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I have done some articles about underrated gems from the 80’s, see my articles on Mannequin and Who’s That Girl. But Frantic was a fairly well appreciated movie of its time, despite problematic director Roman Polanski.
I saw this movie as a kid and I remember it only for the beautiful Emmanuelle Seigner who plays Michelle, a mysterious drug smuggler. So imagine my disappointment on rewatch as an adult that she doesn’t even appear until an hour into the film. WTF movie?
She is gorgeous, seductive and totally worth streaming this trainwreck of a movie, just start it an hour in. It won’t matter. The plot is ridiculous, acknowledged by the movie when Michelle is being interrogated and the bad guy slaps her (the sound is weirdly edited and scene weirdly shot so you have only a general impression that a slap happened which doesn’t exactly induce tension) saying “this is ridiculous” or something to that effect.
There is obviously romantic tension between Michelle and Richard Walker (the doctor and presumptive hero of this tale) played by Harrison Ford doing what feels like an extended audition for his role in the Fugitive. I know much of this movie made me want to scream out “I don’t care.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FdvXl5GAes
The movie doesn’t deal with this romantic tension or the conflict of what…
