Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

I reluctantly picked up this movie as a rental, dreading another cliche DeNiro performance, and wondering what it could possibly offer, that hadn't been seen before. What I found instead of another action movie, with a standard good guy bad guy scenario, was an entertaining movie, interesting in ways you couldn't anticipate. It is clever, well written and entertaining all the way, from start to finish. Except for a few loose ends, it could easily be one of the better movies of the year.

The theme, while maintaining dramatic interest, is in the end an extremely well done satiric piece, emphasizing media influence, in reporting (and participating in) the news.

One of the keys to appreciation of this flick is the music. Whether or not you realize it, the potentially horrendously brutal acts of violence are lightened by a bouncing little tune, that repeats when you most need it, and is plaintive and lyrical at others, presenting another side to the tragedy. Mostly, it is good enough to not be distracting.

The camera work

Cinematography heads the list as fancy footwork, mixed effects, some home-video effects, and footage actually shot by the actor Oleg Taktarov in his role in the movie. Impressive is the use of solarization in the home videos to underscore the violence, and impact of the murder scenes, and at the same time, defuse it by the amateur-look of the video. In fact, the camera work in this film is stylish, attractive, and occasionally disarmingly funny.

For example, in one scene, the lead in says that Eddie (DeNiro) has a way of dealing with hangovers: flash to the next scene where DeNiro’s face plunges through ice cubes towards the audience, and emerges out of the water, followed by sprucing up for the camera. Another of my favorite scenes is the first glimpse of the fire department at the first murder scenes, underscoring its prominence as a media circus.

The Issues-The Influence of The Media

Funny how the important issues are downplayed and ridiculed by many critics of this movie. I wonder why, when media manipulation is so patently responsible for inciting the public? Or maybe, like racism in this country, it is one more issue that we would prefer not to have in our face. Tabloid journalism has been around for a very long time, although in earlier days it was called “muckraking”. This movie underscores two aspects of the tabloid media that deserve attention. One is the circus routine, the public appeal of real crime, down and dirty. The audience for this media circus is universal. The “story” is everything, and it is addictive. How many people watched the play-by-play of OJ Simpson’s arrest and trial? How many watched the developing events after the Columbine incident? How many more watched the news continuously following the September 11th tragedy?

The other issue is, that the media can and will mold public opinion. So the possibilities of abuse are endless. One that I witnessed recently, was a scene of a group of terrorist supporters in Iran openly celebrating the successful bombing of the Twin Towers, less than 2 hours after the event. It was galvanizing, inciting many of us to rage, but was it necessary? There are always choices to be made, and one of the points being made is that the Industry, as a business, has no moral imperative. It is all about ratings, after all.


In fact the title refers to “fifteen minutes of fame” that exposure to tabloid media can offer. The appeal of being a “star” applies to the good guys and the bad guys, as well as numerous people in between. In practically every crowd scene there is at least one “civilian” pointing a home video camera at the developing action, a media camera pointing back, and often the criminal taping his own version, to later exploit the media. It is fascinating and clever, another unacknowledged device of genius by Herzfield.

Performances

DeNiro manages to go deeper than the stereotype, in a surprisingly intricate character, with dimensions of humor and sensitivity I didn’t expect. Burns emerges as a hero, the man with a mission. Kelsey Grammar delivers a good performance as a tabloid journalist, completely devoid of humor. But, above and beyond our American stars, there are the efforts of the eastern block actors, Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov. These two guys are well worth watching. You will remember these characters for a while.

John Herzfield deserves some credit as a director, and writer of this film. He has some extensive experience in television, and some first hand knowledge of the workings of tabloid media, that shows. The dialog is excellent, the screenplay is pretty good, and the story moves right along. Action sequences are gripping, and the end is a rush.

Only a few defects take away from the final product, in a couple of characters that are developed, but go nowhere, such as the ‘Daphne’ character, which starts to develop as a romantic interest. There are some major problems with motivation in the character of Burns, which are never really explained, and leave his character a little ambiguous. And who is that guy that appears at Eddie Fleming’s side in the mirror to hand him towels, and water? I have yet to figure that guy out.

The Cast

Robert DeNiro as Eddie Fleming, the cop who was the attention grabber, the media darling. This character actually develops into a character with some wit, tenderness and integrity. I was unexpectedly impressed. One of my favorite scenes is his looking again in the mirror and rehearsing his proposal to his girlfriend, even if the scene is a rip-off of another film years before.

