Cat Chaser

Of all the Leonard stories put to film, this to me is the best. The voice-over along with the visuals carry the book's feel, both plot and dialogue. Peter Weller has a subtleness that breaks through his seeming deadpan, and Charles Durning couldn't be better at ambiguity. Kelly McGillis is more than a pretty and sexy figure. All the characters are mixtures of good and not so good, and as typical Leonard characters they work out the balances of their desires.

The direction is great. It keeps you moving, wondering, and figuring out the mystery. The story has several components that mix well as they are revealed. And there is the basis of reality to this film. It helps to recall the invasion of the Dominican Republic and the practices of torture attributed to the head of police at the time.

One of this films wonderful attributes is the score by jazz pianist/composer Chick Corea. It surprises me that no one has mentioned it.

And lastly, let me say that the film is exciting. Viewing after viewing it holds up well.

"Cat Chaser" is an uninspired and confused novel knock-off which doesn't equal the sum of its many talented parts. The film involves romance, lust, greed, murder, deceit, etc. but comes off flat, one dimensional, and lacking the passion of its plot. An okay journeyman B-flick which should have been better but still has its moments and might satisfy the needy couch potato.

Cat Chaser had a fair amount of promise from the start. Its director is the maverick Abel Ferrara who was responsible for such transgressive movies as The Driller Killer and The Bad Lieutenant, while its story is sourced from a novel by crime genre master Elmore Leonard. It has an interesting cast which has Peter Weller in the lead role, with a very good support. Charles Durning turns in the best performance as a sleazy sidekick. Tomas Milian is the chief baddie but looks almost unrecognisable from his days as an icon in 70's Italian movies. Kelly McGillis puts in a very uninhibited performance that includes a fair amount of full frontal nudity and a tough scene where she is abused by Milian. Frederic Forrest also stars, although his character doesn't really have a lot to do other than fall in swimming pools.

Despite the good personnel Cat Chaser lacks a certain overall impetus. Its story feels more than a little bit confused at times. The whole plot-line involving Weller's character travelling to the Caribbean to revisit a girl who saved his life years earlier is, to put it mildly, under-developed. It really could have been removed with no damage to the film in the slightest. I think the tales of the film being heavily re-edited by the studio would explain the somewhat haphazard cut of the film we have. The hand of Ferrara is only occasionally felt, most notably in a couple of shocking scenes. The aforementioned sequence involving McGillis is one, the other occurs later on where two men are stripped naked and shot to death. Both are pretty shocking for sure.

Although you have to think this movie should have been better, it's overall a decent enough flick.

It took many years before an Elmore Leonard book was given celluloid justice - Jackie Brown. However, this is a brave stab mainly thanks to an interesting cast, notably a sleazy Charles Durning in an unusual role.

It takes all of about five minutes to realise that this is not a Ferrara movie, the Direction is haphazard and uninspiring. Weller does his best but the character is so one-dimensional, he becomes a supporting character in his own movie. This movie has a lot of promise and deserves a revisit, casting maybe a George Clooney, Alec Baldwin or Val Kilmer in the Moran role.

File under forgettable Eighties thriller.

Strong performance from McGillis still doesn't help this confusing thriller from Abel Ferrera. In the unrated version, there is a scene with McGillis in bed where she is asked to strip down nude. When asked to lie down on the bed, her captor takes out a revolver and places it in a sensitive place. It's a horrific image to imagine what could happen but Ferera is known for pushing the envelope.