| the Negotiator | ||||
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 Official Movie Poster It's virtually impossible to find a police thriller unburdened by clichés these days, and The Negotiator is no exception-there are plenty of headstrong officers who won't listen to the one guy on the force who knows what he's doing, conflicts between the department and stony-faced G-men who want to take over an investigation, and frightened wives who admonish their cop husbands to Be Careful Out There. Of course, most crime dramas don't have the benefit of Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey acting out the formula, either. And their commanding performances are what fuel The Negotiator, a surprisingly effective, entertaining movie given it's ho-hum, man-who-is-wrongfully-accused concept. If you've seen the movie's trailer, then the plot doesn't need much explanation-Chicago's top police hostage negotiator, Danny Roman (Jackson), gets framed for his partner's murder. When no one believes his story, he takes his own group of hostages inside the office of the internal affairs cop who investigated him. From this confined space, Roman pledges to clear his name, having the insider advantage of knowing every trick the police has for handling a hostage situation. He asks fellow negotiator Chris Sabian (Spacey) to handle the siege, and Sabian tries to draw Roman out ("talk him down" in negotiator lingo) while trying to figure out exactly who is telling the truth-Roman or his potentially crooked colleagues. The muddled conspiracy that Roman uncovers-a police disability fund scam-never becomes really compelling. What is fascinating is the high-energy banter between Roman and Sabian, as the two struggle to stand their ground in a game alternately involving bravado, bluffing and uneasy trust. While some action sequences punctuate the standoff, the real fireworks come from Jackson and Spacey, two actors with a strong feel for dialogue and how words shape character. The strength of their personalites makes them highly believable in their negotiator roles, with every action and reaction seeming natural and unforced. The supporting cast (including John Spencer, Paul Giamatti and the late J.T. Walsh) also contributes strong performances in their narrow roles. Meanwhile, director F. Gary Gray does a nice job of painting his character's personalities in economical, bold strokes-an opening sequence featuring Roman diffusing another hostage situation explores his professional intelligence, his strong relationship with other cops and his potential for anger in just a few minutes, setting up his later emotional explosion quite well, while a brief vignette inside Sabian's home gives his character more depth and likability. Gray also keeps the pace constantly moving (almost none of the film's 141-minutes lag) with cool insights into a negotiators job and the mystery of who on the police force is or isn't corrupt. Yes, it's all formulaic-but when the formula is mixed this nicely, the results are pretty good. |
Download the Script HERE | ||