Le Caméléon

I am always surprised by the low rating of this movie whenever I visit this page on IMDb. I remember watching this film as a kid and being blown away by the premiss and the acting. Sure the film feels very 90s and the production value is generally thin, but bearing in mind the very decent make-up jobs, and action thriller feel mixed with espionage and psychosis, you are left with a very decent and enjoyable movie that has something for everyone.

I was unaware of Anthony LaPaglia before this movie, and while most people probably know him for his more successful recent works, such as "Fraiser", "Without a Trace", and film Analyze That, his lesser known works are probably his best performances.

Chameleon, for me shows off his acting talents best. His ability to mimic voices is very satisfying and while the make-up is very important factor in his characters, he really makes each character his own. Some might find similarities with this movie and The Saint (the film more so than the TV series) as both have an element of lost identity, but this film, while approaching it from a not too subtle and very 90s drama viewpoint, really gets the slipping of identity and overlapping of mannerisms.

I recommend this film to anyone that likes thrillers, for me this really epitomizes the psychological thriller for it's era (I would say for it's decade but Fight Club squeezed into the 90s with it's 1999 release).

I was very lucky to be able to re-watch this film today, and to anyone lucky enough to be able to get a-hold of it, watch it.

This movie shows you what an excellent plot and good actors can do. Anthony LaPaglia, one of the most underated actors of his time, protrays an undercover agent who is in the middle of a nervous breakdown. This movie is totally engrossing and well thought out and you begin to feel the depth of anger and loss that Anthony LaPaglia's character feels. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to enjoy a good movie.

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.

I really don't get the low rating of this, it's a pretty good movie in which Anthony La Paglia plays an undercover agent whom assumes the identity of many persona's (hence the title '' The chameleon'' ) yrs after his wife is murdered by a mob Hitman, we also get to see the mental effect that this takes on him over extended periods of time of him playing these characters in his desperation to track this hitman down.

May not be the ground breaking but one of if not may favourite 90's thrillers in which is hugely boosted by La Paglia & Co's performances.

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.