Mar 7, 2010 3:09 PM

Back To Top

Before he was King—that is, before he made blockbusters like Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, and the Ocean’s series—Steven Soderbergh was best known as the guy who'd made a quirky little indie film titled sex, lives, and videotape. His next two outings—Kafka and King of the Hill—didn't do much box office, but they were evidence of a smart, witty, visually gifted filmmaker unafraid to experiment with storytelling. The Underneath, his first foray into crime-related material, is a great example.

Released in 1995, the film is a loose remake of the 1949 noir classic Criss Cross, starring Burt Lancaster. Peter Gallagher (one of the ensemble players in sex, lies) plays Michael Chambers, who's returned to his hometown of Austin, Texas, to attend his mother's wedding, only to end up staying because of a job opportunity. From the get-go, we know there's more to the story, because Soderbergh—as he would do in later films—continually jumps between timelines. We see the "old" Michael, disheveled, bearded, and gambling-obsessed, sinking deeper in debt every day; the just-returned Michael, who, we find out, left Austin before the loan sharks could get to him; and the on-the-job Michael, who works with his new stepfather as an armored-car security guard. And we know, because of the skewed camera angles and green and blue tints used on the lenses that, as the latter, he's up to no good.

But what makes this film more than just technically impressive is the relationship at its core. In part, Michael has returned to see Rachel (an excellent Alison Elliott), the girlfriend he ditched when he left. She's now the fiancé of a bar owner who's also a minor-league gangster and, justifiably, doesn't trust Michael. At first, Rachel spurns Michael; but ill-fated love is a staple in films like this—in which the main character, while trying to better himself, can't quite shake his past or conquer every flaw. And Michael and Rachel can't help it: They're inextricably drawn to each other.

Which leads us to the crime itself. When the gangster, Tommy Dundee (an appropriately scary William Fichtner), catches Michael and Rachel together, and threatens to kill the former, Michael proposes they partner on a heist, from one of the armored cars he'll be driving. He tells Rachel, later, that, with his cut, they'll be able to leave town together, and never return. But Michael, blinded by both romanticism and a single-minded desire to make something of his life, has failed to notice that Rachel is no longer the innocent she once was. And he's perhaps forgotten that "hell hath no fury…"

So, yes, The Underneath offers no happy endings—and rightly so. In fact, Soderbergh, who's continued to experiment between blockbusters—The Girlfriend Experience, for example, and his four-hour biopic, Ché—is mostly interested in unresolved endings. In his films, relationships are usually very complicated and, by nature, go against the reasonable grain. So more than anything, The Underneath is a cautionary tale. And, 15 years ago, it signaled that a major talent was about to hit the Big Time.

Comments (0) Post a Comment