Frantic (Wide Screen) > Reviews > Polanski in good form

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Unmemorable
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Gripping
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"Frantic" is memorable mostsly as an "ambiance", an atmosphere rather than by the storyline or action-let's face it, a thriller is a thriller, the plots of which are not renowned for their originality!
The story is straightforward: a doctor comes to Paris for a conference. His wife vanishes, and the rest of the film is the search of the husband, Harrisson Ford, for his wife, in a Paris totally alien to his life as a comfortable American doctor.
He meets an absolutely stunning young woman-Emmanuelle Seigner, Polanski's wife, who lends a vulnerable charm to the drug-taking, miniskirt-wearing, wild youth of her character. Seigner, against her will, helps Ford in his search; she unwittingly holds all the keys to unravelling the mistery.
There are Hitchcockian touches of humour as they rush to airports, dowdy flats, canal boats, pursued by alarming foreign thugs. Interesting, as well, to note a reference to " Casablanca" when they go to a nightclub named the Blue parrot!
Grace Jones's hauting song " I've seen this face before " reverberates through the film, and adds to the atmosphere.
I have seen it many times, and would see it again; I think this is due to the fact that the story and action are shown in a subtle, muted way. Never "in your face", and, as I mentionned at the beginning, the atmosphere of the film remains with you, so that you feel like immersing yourself in it again from time to time.