Updated: 28 June 1997

RANSOM

A very effective suspense drama. A lot of people I talked to had the same complaint: that the film was good, but dragged on too long.

I suppose it could have been more tightly edited, but I think it would have lost something in the process. The parents here (played wonderfully by Mel Gibson in a terrific performance and Rene Russo--always good), have to live through each stage of their decision-making. In the middle of the movie, there were a couple cycles of reactions. Kind of ping-ponging the threats and deals back and forth. I thought the movie gained by having them there.

Films with good guys and bad guys are often driven by just how villainous the villain is. Ask any Star Trek fan, and they'll tell you that STAR TREK II is so good primarily because of Ricardo Montalban's blazingly evil and powerful turn as Khan. In RANSOM, we are given one of the better villains I've seen in a long, long time. I remarked that in APOLLO 13, Gary Sinise's performance wasn't that far removed from what he's done before. That is not the case here. He is so completely evil that he shocks you. Now, I've seen many other films with actors doing many evil things, but there is a key difference here. His acting. There are only a handful of moments in the film where he is really brutal, but he manages to convey the sense of being utterly without conscience throughout. And I mean utterly. He leaves you feeling that he could easily do anything to anyone without a thought beyond what he would get out of it.

A large part of this film's suspense, therefore, is due primarily to the ever-present potential for violence that Gary Sinise makes possible. Dang he's good. Anytime you hear about actors talking about their dream roles nowadays, they're all saying the same thing: "Oh, I'd like to play a villain. Like, what a switch, huh?" Not really. Most villains are carbon copies of each other. The villain in this movie is different. Different enough to feel fear, though it is a fear that stems not from his humanity, but his sense of self-preservation.

And the hero isn't too bad either. Mel Gibson is terrific as the father of the abducted child. He is a good father, and a good husband, but not a completely wholesome hero. I really began to enjoy this film when an atypical thing happened. The hero turns his plea for his son into a pledge for revenge if he's not returned pronto. All who see the trailer know this. But the movie doesn't disintegrate into a father-becomes-rambo-and-wipes-out-the-bad-guys schlocky mess.

It doesn't, as a matter of fact, allow you to slip into the comfort zone that it just set you up to enjoy. The son is now in more danger than he was before, the movie tells you. And because of the brilliantly unpredictable villain, this is completely possible. You see the wheels spinning in Gary Sinise's mind so fast that there is almost a whirring sound. The dice are tumbling--this guy is very sharp. How will they fall? If he decides that doing in the kid and taking off are the best options, you know that plan will be carried out instantly.

Making the whole matter even more complex is the presence of a very believable Rene Russo, who does not want to jeopardize her son, and whose loyalties are tested strenuously. Her character is not in a simple situation, and she does not play it simply.

Oddly, a parallel situation exists with the kidnapper and his lover, played by Lili Taylor. Her loyalties are also tested strenuously, and her motives are never other than realistic. We see her re-evaluations as often as we see those of the other three main players.

Now, like I said, you could more tightly edit this film. You could reduce it to the basic plot elements and still have a rousing action-thriller-vengeance-is-mine story. But, by necessity, you'd be leaving out the moments that made this film so much more.