Themes: Out For Revenge, Vigilantes, Woman In Jeopardy
Main Cast: Farrah Fawcett, James Russo, Diana Scarwid, Alfre Woodard, Sandy Martin
Release Year: 1986
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Attacked by a masked assailant, Marjorie (Farrah Fawcett) lives in mortal fear that the unidentified man will strike again -- especially since he knows her address. Sure enough, Joe the attacker (James Russo) breaks into Marjorie's home and subjects her to a night of terror and sexual humiliation. But Marjorie manages to turns the tables on her attacker, knocking him unconscious and rendering him helpless. The remainder of the story charts Marjorie's battle with herself: should she turn Joe over to the authorities, who may very well set him free, or should she mete out her own punishment? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Extremities is half of a good movie married to half of a misguided one. William Mastrosimone's script (adapted from his play) has an effective setup, focusing on the battle of the wits between rapist James Russo and reluctant victim Farrah Fawcett. This half of the film is handled in a gripping, believable style, with Robert M. Young's sympathetic direction offering a sleek narrative mechanism that puts the excellent performances of Russo and Fawcett into sharp focus. Russo is frighteningly believable as the aggressor, creating a villain who matches his feral rage with a scary knack for psychological manipulation, and Fawcett does a great job of conveying the fear and pain of a character trying to survive in a terrible situation. Unfortunately, the film becomes far less believable when the heroine turns the tables on her aggressor: the script suddenly becomes an allegorical talkfest when Fawcett's roommates return home, taking on too many issues and straining for plot twists and turns of behavior that defy credibility (particularly the ending). Young's direction and the gutsy, fully committed quality of Russo and Fawcett's performances keep things engaging but the cluttered, unfocused nature of the second half ultimately saps the experience of its overall power. As far as the roommates go, Alfre Woodard is solid as the script's voice of reason but Diana Scarwid turns in a distractingly hammy performance as the weakest link in the group of roommates. To sum up, Extremities is compelling from moment to moment, particularly during its first half, but is ultimately unsatisfying because it can never decide whether it wants to be a thriller or a polemic (and settles for a half-hearted try at being both). ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Eddie Velez - 1st Officer; Tom Everett - 2nd Officer; Donna Lynn Leavy - Woman on Phone; Enid Kent - Mother at Police Station; James Avery - Security Guard; Danika Hendrickson - Joe's Daughter; Michael Hennessy - Pizza Man; Clare Wren - Racquetball Player
Credit
Linda M. Bass - Costume Designer, Robert M. Young - Director, Arthur Coburn - Editor, J.A.C. Redford - Composer (Music Score), Richard Arrington - Makeup, Chester Kaczenski - Production Designer, Curtis Clark - Cinematographer, George W. Perkins - Producer, Scott Rosenfelt - Producer, Burt Sugarman - Producer, Michael Rosenblatt - Producer, Thomas Coleman - Producer, Rosemary Brandenberg - Set Designer, Jeannie Epper - Stunts, Edwin Cook - Screenwriter, Wendy Cutler - Screenwriter, Andy Goldberg - Screenwriter, William Mastrosimone - Screenwriter, Roger Steffens - Screenwriter
Fawcett plays Marjorie, a young woman who works in a museum and lives with two female roommates, Pat (Woodard) and Terry (Scarwid). One night, while getting into her car, she is attacked by a masked assailant (Russo). She escapes, but not before he makes off with her purse. She goes to the police but is told there is very little they can do. The next day, with Marjorie's roommates at work, her nightmare comes true as the assailant (named Joe) forces his way into her house. A terrifying scene of events unfolds as Joe subjects Marjorie to a continuous barrage of mental and physical assaults. Marjorie finally overpowers Joe by spraying his eyes with insect repellent. She then ties him up and contemplates murder. When Terry and Pat return home, they try to convince Marjorie to think about the consequences of her actions. Marjorie finally forces Joe to admit his guilt, and calls the police.
For her performance, Fawcett received a 1986 Golden Globe nomination for "Best Actress in a Drama".
