26 - Friday, February 26, 1988 -

Michael

North Shore News

Caine in

intelligent thriller

THE FOURTH PROTOCOL **%

(Lorimar Video) -—— Rated R

HITCHCOCK CALLED it the McGuffin. It was the inter-
changeable, meaningless object that served as a goal for his

real interests, the characters,

In The Fourth Protocol, the
McGuffin is a nuclear device
brought into England by various
Russian couriers in bits and picces,
to be assembled and detonated
next to an American army base.

Til
BELi

film reviewer

A cold KGB killer (Pierce
Brosnan — TV's Remington
Steele) arrives in England to
engincer this dastardly disruption
of wortd security. An outspoken
English spy (Michael Caine) gets
wind of the plot and fights both
time and his egocentric superior to
track down the unknown intruder.

» The two key performances
‘strengthen this well-paced spy
thriller. Michael Caine seems in-
capable of delivering a weak per-

to pursue.

formance. Here, he fleshes out a
shrewd, no-nonsense character
with a dry sense of humor. Pierce
Brosnan effectively portrays a tru-
ly evil and chillingly attractive
assassin, relentlessly following
orders to remove potential threats
to his mission.

The Russians are played by
British and American actors with
ho attempt made to disguise the
jumble of accents. Ned Beatty ap-
pears in a couple of expository se-
quences as a KGB agent and his
unmasked Midwestern voice hurts
the film's credibility. He must have
been chosen simply because of his
burly stature, a Russian stereotype
the filmmakers frequently use.
Apparently, the higher up a com-
rade rises in the KGB, the closer
his head gets to his husky
shoulders.

The direction by John MacKen-
zie is generally clean and unpreten-
tious, except for a bomb construc-
tion sequence hampered by

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heavy-handed sexual overtones.

Fortunately, the few annoyances
are not indicative of the in-
telligence of the plot as a whole.

An interesting parallel is drawn
between the KGB's internal politi-
cal struggles and the in-fighting in
Her Majesty's Secret Service, sug-
gesting the leaders of any country’s
spy network are simply self-serv-
ing.

Lalo Schifrin’s pedestrian rai-a-
tat military score neither adds nor
detracts from the excitement.
Popular thriller author Frederick
Forsythe has concisely adapted his
bestseller for the screen, but falls
short of his similar Day of the
Jackal, directed in 1973 by Fred
Zinnemann.

apres

SHORT TAKES

FATAL ATTRACTION °°
(Paramount) — Rated R (at the
Capitol 6, Eagle Ridge 6,
Guildford cinemas)

Good performances by Michael
Douglas and, especially, Glenn
Close help fill the many gaps in
this thriller that bears a nodding
resemblance to Play Misty for Me.

A happily married man has a
casual weekend fling with a
stranger who is unwilling to Iet him
out of her life. Her harassment
turns more abusive, finally
threatening the security of
Douglas’ family.

The script provides little motiva-
tion for the male lead to stray
from his wife. Equally doubtful is

RY WEDNESDAY & T

Glenn Close’s character living over
a slaughterhouse. Director Adrian
Lyne appears to have let the
bizarre metaphor seduce him, but
style over content is always 4
mistake.

The film’s shallow ending
shamelessly apes the Friday-the-
13th-type horror entries and works
at odds with the style of the
previous 80 minutes. Ultimately.
the incongruity is fatal for this at-
traction.

HOUSEKEEPING *** (Columbia)
— Rated Mature (at the Fine Arts
cinema)

Director Bill Forsyth fashions
another gem based on his fondness
for eccentric characters. Two or-
phaned sisters in a backwoods
town in the carly '50s are changed
by the arrival of their Aunt Sylvie,
a@ woman who marches to a decide-
ly different drummer.

The events and characters are
rich in detail and the story is pep-
pered with elements that border on
fantasy. One example concerns an
unseen train derailment from a
bridge on a moonless winter night
that leaves only a hole in the ice, a
seat cushion and a head of lettuce
as clues for the puzzled townspeo-
ple to find.

Those familiar with the Scottish
Forsyth’s previous films made in
his native land (Local Hero, That
Sinking Feeling) will discover a
wider streak of melancholy under
the whimsy this time around.

However, the spotlight belongs
to the three Icads in this character
study. Christine Lahti gives a
beautifully drawn performance as
the unconventional aunt. At first,
she appears hopelessly incompetent
and, only later, do we sce her very
special gypsy qualities as desirable
traits. Andrea Burchill, as the oul-

going Lucille, and Sara Walker as
her insecure, shy sister, Ruthie, of-
fer remarkable portrayals in this
winning comedy-drama.

LuBChis CaPpuCcino
1564 Marine, Ww. Van.

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