Not till he hit the ripe old age of 43, after three STAR WARS and two INDIANA JONES, did Harrison Ford become the sort of movie star who didn’t need a blockbuster franchise behind him to ‘open’ a film. Previous tries (FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE; HANOVER STREET) went nowhere, even cult phenom BLADE RUNNER didn’t work at the time. And you can pinpoint the exact moment it came together for Ford, dancing flirtatiously in a barn loft (with co-star Kelly McGillis, the young Amish widow whose son accidentally witnessed a murder) to an ‘oldie’ pop tune in this finely observed Peter Weir policier. Ford must have known it, too, coming thru with a sincerity, sensitivity & serious sexiness he’d not previously shown on screen, while letting Weir’s calm storytelling style chart the flow of his growing relationship with this strange Amish farming community & with McGillis as he protects her and hides from a dirty trio of big city cops he’s exposed them all to. Sparingly dialogued, sensationally well-cast (first timers, non-pros, actors from other disciplines like opera & ballet), with cinematographer John Seale’s Vermeer-like interior lighting schemes, the film casts a romantic spell as strong as its well-honed suspense elements.
DOUBLE-BILL: John Wayne’s ANGEL AND THE BADMAN/’47 is usually cited as a big influence, but the film is much closer in spirit to BRIEF ENCOUNTER/’45 or ROMAN HOLIDAY/’53.
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