Retrato Falado

The stage curtains open ...

This film just recently popped up on my radar, and seeing the cast, I decided to give it a try. It came out in 1992, but I just watched it for the first time a few nights ago. Better late than never, right? I came away from it feeling pretty good. It is your better-than-average thriller with an interesting concept and decent acting.

"Sketch Artist" is centered around Jack Whitfield (Jeff Fahey), a sketch artist who works for the police department who, based off of a witness description, is able to draw a likeness of persons of interest. But, when Daisy (Drew Barrymore in an early role), gives him the description of a person she saw leaving the scene of a murder, the image on the paper he is drawing is that of his wife (Sean Young). His marriage is already on the rocks, and even though he wants to save it, he can't help but wonder if she was really there. So, he changes the likeness, and begins his own investigation which leads to film's final revelation.

I actually really enjoyed watching this hidden gem. The acting was done convincingly by everyone involved. I felt that Jeff Fahey handled his role well as the conflicted police officer and tormented husband. Drew Barrymore would obviously go on to bigger and better things, but it was fun to see her in an early supportive role. The suspense wasn't overdone, and the story was easy to follow. There weren't many red herrings here, but there is enough doubt thrown in to keep you guessing until the final reveal.

I would recommend this one, and I would watch it again. It is indicative of your early 90's thriller film fare. I personally love that era of movies and this one hold's its own just fine against the movies of that time. This is a solid 7 stars out of 10. I'm glad I discovered it.

This straight-to-video movie was obviously made after the "neo-noir" revival that began in late 80'd/early 90's with films like "The Grifters" and "After Dark My Sweet", but before the advent of the "erotic thriller" ushered in by the success of "Basic Instinct". It has less eroticism than your typical "erotic thriller" (although it does start out with an acrobatic sex scene involving British beauty Charlotte Lewis), and like a lot of the low-budget "neo-noirs" of the era it has way too much sun-drenched LA ambiance to be very noirish. It is redeemed somewhat, however, by the interesting cast.

Jeff Fahey plays a sketch artist who, while sketching a murder suspect with a witness (Drew Barrymore), realizes the killer might be his own wife (Sean Young). He changes the sketch and inadvertently draws another woman he encountered near the murder scene (Stacy Haiduk), implicating her in the murder. Then he finds himself implicated as well when the witness turns up dead. After that though, the movie falls on the old cliché of the suspect investigating the crime to clear his own name. And the ending is pretty predictable.

Fahey is a talented actor who makes his underdeveloped, blow-dried character a lot more likable than he ought to be. Sean Young is an interesting actress who was done in more by her own real-life erratic behavior than any lack of talent. She's pretty good, but doesn't have a lot of screen time. Drew Barrymore is, of course, a big star now, but this movie came at a really awkward point in her career between her child acting years and her "lethal loilta" career-revival period when she appeared in "Poison Ivy" and as teen prostitute/would-be assassin Amy Fisher in "The Amy Fisher Story". Both she and Stacy Haiduk (from "Luther the Greek") play surprisingly functional (and non-erotic) roles, but still it is unusual to see an actor of that caliber in a supporting role in a film like this. Charlotte Lewis wasn't much of an actress, but nobody ever seemed to complain too much, and she too has a relatively small role as a prostitute. Rounding out the cast is memorable character actor as a police lieutenant. This is certainly not good, but the interesting cast prevents it from being a total waste of time. . .

Daisy (Drew Barrymore) encounters a woman on her delivery. Sketch artist Jack Whitfield (Jeff Fahey) helps Daisy recover the woman's face who is suspected have killed Tommy Silvers. He is shocked to see the resemblance to his wife Rayanne (Sean Young). He changes the picture before handing it in to Lieutenant Tonelli. There is strain in his marriage and he wonders if she has something on the side. As his fake sketch leads to a suspect, he starts investigating on his own. He is shocked again to find out Rayanne is working for Silvers.

This needs much more intensity. The idea of a thriller centering on the police sketch artist is interesting. The movie sets it up pretty well. It needs more Barrymore as the damsel in distress. The movie falls flat as Fahey is left to his own device. The premise may be good but it's a long slow downhill slide in this non-thrilling thriller.

Could have done a better film with this premise. The first two thirds of the movie, where it was much more of a psychological story was much better than the denouement where some small amount of action was attempted. Jeff Fahey's performance was consistently good. It's good to see an actor who doesn't look like such a pretty boy. Sean Young was good at the beginning, but by the end, she had given in to the script.

"Sketch Artist" feels like just about everyone involved in making the movie - the actors, director, and writer - has the life sucked out of them before filming started. To begin with, take the title character, played by Jeff Fahey. There is no particular reason why we feel we should get involved in his plight. He is almost completely without emotion or passion, his appearance is sloppy, he makes some pretty dumb decisions, and his investigation of the mystery is done incredibly slowly, like he just doesn't care about what could happen to him. The director didn't seem to care about his character as well. There's no feeling of tension or panic anywhere in the movie, and the climax has the impact of a wet noodle hitting the ground.

I will admit that Drew Barrymore, in a limited role, does give a surprisingly decent performance. And it's always fun to see bald-headed actor James Tolkan play another authority figure, though his role is limited as well. But neither actor is given enough to make the movie worth watching.