Sunday, August 5, 2012

My Favorite Scene: In the Line of Fire


Late in Wolfgang Peterson’s restrained action thriller, In the Line of Fire (which rivals Das Boot as the man’s best film), the movie thankfully, wondrously forgets that it is an action film and delivers a scene of Hitchockian bliss.

The scene in question occurs when everything comes to a head. It’s three weeks before the election and the President is giving a speech at a fundraiser in California, in which Mitch Leary, clad in a convincing yuppie disguise, has a seat front and center.
Up until this point, Leary (played by a never-better John Malkovich) has been honest with the secret service, particularly grizzled, fading agent, Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood), that he soon plans to kill the President. Because Frank’s instincts have been wrong one too many times, his superiors have thrown him off the case. One of the best things about this scene is that it takes place in a Clint Eastwood movie, but has virtually nothing to do with him.

As the President rolls up to the hotel with his armed guard, he soon walks through the lobby, glad handing his supporters with pleasantries, toward the dining hall where his loyal voters eagerly await his arrival. Here, Peterson cross cuts the President’s arrival with Leary’s nonchalant actions in the dining hall. The criminal, sitting amusingly between two women, is shown secretly assembling a handmade plastic gun under the table. His face reads calm and content, while his hands quietly prepare to make history.

And if you stop to think about this for a second, you’ll understand just how brilliant this sequence is.
Once the President enters the dining hall, Leary, nearly done putting his weapon together, accidentally drops one of the two bullets to his gun on the floor.  I recently rewatched this movie, and the second that bullet missed the chamber and fell to the ground, I let out a sharp, “Oh, no, fuck.”

Now, think about that. We’re watching an insane, CIA-trained assassin who is mere seconds away from killing the President. And when that bullet falls, are we revealed? Of course not. We’re rooting for him. We want him to find the bullet. We need him to get that gun ready. Do we want to see him kill the President? I certainly don’t. But we want him to get as close as he possibly can.
Malkovich’s flawless performance is much in part to thank for the audience’s sympathy. His Leary is a charming, wildly intelligent mastermind who is ever evolving. We enjoy watching him squirm, sure. But it’s a hell of a lot more fun watching him get away.

Leary soon finds the bullet and right around the time his gun is fully locked and loaded, In the Line of Fire goes back to being a typical action film. But for nearly two minutes, we find ourselves rooting for the bad guy, all while hoping he gets what’s coming to him. That’s goddamn rare for an American action movie.

Previous installments of My Favorite Scene include:

10 comments:

  1. You know I don't think I've seen this movie. Sounds cool though. As you say, rare content for an American action movie.

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    1. It's a solid action flick, but this scene in particular stands out. Also, if you're a Malkovich fan, this is definitely a must see. A well deserved Oscar nomination right here.

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    2. I think i'll add it to Quickflix. Malkovich was great in that jewel heist movie.

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    3. No, no... that wasn't him, I believe you have him mistaken for someone else.

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  2. Like Toby, I've yet to see this film. I have a copy of it though. Yet another film I'll have to get around to soon. :)

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    1. Ha, well, as long as you make your way through them, doesn't matter how long it takes!

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  3. Hey Alex. Just randomly came across you site and I love it! It's really great that you blend popular movies with independent and art house films. I do the same with a Film & Literature class I teach to high school seniors at the school at which I work. Anyway, In The Line of Fire is such a great film and Oh Heavens this scene is indeed the best. The look on Malkovich's face is so great -- I love how you expect it to be shock or fear but it's really just annoyance. Like, "goddammit. Dropped the bullet. Ugh." So good.

    So, thanks for the post and keep up the good work. You have a new fan and follower on Twitter.

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    1. Hey there, who are you on Twitter so I can follow you back! Thanks so much for this comment, love finding fans of In the Line of Fire.

      I LOVE that look on his face too. He's like, "Come on, get it together, you rehearsed this." So good.

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  4. I'm @Yo_Teacherman on Twitter. Thanks for the follow.

    Coincidentally, I was talking to my wife yesterday about this post and we got into a discussion about how your point is really true about all the great villains. Captain Hook, Iago, Hans Gruber, Voldemort, the Shark from Jaws, Freddy Kruger, etc. While we, as the reader/audience, do not want them to win, we do want them to get as close to victory as possible. This is especially true in regards to the former three characters as they are so charismatic. You gotta love a story in which a secret part of yourself sides with the bad guy.

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    1. I love that concept of rooting for the bad guy to win. It creates such a unique tension, you know? Thanks again for the Twitter follow and for reading/commenting on the blog - it means a lot!

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