★ 7 / 10
_**FREEWILL to kill – evil and good**_ Released
Wuchak
_**FREEWILL to kill – evil and good**_ Released in 1993 and directed by George Sluizer from a novel by Tim Krabbé, "The Vanishing" is a crime…
_**FREEWILL to kill – evil and good**_
Released in 1993 and directed by George Sluizer from a novel by Tim Krabbé, "The Vanishing" is a crime drama/mystery/horror about a man (Kiefer Sutherland) whose girlfriend goes missing during a trip in Washington State (Sandra Bullock) and he searches in vain for her for years. After he starts a relationship with a new girlfriend (Nancy Travis), the abductor (Jeff Bridges) finally contacts him. Will he find his former girlfriend?
This is the second time the director shot this same story; the first time was the 1988 Euro film of the same name. The stories are identical except for the final acts and the fact that this newer version has a better character/part for the new girlfriend (Travis). Both films are worth catching, but I prefer this one for reasons explained below. Fans of the first movie object to the changes, arguing that the producers of this version were pandering to North American tastes. While this may be true, it's also likely that the director didn't want to make the same exact movie. After all, we already have the first version, why make an exact duplicate with different actors and locations? Besides, what's wrong with appreciating BOTH versions? My comments below reveal why Sluizer wanted to change things up a little with this version.
Audiences may have rejected the film at the box office on the grounds that they weren't used to Bridges playing a contemptible villain or Sutherland playing the good guy, but they're both fine in these roles, particularly the former, who's great and fascinating to observe. One thing that keeps you watching during the drama of the first two acts is to find out what his motivations are. But, as hinted above, it's Travis who steals the show, at least as far as protagonists goes. Perhaps audiences didn't receive her or the movie well because her character's merely a waitress whose story arc doesn't end in a reversal of fortune, which is in contrast to the typical movie heroine. Who knows? I think she's awesome.
In any case, if you like psychological drama/thrillers like "Fatal Attraction" (1987) and "Single White Female" (1992) you'll appreciate "The Vanishing."
The movie runs 109 minutes and was shot mostly in Washington State, but also Cody Tunnel, Cody, Wyoming (the tunnel sequence) and La Canada and Long Beach, CA (the diner and pool hall scenes respectively).
GRADE: B+
***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've watched the movie)
While the first film could be interpreted as a commentary on nihilism, since the villain wins and the hero loses, it doesn't HAVE to be interpreted this way. After all, it's a simple fact of life that sometimes evil wins a battle now and then; and sometimes A LOT of them, but this doesn't mean evil wins the war, so to speak. If there's ultimate good then evil will eventually have its day of reckoning.
In any event, the 1988 movie ends on a decidedly downbeat note. And this is why I appreciate this newer version: While it is also downbeat, and evil wins to a point, the changes in the final act show good triumphing over evil, not to mention perseverance over intellect and love over absence of love. The subtext is all about freewill – freewill to kill for no good reason and freewill to kill for good when absolutely necessary. The theme of the first movie is limited in that it drives home the first point whereas this version drives home both, and is the better for it.
★ 6 / 10
A very Hollywood remake.
BA_Harrison
In 1993, Director George Sluizer got to give his Dutch horror/thriller Spoorloos (1988) the big budget Hollywood remake treatment, which meant that the script…
In 1993, Director George Sluizer got to give his Dutch horror/thriller Spoorloos (1988) the big budget Hollywood remake treatment, which meant that the script had to be heavily altered to suit, most notably the original film's downbeat ending being replaced by a new, more upbeat finalé. Sluizer's revamped thriller is slickly made with a great cast, and undemanding mainstream audiences will probably have a good time with it, but if you prefer your films to have a bit more of an edge, there's a good chance that The Vanishing's very American approach, with its predictable and far less shocking outcome, will leave you unimpressed.Kiefer Sutherland plays writer Jeff Harriman, who puts his life on hold in order to try and find his girlfriend Diane (Sandra Bullock), who went missing during a stop at a service station. After three years of looking for Diane with no success, Jeff meets waitress Rita Baker (Nancy Travis) and romance blossoms. Jeff agrees to give up his search, but then he receives a message from a man named Barney (Jeff Bridges), who says that he is the one who abducted Diane, and if Jeff wants to find out what happened to his girlfriend, he must comply with his demands...Bridges is a strange choice for Barney, the actor better known as a dashing leading man than for playing a psycho (with a bad haircut), and it takes a while to accept him in the role, but he eventually makes good; Sutherland, on the other hand, is perfect as the everyman thrown into a personal hell, his obsession driving him to take great risks, and Travis makes for a likeable heroine. Bullock is fine as the tragic Diane, but she isn't given a lot to do. Sluizer handles the action well enough, but the new 'happy' ending does take a bit of swallowing, and ultimately lacks the impact of the original movie. The Vanishing's finalé sees Rita tracking down Barney, using her guile to outwit the nutjob and save her man. It's formulaic stuff designed to appease the masses - nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed it for what it was - but watch Spoorloos and see which one stays in the mind the longest.
49%
TOMATOMETER
· 37 reviews
46%
AUDIENCE
· 10K ratings
6.3/10
30.9K
•••
Remember watching this as a teen, thanks SO much!