Themes: Americans Abroad, Woman In Jeopardy, Amateur Sleuths
Main Cast: Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley, John Mahoney, Jimmie Ray Weeks
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Following the disastrous Pirates (1986), director Roman Polanski got back on creative track with this finely-wrought thriller that, while failing to impress at the box office, was nevertheless his most critically well-received film of the decade. Harrison Ford stars as Richard Walker, an American doctor who has come to Paris, where he's scheduled to deliver a paper to a medical conference. Richard has brought along his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley), because Paris was the site of their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Sondra picks up the wrong suitcase at the airport, which leads to her kidnapping and an ever-more complicated quest that takes Richard into the seedy and dangerous underworld of European drug smuggling and terrorist arms sales. Along the way, he is rebuffed by skeptical officials at the American Embassy and meets Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), a sexy courier who agrees to help him in exchange for the money she's owed for trafficking in narcotics. Playing cleverly on American fears about Europe's Byzantine politics and "decadent" society, Frantic received, from many observers, perhaps the greatest compliment possible for a thriller, comparison to the work of Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
A product of his exile years in Paris, Roman Polanski's kidnap thriller rests squarely between the qualitative pillars of his classics (Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown) and the abysmal Pirates. Adopting a slow-hand style reminiscent of Hitchcock, Polanski keeps the action riveting and the suspense tight. Harrison Ford gives a strong performance as the nerve-wracked man at the end of his tether, but apart from a few pernicious Parisians, the supporting cast is missing in action. Polanski's eccentric eye and fastidious attention to detail heighten the surreal nature of what is happening to Ford's character. While the look and feel of the film are unparalleled in '80s suspense cinema, Polanski's wandering and incohesive story line detracts from its caliber. While comparisons to Hitchcock may be a bit far-flung for this film, Polanski's homage to the king of suspense is uncanny. The film's disoriented point of view reflects Polanski's feelings of alienation from America and Hollywood, although being out of touch with Hollywood may have also afforded this film its teetering credibility. ~ Mike DiBella, All Movie Guide
David Huddleston - Peter; Yorgo Voyagis - The Kidnaper; Gerard Klein - Gaillard; Jacques Ciron - Hotel Manager; Dominique Pinon - Wino; Thomas M. Pollard - Rastafarian; Alexandra Stewart - Edie; Robert Barr - Irwin; Boll Boyer - Dede Martin; Artus de Penguern - Waiter; Jean-Pierre Delage - Florist; Richard Dieux - Desk Cop; Alain Doutey - Hall Porter; Patrick Floersheim - Man in Leather; David Jalil - Bodyguard; Roch Leibovici - Bellboy; Patrice Melennec - Hotel Detective; Louise Vincent - Tourist; Raouf Ben Amor - Dr. Metlaoui; Marcel Bluwal - Man in Tweed; Stephane D'Audeville - Bellboy; Claude Doineau - U.S. Embassy Clerk; Marc Dudicourt - Cafe Owner; Fonky French Family - Houseboat Band; Robert Ground - U.S. Security Officer; Jean-Claude Houbard - Dead Driver; Ella Jaroszewicz - Restroom Attendant; Joelle Lagneau - Florist; Isabelle Noah - Houseboat Owner; Andre Quiqui - "Blue Parrot" Barman; Yves Renier - Inspector; Djiby Soumare - Taxi Driver; Laurent Spielvogel - Hall Porter; Tina Sportolaro - TWA Clerk; Dominique Virton - Desk Clerk; Alan Ladd - Bellboy; Bruce Johnson - Marine Guard; Michael Morris - U.S. Embassy Clerk
Credit
Margot Capelier - Casting, Bonnie Timmermann - Casting, Tim Hampton - Co-producer, Thom Mount - Co-producer, Anthony Powell - Costume Designer, Michel Cheyko - First Assistant Director, Roman Polanski - Director, Sam O'Steen - Editor, Ennio Morricone - Composer (Music Score), Natalie Delon - Songwriter, William Engvick - Songwriter, Mick Hucknall - Songwriter, Joseph Hull - Songwriter, Ish Ledesma - Songwriter, Marcus Miller - Songwriter, John Phillips - Songwriter, Dennis Wilkey - Songwriter, Barry Reynolds - Songwriter, Didier Lavergne - Makeup, Pierre Guffroy - Production Designer, Witold Sobocinski - Cinematographer, Jean-Pierre Ruh - Sound/Sound Designer, Vic Armstrong - Stunts, Daniel Breton - Stunts, Remy Julienne - Stunts, Wendy Leech - Stunts, Gérard Brach - Screenwriter, Roman Polanski - Screenwriter, Georges Auric - Featured Music, Mack Gordon - Featured Music, Astor Piazzolla - Featured Music, Cole Porter - Featured Music, Harry Warren - Featured Music
Harrison Ford plays Dr Richard Walker, a surgeon visiting Paris with his wife for a medical conference. At their hotel his wife is unable to open her suitcase and Walker tells her she has picked up the wrong one at the airport. While Walker is taking a shower his wife mysteriously disappears from their hotel room. Still jet-lagged, he searches for her in the hotel with the help of a polite but mostly indifferent staff, then wanders outside to look further on his own. A street-person overhears him in a café and tells Walker he saw his wife being forced into a car. Walker is sceptical until he finds his wife's ID bracelet on the cobblestones. He contacts the US embassy and the Paris police but their responses are bureaucratic and there is little hope anyone will look for her. As Walker carries on the search himself (with input from a very sympathetic but wary desk clerk at the hotel) he stumbles onto a murder scene and then the streetwise young Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner) who mistakenly picked up his wife's suitcase at the airport. It transpires that she is a career smuggler but does not know for whom she is working, and thus reluctantly helps Walker. This begins his frantic attempt, with the young woman's help, to learn what was in the switched suitcase and trade whatever it was for his wife's life.
It turns out that hidden within a small replica of the Statue of Liberty is a krytron, a small switch capable of detonating nuclear devices. The film ends with a confrontation on the River Seine where the terrorists hand Walker his wife back. However, a firefight ensues between the terrorists and other agents, and Michelle is killed in the crossfire. Angry and upset, Walker throws the krytron into the river.
Frantic was mentioned in the Barenaked Ladies' song "One Week" and also referenced in Mos Def's "Ms. Fat Booty" from Black on Both Sides. The song "Frantic" by Aqueduct has both a "Roman Polanski Version" and an instrumental "Harrison Ford Version".
