Remembering how simple the execution is, I forgot how effective ALL the scenes are at doing exactly what they set out to do. Rob Reiner isn’t known for this kind of genre work, but on his early hot streak and sandwiched between When Harry met Sally and A Few Good Men, he knew instinctively what a film needed. He had master screenwriter William Goldman for the words and master D.P. Barry Sonnenfeld for the images. (Sonnenfeld was coming off Miller’s Crossing, and this was his last job as a D.P. before he moved on to directing.)
His small cast included James Caan, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth bantering with Frances Sternhagen and Kathy Bates coming in hot and going out with an Academy Award. Caan is miscast as an author, but he’s a strong actor just for holding his own against Bates. There’s plenty of suspense, including a memorable moment with a small ceramic penguin and a dynamic shot where the camera swings from Farnsworth’s sheriff driving away to Bates driving in. Checking all the boxes, including one unforgettable scene of violence. The film needed a moment like the hobbling, because right when you’ve settled into everything being safe and classy, in comes a moment so graphic you wonder if it’s more than they had planned for.
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