Edward Burns as Jordy Warsaw. Burns father was a cop. He worked with the “Current Affair” as consultant, and was at least partially a role model for Eddie Fleming, which makes his connection to this film a tad more personal. I like the character, who is a competitive arson investigator, and buddies with Eddie Fleming in solving the murders. When he gets his next movie, at least I’ll know who he is.

Kelsey Grammar as Robert Hawkins, the tabloid reporter. Not a lovable character, but not overdone. This was a pretty good performance.

Karel Roden-as Emil Slovak- this character is a criminal, but a very complex character who has moments of crystal clarity in conveying exactly what he is thinking. Terrific in gesture and physical movements, he is totally convincing as an enraged killer, and as a calculating psychopath. He is a well-known lead actor in his native Czechoslovakia, and his performance is outstanding here. Herzfield wisely cut some of his tender moments, not allowing too much audience sympathy to build.

Oleg Taktarov as Oleg Razgul, the criminal who would be filmmaker. This guy is almost totally lovable, but weak at times. He is the storyteller in the piece, the man whose camera serves as our eyes. Very well done, he also provides comic relief when we need it most; His previous roles have been as tough guys in action flicks. Another amazing performance.

Melina Kanakeredes as Nicollete Karas, Eddie Fleming’s girlfriend and female investigative reporter. Her character is small, but her actions are also crucial for plot development.

Vera Farmiga as Daphne Handlova- her character is an “innocent” witness to the first murder, and as such is chased by criminal and cop. A romantic interest builds, but then is dropped. She does represent the innocent in this film, but her part of the plot leaves a big hole.

There is an unaccredited appearance of Charlize Theron as the manager of an escort service that I kind of enjoyed, in the middle of this flick.

THE PLOT

“It’s a race-You’re only as good as your last rating”. (Sally Jessica Raphael)

Emil and Oleg are two guys, coming through Immigration. They have just spent time in prison for a robbery, and are coming to America to track down the guy who was responsible for their getting caught. All will be OK when they get their share of the booty. Emil is a Czech , Oleg is Russian. There is a tension between these two characters in real life that Herzfield translates effectively into his film. Emil is a faster talker, and Oleg is deferential. He has an unabashed love of American Filmmaking.

As they call a cab, Oleg sees a camera in a store window, rips it off, to start his career in films, as a director. He likes to refer to himself as ‘Frank Capra’. He will be filming moments of their lives from this point on.

Now meet Eddie Fleming, real cop and superstar, who is a popular hero in the big city. As he goes after a killer, an investigative reporter, Robert Hawkins, is along with cameras, to catch the dirt on film. He misses the shoot.

Oleg and Emil find their buddy, but he has spent the money. Emil has a problem with rage control, and kills him, and then his wife. They start a fire to hide the evidence. A girl, another Czech, has witnessed, but escapes. Emil seems genuinely distraught, after the fact. This is a particularly well-done scene.

The next scene, Detective Warsaw of the arson squad arrives on the crime scene to find the famous Eddie Fleming and his partner already there. There is some testosterone stuff, but the end result is that the young guy wants the more experienced detective to let him tag along. And a buddy relationship starts to develop.

Watching tabloid TV a germ on an idea occurs to Emil, which turns into a full-blown scheme. Pop psychology as well as the justice system. Take a hit as Emil states

“I love America. No One is Responsible for what they do.”

Searching for Daphne, the witness gives us a better chance to get to know our good guys and our bad guys. Oleg is obsessed with his video camera. Emil is obsessed with scheming.

Detective Fleming, we find out has a soft side. He is about to propose to his girl, in a touching scene, where he says with feeling

“I’d like to have some shoes next to my shoes”

But he has to postpone his proposal, when she is called to fill in as anchor on a news show.

This is just the beginning. There is a lot more to come, with murder and mayhem, action and redemption, as well as a spectacular ending, you won’t want to miss.

THE DVD

The package is interesting, with a commentary, deleted scenes and biographical facts. An interactive feature option pops up facts in captions, allowing you to access interviews and scene rehearsals for a particular segment. It was pretty interesting. There were no subtitles for the hearing impaired. I had this film DVD as a rental.


Final Recommendation

This is an interesting and fast-moving film, with some minor flaws. There is humor, an underlying theme of significance, and some terrific and surprising performances.

The action sequences are good, and the adrenalin rush is high. There are things that will amuse you, entertain you, and make you think a little. What more do you want?




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older