Frantic (1988)

After his wife is kidnapped from their Paris hotel room soon after checking in, confused, distraught American doctor (Harrison Ford) finds himself plunged into a complex web involving Arab terrorists. Rather mild Hitchcockian suspense-thriller from director Roman Polanski, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gerard Brach. Polanski sets up the pieces to this chess game awkwardly, with opening moments that don't convince (Ford and spouse Betty Buckley act more like brother and sister than a married couple). The pacing does pick up from there, despite the fact that Ford's character is seldom likable and is mainly just a plot device (the worried husband). Newcomer Emmanuelle Seigner (later Mrs. Polanksi) is tantalizing as a young woman who becomes involved, and her scenes with Ford give the picture a sexy shot in the arm. ** from ****

It's all Mood and Tension from Director Roman Polanski, at a Lethargic Pace that some Moderns might Find Too Slow. But if one can Go With the Flow of this Taut Tale of Hitchcockian Misdirection and Wrong Place and Wrong Time Conceit, the Film Engages.Harrison Ford is the Driven Husband out to find His Wife who Wandered Off, or so it Seems, after Their Arrival in Paris. Polanski's Film is Smart and Mature with a Sophistication not usually found in Thrillers. Conversations are Drawn Out for Maximum Stress, both on the Phone and in Person, and sometimes Things are Taken to the Breaking Point. In the First Half, it is the Uncertainty of the situation that Causes Concern and in the Second Half once Things become Known it is just more Cause for Concern.Reaching a Fever Pitch in the End but the Thrill Ride getting there Does Not End Quickly and once Again the Tension is Stretched to the Limit. It's a Nerve Racking Film as was intended and there isn't much Relief throughout the Two Hour Running Time. Overall, the Film comes off as something Very Different and is an Offbeat Entertainment for those Seeking Artistic Filmmaking at its Best. Note...The eerie serpentine Score by Ennio Morricone effectively underlines the mood and some Reggae and Club Songs also add to the atmosphere

I bought a DVD set of movies with Harrison Ford in it and I looked forward to Frantic, based on the reviews and ratings here. Unfortunately, it was only a mediocre movie and I was somewhat disappointed. For one thing, it was very dated. and by that I do not mean that you could feel the age from the 80s dress and technology, although you could. Those concerns fade into the background in a movie when the plot is compelling. What i mean is, the writing was so dated. The plot was so unsophisticated. For a simple mix-up, they sure dragged out the discovery and the trade-off. A few things were so unbelievable, like when the bad guys just give up at the end. Like, they've already shot someone. they aren't going to shoot someone else who throws away what they are after?? There were a few things that I liked. I liked the performances, and I like that the relationship between Ford's character and Michelle was not the same old stereotypical sexual tension side-kick role.

Frantic. It's an odd name, because this late 80s European thriller is anything but. Since the days of Master of Suspense™ Hitchcock, writers and directors have been looking at new ways of doing it. The approach of Roman Polanski and his co-writer Gerard Brach takes on a languid, brooding pace, as oppose to the breakneck action and suspenseful pacing typical to the genre.Brach and Polanski have always typically written movies that just about conform to usual narrative and genre conventions, but filled with a kind of bleak fatalism that seems counter even to darkness of film noir and its descendents. In his travels the hero of Frantic has encounters that are depressing in their familiarity. Unhelpful authorities are of course a staple of any kind of DIY crime-solving thriller, but what is so chilling here is not just the indifference of the authorities, but the believable nature of their indifference. And this is very typical of Frantic; it doesn't often step outside of plausibility for the sake of excitement. In your average thriller, when the Liberty figurine falls from the roof, it would have been picked up by a Mossad agent (or someone) before Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner could recover it, and a chase would have ensued. Here it is simply an annoying fumble that emphasises the amateurish nature of the lead characters.Given that then, how does Frantic manage to thrill and engross its audience? Quite simply, with the way it is shot. Polasnki unsettles his audiences with a camera that often shuffles around at a pace at-odds with what is happening on screen. When Ford runs into his old friends at the airport, they are full of bubbly bustle, but the camera creeps around, most unnervingly. The few action scenes tend to be played out with fewer cuts then would be expected, giving them an excruciating real-time feel. There's always a strong sense of helplessness in Polanski's images. The last glimpse we have of Ford's wife before she is kidnapped is from inside a shower, through a narrow doorway – and it is she who exits the shot, not the camera that leaves her. There are a lot of set-ups like this throughout the movie. They look so confining they give us a palpable urge to step out of the space, but the camera confounds us by staying put. The frustrating wrongness of Polanski's shots really helps to involve us in the emotions of the story.Frantic is not without its flaws. Harrison Ford is far from his best here, although he's not really given room to act well by the script in any case, except in the scene where he phones his children, in which he is adequate. The story is packed with a lot of rather obvious symbolism (the little Statue of Liberty is hardly a MacGuffin in this respect!). And yet, in the grander scheme of the movie, these are minor issues. There is ultimately a surprising amount of beauty and humanity in Frantic - the aching Ennio Morricone score, the sudden revelation of anti-war themes in the final act. It somehow makes all the bleakness and languor worthwhile.