The word 'frantic' means either mentally deranged or overcome by emotion. Bingo! Like most movies with a one-word title, like "Heat" or "Speed", Polanski's "Frantic" is the cinematic version of a word definition. "Frantic" was released by Warner Bros. In 1988.
Set in Paris, "Frantic" is both mentally deranged and overcome by emotion. The film stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Walker. Walker has come to Paris with his wife, Sondra (Betty Buckley), for a medical convention. After a mix up with the luggage at the airport, in which the bad guys didn't get the suitcase they expected, Sondra Walker is kidnapped by the bad guys in an attempt to get back the suitcase they did expect. Still with me? Pretty simple cloak and dagger stuff really. No one at the hotel, police station, or embassy believes that his wife has been kidnapped (they all think she off playing "hide the Eiffel Tower" with some Parisian lover) so Dr. Walker is off on his own to play detective. He meets up with the girl that was carrying the suitcase the bad guys wanted, Michelle. Michelle is played by a beautiful young woman named Emmanuelle Seigner and I really love the name 'Emmanuelle' (long story). She sticks it out with Dr. Walker because she wants to get paid (which constantly fucks things up) and she is worried that she may be killed for messing up the luggage thing in the first place.
Suspense is suspense and thrillers are thrillers, right? Wrong! Roman Polanski has build a career off of raping 16 year-old… uh, making suspenseful movies the make Hitchcock look childish, and "Frantic" is no exception. If I have any complaint, it is that maybe the movie is a bit overdone. Like most of his movies, each scene is an entity onto itself. However, in "Frantic", when it's all put together, it's a bit much to swallow. Polanski would have benefited from an editor that dared to tell him that his movie was too long. A task the film's editor, Sam O'Steen, did not accomplish. All in all, I really enjoyed the movie (especially the scene where a completely naked Ford, wearing only an aptly placed Teddy bear, gets knocked out by a roundhouse kick to the forehead. I don't know why the fact that a naked Harrison Ford getting beat up sticks in my memory, but it does!). Speaking of Harrison Ford, one must remember that this all takes place within minutes of Dr. Walker (Ford) landing in Paris. He hasn't slept. And if anyone can do jet lag, Harrison Ford can do jet lag.
I feel this movie is worth the money to rent and a definite must if you can catch it on cable.
Baron's Six Shooter…
4 ½ slugs outta 6.
by Baron Cameron (2000)
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