frumpy she is beautiful. She has a face that looks like it never got past 21. She closely resembles 80's porn stars Kelly Nichols or Jennifer Noxt.

Scheider does not fare as well. He looks alright, but his presence is very transparent. He just doesn't seem to have a strong enough personality or acting ability to really create a memorable or forceful impression. Also that white suit he wears all the time has really got to go.

Overall despite it's best efforts it is still just a poor man's Hitchcock. The real thing is still better.

I don't know exactly why I find this film interesting. The plot is pretty thick and often hard to follow and sometimes the story moves at a glacial pace. Still, it's rather neat. Roy Scheider always looks kewl when carefully groomed in up to date wardrobes. And the nose, that nose, pointing in half a dozen different directions at the same time. Janet Margolin was so beautiful. It's difficult to take your eyes from her when she in on screen. She projects a sort of pathos, a winsome helplessness, even after is is revealed that she can be a pretty cold-blooded babe underneath all that vulnerability, a primordial fatale monstrum. She has one or two sexy scenes that almost in themselves justify watching the movie. And I've always found John Glover a magnetic actor. He's never quite able to mask that Maryland accent. Here he plays a snobbish Princeton professor in seersucker, jealous of Margolin's attraction to Scheider. And when we first see Sam Levene's face, as a stranger on a train, there is the shock of recognition on our part. What a long absence, Sam! Nice shots of Princeton's campus. There's a shoot-out (the only one) in the empty quad and campanile producing enough ringing bells to drive you mad, which Miklos Roszas score does not to. It's unmistakably his own and evokes other earlier black and white noirs. The climactic scene was shot at Niagara Falls.

This is an engrossing thriller -- clearly in the vein established by Hitchcock -- and very much like Brian De Palma's carefully structured style. This is the first Jonathan Demme film I saw and I expected him to work more in this genre. Fortunately, he directed a cornucopeia of film in various styles that vary between intriguing and amazing: including "Melvin and Howard," "Stop Making Sense," "Philadelphia," and one of the best films for repeat viewing, "The Silence of the Lambs." This film stands out from the standard murder mystery in that it presents a non-standard view of Jews who immigrated to the US. To divulge more would spoil the film. Roy Scheider is perfect and Janet Margolin is beautiful. In addition , now -- nearly 25 years later -- it is fun watching Chris Walken, John Glover and Mandy Patinkin early in their careers. It is funny to realize that Margolin, Walken and Glover were all in "Annie Hall" two years earlier.

Having watched an interesting documentary recently, "Dial H for Hitchcock", it's clear to see how Jonathan Demme was influenced by the master himself. His admiration for the master is evident, yet, in spite of everything, Mr. Demme's "Last Embrace" was a surprise nonetheless. "Last Embrace" was one of his first films and it sort of showed the trajectory of Jonathan Demme as a film director would follow. If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.

When Harry Hannan's wife is tragically killed, his life begins to unravel. Harry spends some time in a sanatorium trying to get himself together. Unfortunately, whoever wanted him put away is still much in evidence as his presence is felt right at the station where Harry is trying to board the train back home to Manhattan.

Harry is taken aback to find Ellie living in his apartment, something he had no idea was happening. It's only fitting with films of this genre that Harry will fall for the beautiful young woman who apparently seems to be trying to help him solve the puzzle about a cryptic death threat he has received at home.

Harry with the help of Sam Urdell, starts investigating about the meaning of the strange message he got. Urdell's connection within the Jewish community also unravels another conspiracy that Harry knew nothing about. The final episode involves going through the tunnels where visitors must enter in order to see real close the Falls at Niagara. Even before that there's also a great scene involving Harry's former brother-in-law in a tower at Princeton, which kept reminding us of "Vertigo".

Roy Scheider makes an intense Harry. In fact, Mr. Scheider at the time this film was made, was at the height of his career and he clearly shows why he was an excellent actor. The beautiful Janet Margolin plays Ellie, a woman who is too good to be true when we first meet her, but we have no clue as to what she is capable of doing. The great Sam Levene is seen as Sam Urdell, who befriends Harry and is instrumental in getting to the bottom of this mystery. In supporting roles some familiar faces who went to do much better work later. Christopher Walken, Mandy Patinkin, Jacqueline Brookes, Marcia Rodd, Charles Napier, among others are seen in the film.

Jonathan Demme proved he was a talent that would go to bigger and better things even then.