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No Way Out (1987 film)

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No Way Out
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoger Donaldson
Screenplay byRobert Garland
Produced byRobert Garland
Laura Ziskin
Starring
CinematographyJohn Alcott
Edited byWilliam Hoy
Neil Travis
Music byMaurice Jarre
Distributed byOrion Pictures
Release date
  • August 14, 1987 (1987-08-14)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$35,509,515

No Way Out is a 1987 thriller film. It stars Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young. Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Thompson, and Iman appear in supporting roles.

The film is a remake of 1948's The Big Clock. Both films are based on Kenneth Fearing's 1946 novel The Big Clock. Filming locations included Baltimore, Annapolis, Arlington, Washington, D.C., and Auckland, New Zealand. The film features original music by Academy Award-winning composer Maurice Jarre.

Plot

At an inaugural ball, US Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell meets a woman, Susan Atwell, and they begin an affair, although she is involved with another man. Later, Farrell begins to work at the Pentagon for the US Secretary of Defense, David Brice.

The other man in Susan's life is Secretary Brice. After she spends a romantic weekend with Farrell, Brice arrives at her house. After she persuades a visibly jealous Farrell to leave, Susan tells Farrell, "I'm going to leave him. I promise. I love you."

When Susan lets Brice in, he reveals that he knows of her infidelity. While demanding the name of her lover, Brice kills her in a jealous rage. At first ready to turn himself in, Brice is persuaded by his General Counsel, Scott Pritchard, to frame someone else. Pritchard concocts a story that Susan's other lover was a suspected but unconfirmed KGB sleeper agent code-named "Yuri."

Brice orders Farrell to find and arrest "Yuri", placing him in the position of seeking evidence that could implicate himself. Meanwhile, Pritchard uses two CIA assassins to systematically eliminate everyone who knows of Brice's affair with Susan.

Farrell sets about proving Brice was involved with Susan by searching computer files for evidence that Brice gave her a government-registered gift he received from the Moroccan foreign minister. In the film's climax, Farrell confronts Brice with the gift-registry printout. Arguing that Pritchard (a gay man) was jealous of his relationship with Susan, Brice falsely accuses him of her murder. A devastated Pritchard commits suicide and is falsely exposed as "Yuri" to the Pentagon police by Brice. Moments later, Farrell quietly sends evidence implicating Brice to outside law enforcement.

In a twist ending, it is revealed that Farrell is in fact the real "Yuri" and is the KGB's mole in the Department of Defense. Aware of Brice's affair, the Kremlin had ordered Farrell to seduce his mistress and gather intelligence from her. Implying that he should have blackmailed Brice instead of exposing him, Farrell's handlers angrily berate him, saying the situation was "poorly handled."

Visibly heartbroken by Susan's death, however, Farrell tells his handlers that he is finished being a KGB mole. After he leaves the KGB's safehouse, his handler snaps, "He'll return. Where else does he have to go?"

Cast

Release

Box office

The film debuted at number 2 at the box office after Stakeout.[1] The film's budget was an estimated $15 million; its total U.S. gross was over $35 million.[2]

Critical reception

The film was very well received by critics and as of December 4, 2015, holds a 90% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews.[3]

Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it "truly labyrinthine and ingenious."[4] Richard Schickel of Time wrote, "Viewers who arrive at the movie five minutes late and leave five minutes early will avoid the setup and payoff for the preposterous twist that spoils this lively, intelligent remake of 1948's The Big Clock."[5] Desson Thomson of The Washington Post wrote, "The film makes such good use of Washington and builds suspense so well that it transcends a plot bordering on ridiculous."[6]

References

  1. ^ "Stakeout' Ranks No. 1 In Box-Office Sales". The New York Times. September 2, 1987. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  2. ^ "Box office / business for No Way Out (1987)". IMDb. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "No Way Out". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 14, 1987). "No Way Out". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  5. ^ Schickel, Richard (17 August 1987). "Cinema: Hot Films, Unhappy Endings". Time. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  6. ^ Thomson, Desson (August 14, 1987). "‘No Way Out". The Washington Post’. Retrieved April 14, 2013. {{cite news}}: C1 control character in |title= at position 1 (help); C1 control character in |work= at position 20 (help)
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