No Way Out(1987)
"Is it a crime of passion, or an act of treason?"
Overview
Navy Lt. Tom Farrell meets a young woman, Susan Atwell , and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice, is also romantically involved with Atwell. When the young woman turns up dead, Farrell is put in charge of the murder investigation. He begins to uncover shocking clues about the case, but when details of his encounter with Susan surface, he becomes a suspect as well.
Robert Garland
Screenplay
Roger Donaldson
Director
Top Billed Cast
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Sean Young: No Way Out Trailer (1987)
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Tom Finds Himself in an Intense Foot Pursuit
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Pritchard Hatches A Plan
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Meeting David Brice
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Tom Saves His Crewmate From Falling Overboard
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Written on September 25, 2014
No Way Out is directed by Roger Donaldson and adapted to screenplay by Robert Garland from the novel "The Big Clock" written by Kenneth Fearing. It stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, George Dzundza and Howard Duff. Music is by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by John Alcott.
Already filmed impressively as The Big Clock in 1948, Fearing's ingenious source material gets a shift to a Pentagon backdrop and still comes out a winner. Putting their own spin on the central story, that of a man finding he is investigating "himself" during a murder enquiry, the makers unfurl a labyrinthine plot that keeps up the suspense quota right to the very end.
In true noir style, the story is crammed with double bluffs, deceit, sex and death, with the added ingredient of politico intrigue to spice things still further. Cast are led superbly by Costner and Hackman, though Young is a bit too dull an actress to really put fire into the key femme role, and Alcott makes great use of the real Washington locations to bring visual authenticity to the story's setting.
Jarre's score is hokey sounding and doesn't sit right with the dramatics on show, while the big reveal at the finale is still as divisive today as it was back on the film's release, but this is still a fine example of a film noir remake that really works for the neo-noir loving crowd. 8/10
