Le Caméléon

Years after he had a breakdown as a result of his wife and kid being murdered by mob hit-man Cortessi, undercover agent Willie Sterling is back on the job. With a leak in the department and leads taking him nowhere, Matt Gianni approaches colleague Stuart Langston to get Sterling to go back undercover to trace drugs money from the cocaine business in a jail, through a crooked bank up all the way to the head of the snake. However Gianni becomes increasingly worried about Sterling losing himself in his multiple identities.

I saw this film a few years ago but never reviewed it at the time, so I decided to watch it again to refresh my opinion. The plot is an average undercover story with a revenge element thrown in for good measure. Once this has been going for a while it also throws in CIA conspiracy, mental breakdown and a romance subplot into the mix. Suffice to say that what comes out is a very strange beast indeed. As a result the story becomes messy quite quickly and is very unlikely from start to finish – a finish that you will be able to predict about an hour before it occurs as well. However what makes the material better than it is, is a couple of good performances, mostly from the lead actor.

You can see why LaPaglia signed for this – he must have seen the clichéd script but seen the chance to show off his ability. While he is good, the script damages his impact and I have seen him do better work – maybe this could serve as his promo reel? On top of his good performance keeping me watching I also though Pollack was quirky and enjoyable (and benefited from not taking the film too seriously at any point). They may not add much more than recognisable faces but the cast also includes Knight, Hardin and Romano, not to mention a superb F. Abraham Murray impression by Amendola.

Overall this is an average film at best, but mostly it is a poor one. The plot, script and characters are pretty nondescript and the film doesn't really do anything with any of the threads that it hints at. Luckily LaPaglia seems to be enjoying himself and it's almost worth seeing for an actor trying to make the best of his part in a poor film.

I actually watched this film based on the recommendations of those who've commented here. It was just starting on BBC1 and, as I happened to be online at the time, I thought I'd check out what had been written here on IMDb. I'm glad I did as they convinced me to watch the film.

Whilst it's plot reads like your typical, cop-looking-for-revenge-B-movie that normally gets shown in the early hours of the morning to fill time, this plot is made watchable by tour-de-force performance from Anthony LaPaglia. He plays a undercover cop searching for revenge who's so good at being other people that he's losing his grip on who he is. LaPaglia slips effortlessly from character to character, sometimes within scenes you can see him taking on the characteristic of others. His English accent is well done, and I believe if you were to just see the scenes where he's seducing Jill Hallman, you'd simply assume you were watching a Hugh Grant style romance, except LaPaglia is infinitely more charming in my opinion.

Another performance of note is Kevin Pollack's. He gives a solid performance and makes a good foil to LaPaglia. Against these two, everyone else just seems to fade into the background.

Of course, there are problems with the film. If you analyse the plot for 5 minutes, it would probably all fall apart. Also, the film feels dated before its time, looking a few years older than it's 1995 release date would suggest. But these are by-the-by things for me personally as I enjoyed the performances so much.

Finally, for anyone interested in similar subject matter, I would highly recommend the 'Human Target' comic books written by Peter Milligan for DC comics.

Anthony LaPaglia really shows off his acting abilities. He portrayed the character from every angle of emotion. I was on the edge of my seat in suspense as to what would take place next. This is definitely a movie where you have to keep your attention on the movie to enjoy every minute of it. I had wanted more even after the movie was over. I really wish they would consider a DVD release as this was one of his great films. This is on my top 10 list of movies. I recommend that you see this movie to see what one mans determination can do. I became a Anthony LaPaglia fan back when I saw his "Innocent Blood" a cute horror/comedy. I really enjoy his newer TV series "Without a Trace".

This film has a fairly unoriginal premise: cop guy still suffering the death of his family goes out for revenge. The particulars of the crime plot - drugs, money laundering, and other organized crime activity - are also nothing to get worked up about. It's not that they're done badly or even cheesy, but they have all been done before.

What makes this film worth watching is the lead character and the actor who plays him. Willie Serling, played by the wonderful Anthony LaPaglia, drifts in and out of so many false personalities as part of his undercover operations that he's not sure who he is himself anymore. Not only does LaPaglia adeptly handle character changes - moving in and out of accents, mannerisms, gaits, etc. - but he also really brings home the performance of Serling struggling to keep a grip on his own life. LaPaglia's performance is so good that it's easy to forget about the plot issue. Furthermore, the character himself is interesting to watch as he navigates the story.

So don't watch this movie if you're looking for the best crime drama ever, but definitely watch it if you want to see a genius of an actor at work in a thoroughly interesting role.

If you're a fan of movie makeup, that part of this movie alone should entice you. Fabulous work by the makeup crew makes for a fun Spot-The-Agent game on the part of Willie's boss. If the crew didn't get an award for their work, they were robbed.

This film is acceptable as a 'B' feature thriller movie. Unfortunately the script, though witty in parts, needs attention - e.g. over use of 'deus ex machina' devices. The direction is generally unimaginative and at times clichéd - i.e. in the 'third act' the bad guy is seen getting out of his car camera angled from feet upwards. This is a well-worn tired technique aimed at instilling a sense of foreboding, it no longer works and hasn't for many years now. The premise of the story however is interesting and as usual Mr LaPaglia is a joy to watch though as a Brit I would question his English accent. As the character of Will Serling relaxes into his English role-playing the accent I have to admit does greatly improve. Perhaps this was intentional. I suspect that this film was never anything more than a potboiler for all those taking part. Any LaPaglia fan will certainly enjoy it to a fair degree, but don't expect anything wonderful. Of a similar period in his career I would rather point eager LaPaglia fans towards the low-budget film 'Killer' - this film, I believe, will more than satisfy them in all they desire to see of the aforesaid wonderful actor.