Film Review: Frantic (1988)

Depending on the kindness of strangers can be quite difficult, even more so if those strangers don’t speak your language. This is situation the protagonist of Frantic, 1988 thriller directed by Roman Polanski, finds himself in. Plot begins when San Francisco surgeon Dr. Richard Walker (played by Harrison Ford) arrives in Paris in order to attend medical conference, accompanied with his wife Sondra (played by Betsy Buckley) with whom he had spent honeymoon in Paris twenty years ago. The couple is however too exhausted by jet lag to enjoy romantic getaway, and Sondra also mistook someone else’s suitcase at the airport. Before Walkers have opportunity to settle the matter, Sondra mysteriously disappears from the hotel room while her husband was taking a shower. Dr. Walker tries to find her and, based on anecdotal testimonies, believes that she was abducted. However, hotel staff, police and US Embassy officials prove all but useless and few believe his story. He is forced to search for her himself and starts with the content of misplaced suitcase that might give some leads. The trail leads to seedy night club and drug dealer’s apartment where he would encounter Michelle (played by Emmanuelle Seigner), attractive young woman who earns her living as a drug courier and whose suitcase happened to be mistaken for Sondra’s.

Roman Polanski has been moving to different countries during his career, so the plot about someone trying to adapt to circumstances in a strange and unknown environment probably attracted him based on personal experiences. This concept is also used for the plot of Hitchcockian thriller about “ordinary man in extraordinary situation”. Polanski, aided by cinematographer Witold Sobociński, enhances suspense by portraying Paris, one of the most romantic cities in the world, as dark, claustrophobic place, populated by strange, bizarre and sometimes menacing characters. Protagonist, who doesn’t speak French, also has to worry whether the people he is meeting are friends or enemies. Polanski’s concept also benefits from casting Harrison Ford in main role. Ford at the time tried to discard his image of action hero and prove that he was serious actor. He works very hard and is quite convincing in the role of a man almost driven to insanity due to unpleasant situation he has found himself in. Emmanuelle Seigner, young model and actress for whom Frantic was first English-speaking film, is also good in the role of Michelle, helped by the script which makes her character something like anti-thesis of femme fatale of film noirs. Michelle is attractive and Frantic plays with unresolved sexual tension between her and Walker, but the protagonist is simply too focused on his quest to notice; Michelle also makes some questionable choices and doesn’t appear to be particularly smart character. But the audience probably would care, because Seigner, who would soon become Polanski’s wife, is quite pleasing to the eye.

Frantic is well-directed film, except for the pacing, which is very slow. In the beginning, when the suspense is slowly built, it is actually a good thing. Unfortunately, once the mystery is being revealed, this works against the film, making the plot resolution prolonged and almost repetitive. Polanski at times attempts some black humour, but those efforts aren’t always successful, especially in the scenes when Dr. Walker has to deal with inept US bureaucrats, like the one played by John Mahoney. The predictably violent and melodramatic ending represents great disappointment. Frantic is a good film that should be recommended for most of the audience, but not to those who have their expectations built on Polanski’s directorial reputation and Hitchcock’s classic thrillers.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10675-frantic
Critic: AA