Themes: Murder Investigations, Death of a Partner, Obsessive Quests
Main Cast: John Turturro, Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen McIntyre, William Allen Young, Eugene M. Davis
Release Year: 2003
Country: CA/UK/DK
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A man searching for the truth about his wife's killer learns more than he wanted to know about her own private story in this powerful drama. Harry Cain (John Turturro) works as a security guard at a large shopping mall in Wisconsin. Harry's life takes a sudden and disturbing left turn when his wife, Kate (Deborah Kara Unger), is shot to death in the mall's parking facility. Devastated by his wife's passing, Harry begins combing over every scrap of evidence he can find in hopes of tracking down the gunman and reviewing hours of videotape from the mall's surveillance system. One night, Harry has a vision in which he sees Kate walking out of the house across the street; he breaks into the abandoned home to investigate, and finds some photographs that may lead him to his wife's murderer. However, the more Harry learns about Kate, and as he travels to Montana in search of a possible culprit, Harry begins to learn just how much he never knew about Kate and her life. Renowned novelist Hubert Selby Jr. co-wrote the screenplay for Fear X, while composer and musician Brian Eno contributed to the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Nicolas Winding Refn's Fear X is a disappointingly muddled and derivative "thriller." The genre is in quotes because Refn is clearly more interested in provoking existential questions about the nature of loss and guilt and the relative morality of taking another human being's life than he is in providing thrills and chills. There's also an interesting undercurrent of post-9/11 anxiety with an emphasis on constant surveillance (Harry's [John Turturro] job) and shady overzealous policing (Peter's [James Remar] job). Refn's narrative (co-written with Hubert Selby Jr.) flirts with political allegory, indicated by inserts of a huge American flag behind a town meeting where Peter is being honored as a "hero" (which he is clearly not from the film's perspective) and of Peter's son's war toys on the kitchen table. But the film's heavy-handed visual allusions to Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch are distracting, and the implied comparison serves to diminish the impact of the lesser work we're watching. The weird hotel where Harry stays evokes not just The Shining but Turturro's similarly affect-deficient protagonist in Barton Fink. Fear X also brings up the possibility that a good deal of the action takes place inside Harry's head, but it doesn't draw us into this haunted character or delve deeply enough into the many issues and questions it raises. Frustratingly opaque by design, Fear X offers viewers insufficient fear and excessive "X." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Mark Houghton - Diner Cop; Jacqueline Ramel - Claire; James Remar - Peter
Credit
Rejean Labrie - Art Director, Penny Perry - Casting, Aaron Kim Johnston - Co-producer, Rupert Preston - Co-producer, Darena Snowe - Costume Designer, Ronaldo Nacionales - First Assistant Director, Nicolas Winding Refn - Director, Anne Osterud - Editor, Joseph Newton Cohen - Executive Producer, Kenneth D. Plummer - Executive Producer, Gary Phillips - Executive Producer, Mark Vennis - Executive Producer, Donald C. Archbold - Executive Producer, Nadia Redler - Executive Producer, Brian Eno - Composer (Music Score), Peter De Neergaard - Production Designer, J. Peter Schwaim - Production Designer, Larry Smith - Cinematographer, Henrik Danstrup - Producer, Stephen Arndt - Set Designer, Jens Bonding - Sound/Sound Designer, Hubert Selby, Jr. - Screenwriter, Nicolas Winding Refn - Screenwriter
When his wife is killed in a seemingly random incident, Harry (Turturro), prompted by mysterious visions, journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder.
The film earned a 61 metascore (out of 100) on Metacritic, which means "generally favorable reviews." [1]
The film earned a 57% rating on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes, with a 71% positive rating coming from the cream of the crop critics. Though the film is not certified fresh, it is only one positive review away.[2]
Though the film itself has received mixed reviews, the majority praise John Turturro's performance. LA Weekly says "Turturro ... never wavers in his commitment to a role that deprives him of nearly all his actorly tools. (He) keeps Fear X fascinating." [1] The New York Daily News says "Turturro's subtle turn keeps our emotional connection solid" [2] and Compuserve adds "Turturro gets under your skin." [2]
The Ending
There is no universally-accepted interpretation of the ending.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn commented on the ending within several interviews:
Harry’s impossible quest raises questions, but it all adds to the brave elliptical nature of this film. So did Refn ever get to the bottom of those questions in his own mind? "I can’t answer that," he says bluntly. "It depends on how I feel that day. And of course that pisses off a lot of people because they’re not used to a film without an ending. But what the f**k is an ending, you know?"[3]
"Fear X" is about idealists and when they're confronted with reality, a lot of the time their ideals are tested and turned and they're no longer what they thought they would be...[4]
"You can view it in many different ways... it's so up to your own interpretation."[4]
How were we going to end this, without giving anything away, without making it too obvious, because the minute the audience's mind begins to work, you're on very dangerous ground. Because if you tell them too much, they're disappointed and if you don't give them any clues, they get confused. So it's that fine line of giving the audience as they walk out, okay, I believe it's this or I believe it's that. We never gave more in the script.[4]
"I liked it because the idea of the story was about a simple man thrust into this overwhelming, debilitating circumstance, and he never really finds out what happens... Nicholas doesn't have all the answers to what he's trying to do. A lot of times these guys, their biggest problem is solving the script, but Nicholas seems to be a filmmaker who likes to throw the script away."[5]
.jpg)
