Review of Frantic (1988) by Dave S — 01 Feb 2011

After the disaster of Pirates (1986), Roman Polanski opted for something a little more commerical. So, he pitched this Hitchcockian thriller to Warner Bros. and despite Polanski's status as a fugitive, they bought it.

It's suspenseful and taut, and has a good lead playing against type. The result is one of Polanski's best films. It has surgeon Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) visiting Paris for a medical conference with his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley).

At their hotel, Sondra mysteriously disappears while Richard is taking a shower. He goes looking for her, but he's still suffering from jet-lag and is confused, he doesn't even speak French. Not even the French police or the US embassy are of any help.

Sondra had ended up with the wrong case at the airport, and a number in the case leads Richard to streetwise femme fatale Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), who knows more than she's letting on, and she's the rightful owner of the suitcase Sondra thought was hers, but what's in the case that resulted in Sondra going missing?? And will Richard ever get his wife back?? It's a very intriguing film, something Hitchcock himself would be pround off, even though it does get a little bit too muddled at the end, it's still got the ability to keep you gripped.

Oh, and look out for Jean-Pierre Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon as a Wino.