Little Nikita
| Little Nikita | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Richard Benjamin |
| Produced by | Harry Gittes Art Levinson |
| Written by | Bo Goldman John Hill |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier River Phoenix |
| Music by | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Editing by | Jacqueline Cambas |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 1988 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Language | English |
Little Nikita is a cult 1988 American drama film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix.
[edit] Plot synopsis
Jeff Grant (River Phoenix), a brash hyperactive high school student lives in San Diego with his parents, who own a successful garden centre. Keen to fly, he has applied for entry to the Air Force Academy.
During a routine background check on Jeff, FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier), finds contradictory information on his parents, making him suspect that all is not as it should be. Further investigations reveal that they may be 'sleeper' agents for the Soviet Union with a teenager son, Jeff Nicholas.
Unable to arrest them as they haven't actually done anything yet, Roy continues his investigation, and moves into the house across the street from the Grant family. He worms his way into their confidence.
He eventually confronts Jeff with his suspicions and seeks Jeff's cooperation to learn more about his family. Initially unbelieving, Jeff is soon forced to accept the facts and discovers that even his own name is fictitious, his real name is Nikita.
Roy confides to Jeff that twenty years earlier, his partner was killed by a Soviet agent, known only as 'Scuba' (Richard Lynch), and that he's still at large. It transpires that 'Scuba' is now a rogue agent, killing KGB agents one by one, including "sleepers". Meanwhile, a spy-catcher, Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford), has been sent from the Soviet embassy in Mexico to 'reel in' Scuba.
Jeff is captured and held as a hostage at gunpoint by Karpov, as he and 'Scuba' make their way to the Mexican border on the San Diego Trolley. Roy has also confronted them and is holding Karpov at gunpoint. At the border, the situation resolves itself; Karpov and 'Scuba' cross into Mexico, and the Grant family remain in the USA. It remains unclear what their fate will be.
[edit] Cast
- Sidney Poitier - Roy Parmenter
- River Phoenix - Jeff Grant / Nikita
- Richard Jenkins - Richard Grant / Mikhail
- Caroline Kava - Elizabeth Grant / Elisabeth
- Richard Bradford - Konstantin Karpov
- Richard Lynch - Scuba
- Loretta Devine - Verna McLaughlin
- Lucy Deakins - Barbara Kerry
- Jerry Hardin - Brewer
- Albert Fortell - Bunin
- Robert Madrid - Sgt. Leathers
Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix would team up again in the 1992 feature Sneakers.
[edit] External links
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