The Best of Tony Scott — Vol 2.
Second only in my affections for the films of Tony Scott to the Tarantino penned masterpiece True Romance, I’d argue, myopically, that Man on Fire was a real return to form for the English born filmmaker and one of his greatest ever films. Scattergun even for me, the following spoiler free review floats between two incredible central performances, a “scene breakdown” of the one of the film’s quietest and touching moments and all soaked through with the love I have for the films of Tony Scott that were such a backbone to my formative teenage years and into the first years of a new adult life.
Tony Scott (1944–2012). A Cinematic Legend.
All 16 films. All lovingly appreciated. All spoiler free.medium.com
“There is one kidnapping every 60 minutes in Latin America. 70% of the victims do not survive”.
One of my personal all time favourite Tony Scott films, one which I was enchanted with immediately I watched for the first time and a film that continues to enchant me on regular re-watches even now. Not because of the fact it follows a Tony Scott guideline of stylised, gritty realism, or the fast paced and often manic editing as yet another long (146 minutes) Tony Scott film flies by in a whirl of great cinematic story telling. Nor is it because of the wonderfully diverse characters on display or the sublime cinematography from Paul Cameron. All of these plus points and many more are present in this fantastic film, however it’s the human story so very well told that enchant and engage me time after time. Although based on a novel of the same name by A J Quinnell, it’s the frightening reality portrayed, based on very real day to day fact that engages me, and two central performances that always touch my heart and grip my imagination:
“Creasy” (Denzel Washington) In his second Tony Scott film, Washington is stunning as an ex CIA/Special Forces operative with a checkered history. Recruited as a bodyguard yet struggling to come to terms with day to day life and who drinks heavily to dull the pain. Socially awkward & reticent to make friends, both his character flaws and positive aspects run deep, with Washington bringing this multi levelled character to life absolutely brilliantly. One of the prized character actors of our generation he treads the fine line between professionalism and reckless abandon throughout the film, excellently displaying every side to his deep, dark character.
An exceptional performance.
“Pita” (Dakota Fanning) An incredible performance from one so young, portraying a character that on the surface appears to be far more worldly wise than she actually is, a grown up in a child’s body if you will. Well provided for and living an affluent life with her devoted parents, speaking dual languages, intelligent, creative and imaginative. Yet Fanning’s performance both swell’s and breaks the heart, her childlike enthusiasm seeps through the screen.
A marvellous performance.
From the outset, this is a Tony Scott film in every sense. The opening minutes are all exposition yet shot through the prism of frenetic flash cuts depicting the horrors of kidnapping, the rules and guidelines typically set down by the kidnappers and the repercussions if these guidelines are not met. The flash cuts are quite literally that, very brief flashes of a person, a place, a drop off, a secured return of a hostage or child, all shown in the blink of an eye. Christian Wagner returns for his fourth collaboration with Director Scott and excels yet again. Based on A J Quinnell’s book, screenwriter Brian Hegeland also deserves great credit for providing a script that works within the confines of a very convoluted story, and the first of two collaborations so far with the Director.
Following this frenetic beginning the film settles with a number of simple talking heads scenes that set the scene, drive the narrative and introduce all the main characters of this gripping film. Simple scenes at a Barbecue, a restaurant and two car driving segments introduce us to Creasy and latterly in the exposition, to Pita. In between, the supporting roles of first “Ray” (Christopher Walken) is introduced, Creasy’s old CIA friend and confidant who secures Creasy the bodyguard job and “Jordan” (Mickey Rourke) a local family Lawyer. Much larger supporting roles are reserved for Pita’s parents, with both Radha Mitchell as “Lisa” and Marc Anthony as “Samuel” really excelling. Two further key roles are brilliantly played by Rachel Ticotin as “Mariana” a local reporter specialising in the grisly reporting of the ever present kidnappings and Giancarlo Giannini as “Manzano”, Director of the local Police Force. There are many more important roles within a huge cast for this Mexico/USA cross border thriller, but all of the above perform superb supporting roles to Washington and Fanning.
The joint scenes between Creasy and Pita are the distinct heart of the film and to reflect this I’ve dissected just one brief scene, however this is not a purely joint scene in every sense as it also includes a star turn from another of my favourite actor’s, Christopher Walken.
Mid way through the film is the setting for yet another light hearted and fun filled get together hosted by Ray (Christopher Walken). One of a number of similar brief light hearted scenes, this is filled with huge laughter from our three main characters and of tall tales of Ray and Creasy’s time together as work colleagues as well as hints towards Creasy’s past life. As the pair continue to reminisce amidst much joy and a far more relaxed Creasy finally settling into being both a friend and a bodyguard to Pita, she has a surprise for him “Now’s as good a time as any” she announces. Passing Creasy a small bear (the bear motif is of central significance throughout the film) it is not the actual bear that is significant here, but the contents inside, a pendant for “St Jude. Patron Saint of Lost Causes”.
Christopher Walken is excellent here, his smile and nods of approval towards his friend say so much with so little, and Creasy, overcome at such a genuine and poignant gift says so much again with so little in his response to Pita. A stunning, yet brief scene.
This brief scene also acts as the springboard for the middle Act of the film and onward. All main characters excel now but especially Rachel Ticotin who as Mariana steals the majority of the 2nd and 3rd Acts. Leaving aside plot spoilers I simply can’t recommend this Tony Scott film highly enough. Stylised violence mixed with a heart rending story delivered by some wonderful performances which is edited to within an inch of it’s life. From the above scene onward the film simply never relents and a 3rd Act which borders on thunderous. With Harry Gregson-Williams again providing a wonderful musical score throughout, the film also benefits from some beautiful choices of music tracks with an eclectic mix again working really well, from “Blue Bayou” by Linda Ronstadt to two pieces from Chopin through to a number of thunderous tracks from Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.
Overly biased I may be, but this is simply one of Tony Scott’s greatest ever films.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 180 blog articles (with 350+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“A Single Man” (2009)
Tom Ford’s beautiful cinematic debut.medium.com
“Inglourious Basterds” (2009)
“That’s a Bingo!”.medium.com
“Trance” (2013)
“Do you want to remember? Or, do you want to forget?”medium.com