Out of Sight | Blu-ray Review
Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight
Bank Dick: Love Robs ‘Em Blind in Soderbergh’s Sleek Crime Caper
By Nicholas Bell | Published on January 3, 2023
“It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does,” wrote Elmore Leonard in his novel Freaky Deaky (a rule of thumb clearly applied in many a Philip Marlowe mystery by Raymond Chandler), which can easily be applied to his novel Out of Sight, adapted by Scott Frank for Steven Soderbergh in 1998. Though nominated for two Academy Awards (including Adapted Screenplay and Editing), this polished gem from the late ‘90s was perhaps eclipsed by the encroaching megastardom of its two leads, both on the verge of eventual iconicity. But it’s a glittering ornament in the filmography of its principals, if mostly for how it playfully navigates genre cliches thanks to a punchy script and an impressive ensemble supporting cast. If the build up to its inevitable climax is stacked atop a wobbly sexual attraction masquerading as romance, logistics are, for the most part, circumvented by the swagger and charm of its presentation - a smug concoction just cynical enough to seem cool and just sweet enough to feel dreamy.
Jack Foley (George Clooney) is one of California’s most infamous bank robbers, having hit more than 200 targets in his heyday before getting arrested and carted off to the Glades Correctional Institution in Florida. However, he’s made plans to piggyback on an upcoming breakout with the help of his ex-partner in crime Buddy (Ving Rhames), coordinating with stoner criminal Glenn (Steve Zahn) and Jack’s ex-wife Adele (Catherine Keener). Unfortunately, Federal Marshall Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) is at the wrong place at the wrong time, hindering their operation and finding herself held captive by the charming escapee. Using her wits to evade their clutches, both Jack and Karen realize they share more than legally determined interests. Karen’s father (Dennis Farina) can tell his daughter’s somewhat smitten by her dalliance with the handsome bank robber, a man he finds more interesting than Karen’s history of romantic flunkies. Foley delays his trip to Detroit, where he and Buddy must reconnect with Glenn for their plan to rob Ripley (Albert Brooks), a wealthy businessman who unwisely confided in them when they all served time in Lompoc two years prior. But Glenn’s blabbering has attracted the attention of Maurice “Snoopy” Miller, another cohort of theirs from Lompoc, who has decided he’ll be taking Ripley’s riches for himself. As the major players of this increasingly complicated hit converge, Karen makes her way to Detroit, waiting for an opportunity to nab Foley, perhaps as a way to test her own complicated feelings for the captivating criminal.
There have been several cinematic cycles of Leonard’s material, with his early contributions to Westerns resulting in classics like 3:10 to Yuma and Hombre (both 1957) leading into darker, more peripheral genre territory like Valdez is Coming (1971), the Clint Eastwood/John Sturges classic Joe Kidd (1973) and the odd Charles Bronson vehicle Mr. Majestyk (1974). The attitudes of the 1980s weren’t as in tune with Leonard, but both John Frankenheimer and J. Lee Thompson adapted a version of 52 Pick-Up, while Burt Reynolds thought he was doing something with 1985’s Stick. But Barry Sonnenfeld (serving as EP on Out of Sight) would remaster Leonard as the paragon of slick, comedic nihilism with 1995’s Get Shorty (an energy F. Gary Gray didn’t quite channel with the dismal 2005 sequel, Be Cool), swiftly followed by Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, Jackie Brown (adapted from Rum Punch). Soderbergh struck at this zenith with Out of Sight, collaborating for the first time with George Clooney, who would eventually star in his Ocean’s 11 series. But the most surprising element happens to be Jennifer Lopez in one of the best performances of her career as Karen Sisco (a character who would also be portrayed by Carla Gugino in a short-lived 2003 television series). She’s quietly resilient and unassuming, dancing flirtatiously around narrative cliches, which could have easily been dismissed as stupid or foolhardy. Released just prior to her ascension as an eternal pop diva, it’s one of the few roles in which discussions of her body or its dimensions was not the focus, and she shares an odd but alluring chemistry with both Clooney and her strangely attentive father played by Dennis Farina. Scott Frank (who more recently penned Logan and adapted Walter Tevis’ The Queen’s Gambit) attempts to keep Karen’s motivations in tact while playing with tropes, suggesting her internal desires through a steamy dream sequence and directly referencing the templates established in the New American Cinema of the 1970s (namely Faye Dunaway’s troubled romances in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde and Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor). Notably, Frank would co-write the script for Pollack’s last film in 2005’s The Interpreter.
Don Cheadle heads up the supporting cast as a vicious heavy with an attention grabbing characterization, which parallels his presence in Carl Franklin’s 1995 adaptation of Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress. Ving Rhames and Steve Zahn play for comedic relief (the former’s carjacking of a prissy white lady’s car after politely unloading her groceries is a chef's kiss), while Catherine Keener is a vibrant pastiche of pastels as Clooney’s ex-wife. The usually deadpan Albert Brooks appears as the ultimate mark, and a surprise turn from Nancy Allen as his maid-cum-mistress, who narrowly avoids being raped by Isaiah Washington, adds to the film’s cinematic textures. Michael Keaton shows up as Karen’s current love interest, an unhappily married FBI agent representative of her poor taste in men. Luis Guzman, Paul Calderon, and even Viola Davis (who would eventually headline Lila & Eve opposite Lopez in 2015) all pop up for additional impressions, suggesting Out of Sight might be one of the best under-the-radar titles of the late 1990s - a teasing showcase for what most of its participants would unleash in the decade to come.
Disc Review:
Kino Lorber presents Out of Sight in both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in their new 2-disc release, presented in 1.85:1. A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the film, audio commentary track from Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank, plus deleted scenes, are included as extra features. Elliot Davis, who does a crackerjack job of highlighting the genre elements of both Miami and Detroit (and remains underrated as a cinematographer with an incredibly varied resume), approved and color graded this brand new HDR Dolby Vision Master.
★★★1/2☆☆ (Movie)
★★★1/2☆☆ (Disc)