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Under Suspicion

As a mystery-cum-police procedural set during a long night's interrogation of a murder suspect, "Under Suspicion" just about scrapes through on the star power of Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. As an English-lingo remake of '80s Gallic classic "Garde a vue" (The Inquisitor), one of director Claude Miller's finest pics, however, it's a major letdown, squandering almost every element that made the original such a delight and substituting nothing compelling in its place.

As a mystery-cum-police procedural set during a long night’s interrogation of a murder suspect, “Under Suspicion” just about scrapes through on the star power of Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. As an English-lingo remake of ’80s Gallic classic “Garde a vue” (The Inquisitor), one of director Claude Miller’s finest pics, however, it’s a major letdown, squandering almost every element that made the original such a delight and substituting nothing compelling in its place. Stateside, where Miller’s pic is little known, this U.S.-French co-production may manage some bland business before lockup in ancillary; European returns, especially, look to be mild.

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Clocking in at less than 90 minutes, Miller’s 1982 original was a tightly directed chamber movie set almost entirely in a police station during one long New Year’s Eve night. Legit in feel, with succulent dialogue by ace scripter Michel Audiard, the picture had a physical relish for the cut-and-thrust, cat-and-mouse verbal games between its two leads as a sly, assured detective (Lino Ventura) attempts to trap a smooth, successful notary (Michel Serrault) into confessing to the rape and strangling of two small girls.

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The provincial seaside setting during a cold, rainy evening served to heighten the claustrophobia.

Though it adheres to the general arc of the original and (aside from the final reels) most of its content, the remake seems at pains to reverse the setting in every respect. Setting here is San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a colorful winter festival is going on in the main square. About to attend a fundraising dinner for victims of a hurricane, tax attorney Henry Hearst (Hackman) gets a call from local police Capt. Victor Benezet (Freeman) asking if he can pop by the station for a few minutes to clear up some details in a statement he made the day before. Hearst had claimed he discovered the body of a 12-year-old girl while walking his dog.

Benezet ushers Hearst into his plush, wood-lined office, where they are joined by Benezet’s deputy, Detective Owens (Thomas Jane), a cocky young cop who’s convinced Hearst is a rapist and murderer and makes no attempt to hide his feelings. Benezet, however, is old-style gentlemanly toward Hearst, a powerful local figure.

As the questions become more loaded, Hearst is faced with recapitulating his entire statement. Under pressure from his superior, Benezet finally lets Hearst briefly attend the fund-raiser across the square but only after officially putting him “under suspicion”; on his return to the station, Hearst is faced with potentially damning evidence given by his beautiful young Italian wife, Chantal (Monica Bellucci), who locked her bedroom door to him some time ago.

From its opening titles, with airborne views of Puerto Rico, propulsive music and flashily edited visuals, it’s clear this is going to be an in-your-face picture. Helmer Stephen Hopkins, who occasionally shined in action-driven pics (“Predator 2,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5”) prior to lulus like “Lost in Space,” seems afraid to let the dialogue speak for itself and the audience do some work of its own.

There’s a brief respite from Peter Levy’s loaded lensing once the movie settles down in Benezet’s office and the cross-questioning begins, with recognizable chunks of the original pic’s dialogue almost intact. But then the flashbacks start, and from there on it’s clear that visual technique rather than clever dialogue is going to carry the day.

None of this would matter if the reworking made sense on its own terms or improved on the original, but the two most radical structural changes — the greater use of flashbacks and the bulking up of Chantal’s role — simply don’t. In Miller’s pic, the flashbacks were brief and informational; here, they are extensive, jazzed up with juxtaposed slo-mo and whip pans, and featuring both Hearst and Benezet, with the latter invading the suspect’s memories. This has the effect of diluting the verbal confrontations between the two men in the police station as well as throwing unnecessary red herrings into the basic question of whether Hearst is guilty.

Even more problematic is the enhanced presence of Hearst’s wife. In Miller’s movie, Chantal (played by the late Romy Schneider) was only heard about until her sudden appearance, in one key scene, almost an hour in. Introduced at the very beginning, as a classic voluptuous Latin siren, Chantal is visually marbled throughout “Under Suspicion,” but in fact given little to do, except look poised and sultry, until her late-on appearance at the police station. Bellucci, appearing stiff and sounding stiffer in her first major English-speaking role, simply can’t bring off the subtleties required.

When given a straight run at the dialogue (as in the final scenes), Freeman and Hackman turn in perfs that are reliable but lack real chemistry. Hackman, as the big wheel from humble beginnings, comes off best, but rarely gets under the skin of his character’s private disappointments and desperation; Freeman’s Benezet is too nice with too few character flaws his opponent can play against. Their confrontations lack edge, precluding any real tension.

Jane, in the only other sizable part as Benezet’s sidekick, is solidly one-dimensional. Other roles are OK but fleeting.

Original pic’s co-producer, TF1, teams here with Freeman’s company, Revelations Entertainment. Freeman and Hackman had been chasing remake rights for some time, and both cop exec producer credits.

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Under Suspicion

U.S.-France

  • Production: A Revelations Entertainment (U.S.)/ TF1 Intl. (France) production. (International sales: TF1, Paris.) Produced by Lori McCreary, Anne Marie Gillen, Stephen Hopkins. Executive producers, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Maurice Leblond, Ross Grayson Bell. Directed by Stephen Hopkins. Screenplay, Tom Prevost, W. Peter Iliff, based on the film "Garde a vue," written by Claude Miller, Jean Herman, Michel Audiard, based on the book "Brainwash" by John Wainwright.
  • Crew: Camera (Technicolor), Peter Levy; editor, John Smith; music, BT; production designer, Cecilia Montiel; art director, Michael Atwell; costume designer, Francine Jamison-Tanchuck; sound (DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS), Simon Kaye; assistant director, Cliff Lanning; casting, Reuben Cannon. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (noncompeting), May 11, 2000. Running time: 110 MIN.
  • With: Capt. Victor Benezet - Morgan Freeman Henry Hearst - Gene Hackman Detective Felix Owens - Thomas Jane Chantal Hearst - Monica Bellucci Isabella - Nydia Caro Superintendent Miguel - Angel Suarez Detective Castillo - Pablo Cunqueiro With: Isabel Algaze, Jackeline Duprey, Luis Caballero.

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