A Perfect Getaway - Una perfetta via di fuga

A Perfect Getaway {dir. David Twohy,2009}

**½/****

A solid, fast paced B-thriller with winking (and surprising) sense of humor, A Perfect Getaway is not as much of a stiff genre exercise as the ads may make it seem. It is true, there is a final twist, but it falls in line with the rest of the film: a slightly off-kilter, audacious, but entertaining endnote. As an exercise of set up and payoff, both halves of the film work fairly well on their own terms, but I cannot help but wish that the first half had a bit more palpable Hitchcockian tension and suspense instead of "Scream"-like rib nudging . Nevertheless, this is involving enough and thrilling enough to be worth at least the price of a matinée, providing that your willing to suspend your proverbial disbelief.

This is a good movie. However, it will probably not get a fair shot by most. The reason is the way the story is structured in which apparently nothing happens in the first 45 minutes. For today's average 18-34 audience this is almost intolerable as they are now conditioned to expect cheap CGI thrills and impossibly huge explosions in the first two minutes of the film (not necessarily a bad thing BTW). What underrated Director/Writer David Towhy is doing is actually putting your brain to work during the first two acts of the movie, all the while enjoying some incredible visuals of the Hawaiian tropical rain forest. Towhy concentrates on subtle character development. The acting is good. Mila Jovovich and Timothy Oliphant are the two that carry the film throughout. All in all I have to say that Towhy put out a fairly plausible story here with none of the CGI generated hyperbole that we see so much of nowadays.

Newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are honeymooning in Hawaii when they decide to hike a popular trail through the lush Hawaiian wilderness. Halfway into their hike, the two learn about the slaying of another newlywed couple on one of the neighboring islands. The killers? A man and woman. Soon after, they encounter another couple on the trail, Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and his girlfriend, Gina (Kiele Sanchez). The four continue on the trail as a group, but it isn't long before Cliff and Cydney begin to suspect their new acquaintances of being the killers. There's also the shady hitchhikers, Kale (Chris Hemsworth) and Cleo (Marley Shelton, looking particularly nice with braided hair), who seem to be following them.

While I was able to correctly guess the identity of the killer's just from watching the trailer, I still had a great time with this. The performances are really strong. I've heard others say that Zahn and Jovovich aren't a believable pairing. I've seen several instances of stunning women with less attractive guys, so that's nonsense. Aside from that, they're terrific together. This is a dialogue-heavy film with several amusing character moments thrown in, all of which the actors nail. Olyphant is the standout as Nick, a former marine with a bit of a screw loose. The humor actually works, the quirkiness adding to the picture. I also thought that the B&W exposition scene was well-done, better than most of it's ilk. These types of scenes are generally frowned upon, but here it winds up being a highlight.

The Puerto Rican locations (subbing for Hawaii) are quite lovely, though the dangers of the trail aren't played up as much as I'd expected. It isn't an element that's necessarily needed, however, as I found the film to be plenty suspenseful as is. The killers were obvious to me, yes, but the I was more caught up in the situations than the reveal. For instance, the situation of the reveal made for a terrific moment. It's all in how it's done. While I could have done without the annoying screenwriter in-jokes, they don't ruin the suspense either.

I'd say that director David Twohy has more hits than misses, and this clever slice of pulpy entertainment continues that trend.

Cliff and Cydney are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back. Unsure whether to stay or flee, Cliff and Cydney join up with two other couples, and things begin to go terrifyingly wrong. Far from civilization or rescue, everyone begins to look like a threat and nobody knows whom to trust. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins… --© Universal

A PERFECT GETAWAY is one of the more genuinely smarter thrillers I've seen in quite awhile. It has a clever script in the same vein as SCREAM written by David Twohy, who's also the director. You have characters that are self aware of things called "red herrings" and "twists," almost as if they are breaking the fourth wall, not to mention one of our characters is a screenwriter. And, to top it off, the film does not rely on cheap, gimmicky action sequences and CGI to keep things interesting. It's truly a first-rate thriller.

But I'm sad to say the film is not for everyone. To some, nothing really happens in the first two acts of the film. To me, I was so interested in the character development and the discussions the characters were having. The first two acts is all build up to an explosive third act where director Twohy pulls all the stops. If you're willing to sit and pay attention in the talky scenes, you'll be rewarded. Pay no attention at all, and you'll be missing a lot of crucial information that ties into a plot twist.

Speaking of twists, the surprise twist in here is, I'll admit, not that surprising. However, it's executed really well. And I'm sure some people will be put off by the twist because how it cheats. I'm here to say it doesn't. Like Roger Ebert said, it only seems to. The script is written in a way that the plot is tight and that there aren't any contradicting scenes that will bring the story down. It's as if Twohy found all the loose ends and fixed them up until there were no plot holes at all.

I enjoyed the performances a lot. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play characters in which I would love to hang out with. Zahn is as great as always in the geeky role. Jovovich also pulls off a convincing performance as the sympathetic, free-loving wife. Timothy Olyphant also does a terrific job making his character likable yet suspicious. Kiele Sanchez is great as his girlfriend. Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton play another couple, although I felt they were underused.

In the end, the film is a perfectly fine thriller that makes you guess and second guess yourself. The film truly benefits from Twohy's extremely clever script and great direction. I also liked the score by Boris Elkis and the beautiful cinematography. If you like thrillers, give this a watch. You won't regret stopping for this getaway. I'm sorry. I just had to do it.

A PERFECT GETAWAY is a whodunit-style mystery set on some Hawaiian islands. There's been a brutal murder nearby, and the scriptwriter introduces three separate couples into the mix, inviting us to watch as they interact and mistrust one another. It's the viewer's job to work out who the killer is before the time runs out. I have to say that I worked out the twist early on, something I'm not normally able to do, so it's up to you in deciding whether it's over-obvious or not.

As such, it's a rather artificial exercise in filmmaking. There's a distinct tongue-in-cheek approach to the material, a slightly deliberate cheesiness at what's going on. Certainly, once the killers have been uncovered there's a huge misstep in the way in which the filmmakers pause their movie and take ten minutes out, in excruciating detail, to reveal how their twist came out. And from that point in, the predictable survival antics ring slightly hollow.

Until that point, your enjoyment of the movie depends on how caught up you are in the mystery and how much you like the actors. I found Steve Zahn to be out of his depth in a non-comedy, and Milla Jovovich to be as shrill and annoying as ever. But Timothy Olyphant more than makes up for that with a truly great turn as a charismatic ex-forces guy with a metal plate in his head. Olyphant's kooky performance bests sums up this movie's quirky atmosphere and his presence alone is worth an extra star.