L'impossible témoin

I am a great fan of James Caan's work and when I found out about this flick I had to order the DVD from a dealer because no one was streaming it. I was not disappointed; this movie is a gem. First off we have Caan's performance, up to his usual high level. Then we have the minimalist approach of the filmmakers. Every scene gives the viewer no more than what he needs to know for the story to progress, and there is no excess emotionalism. Use of music is minimal. As a result the story keeps you involved from beginning to end. Also worth mentioning is the fine work of Kevin McMillan, an excellent character actor. I don't know why this flick isn't better known but it is definitely worth seeing.

This film DID get a theatrical release, but it quickly disappeared. It's unfortunate, because it's very thoughtful film. As a director, Caan made some interesting choices.

As a side note, I saw Caan discussing it in an interview a long time ago. He said the studio had no faith in the film, so they dumped it without much advertisement. And then they were shocked when it received great reviews. But by then, it was already dead. He also mentioned that the pan & scan version that was on TV changed a lot of wide-screen two shots into separate shots! I'm not sure if the same thing happened with the VHS, but I'll bet it did. Hopefully, a proper version will come out on DVD one of these days.

Actor James Caan made his directorial debut (and, to date, only directorial effort) with this compelling, believable adaptation of a true story. Caan stars as Thomas Hacklin, Jr., a regular-Joe working man (at a tire factory). His ex-wife Ruthie (Barbra Rae) is now involved with Jack Scolese (Robert Viharo), a Mafia goon who squeals on his associates after an arrest. As a result, Jack ends up going into the Witness Relocation Program - and he takes Ruthie and Thomas's two kids with him. An understandably angry and distraught Thomas tries to track down his family, while doing battle with a rather uncaring government.

There's something inherently appealing about seeing this blue collar guy struggle to overcome the immense amount of red tape facing him. Caan is excellent in the lead; he's low key and convincing, and on those few occasions when the character gives in to anger, you can hardly blame him. The film also strongly benefits from its location shooting (it takes place in Buffalo, NY in 1967) and local atmosphere. Caans' storytelling is efficient and to the point. There's no filler here, with "Hide in Plain Sight" clocking in at a refreshingly succinct 92 minute run time. The widescreen photography is first rate.

The cast is stacked with familiar faces. Jill Eikenberry is immensely appealing as Alisa, the new lady in Thomas's life. The under-rated Joe Grifasi is likewise engaging as his good buddy Matty Stanek. And get a load of this assortment of supporting and character actors: Kenneth McMillan, Josef Sommer, Danny Aiello, David Clennon, Peter Maloney, David Margulies, Leonardo Cimino, Tom Signorelli, Charles Hallahan, Alice Drummond, and Beatrice Winde.

While watching this, one may rightly wish Caan had tried directing more often during his career. He clearly had a knack for it.

Eight out of 10.

Now, I'm a big fan of car chases and big action, and I do love style for style's sake. But it's getting so it's hard to find anything but these things, even in a 'small' dramatic movie. This movie is quite genuine, it's got that 70's slower pace - a very natural build-up of the drama. James Caan's direction is clean and clever, and he plays that working class good man so well. The story is well handled, especially considering that it's based on true events, and without the overbearing score or dramatic character or situational embellishments that this film would have if it was made today. So refreshing.

One of the great unsung directing debut's from a versatile character actor with stat status. I remember the mid to late 70's cinema scene with fondness and the prospect of James Caan directing as well as starring in a character-driven piece was like manna from heaven to me. Living in the UK I never got to see this release in the cinema (despite excellent coverage in UK's Films and Filming magazine), but I caught up on it during the 80's video revolution (in an un-hired ex-rental video). Unfortunately the video was panned and scanned to 4:3 thus diminishing the composition and I had to wait until the late 90's to catch this excellent drama on TCM where it was regularly screened in it's correct aspect ratio. Since purchasing a DVD recorder last year this title has not popped up on UKTV so I wait with baited breath for the return of "Hide In Plain Sight" to the TV screens.....hey! maybe someone will lobby for a DVD release because you've got to admit it's far superior the 95% of the dross that gets released every week of the year!