Out Of Sight
Directed by Steven Sodernergh
Screenplay by Scott Frank
Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard
Starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, and Steve Zahn
123 minutes. Rated R. Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1. 1998
Clooney    A truly great and vastly unappreciated film, Out of Sight received well-deserved nominations at the 1998 Oscars for best editing and best adapted screenplay. The fact that it won neither of these awards is merely adding insult to the injury that Steven Soderbergh was not nominated for best director and that the film itself was not nominated for best picture.
Lopez    Those of you who read my review of John Carpenter's Christine know how I like to approach movies that are based on films. That’s what I did in the case of Out of Sight, and right there it’s easy to see why it was nominated for best adapted screenplay - the screenplay is simply better than the novel, the latter written by pulp fiction master Elmore Leonard. The characters are better defined (though I must admit, a lot of that comes from top-rate performances by George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, as well as the great supporting cast including Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, and Don Cheadle), the action is tighter and more interesting, and the film ends - well, not exactly on a high note, but on a higher note than the novel did. Ending on a high note isn’t necessarily always a good thing (just compare the awful theatrical release of Blade Runner to the awe-inspiring director’s cut), but in this case I think it’s necessary. Out of Sight is hardly a Blade Runner. It’s a romance, and a romance needs some sense of hope at the end to be effective.Cheadle
    The film itself is an incredible piece of work. Painted in either the harsh, overexposed glare of Florida or the drab, colorless wasteland of Detroit, Soderbergh uses a very interesting visual style to tell this stylish romance, a style that includes using a good number of flashbacks (the film was originally written to unfold in chronological order, but with that being the case, we don’t meet Karen Sisco until halfway through the film) and occasionally freezing the image (hence, I’m sure, the film’s nomination for best editing). It was interesting to notice that the last place Soderbergh used the freeze frame was in the
love scene between Foley and Sisco. According to Soderbergh, he felt that by that point they had gotten the story “caught up.” Very interesting.
Brooks    The acting, as I mentioned above, is very memorable and effective. Perhaps not Oscar-worthy, but definitely noteworthy performances from Clooney and Lopez make this film all the more enjoyable. Their on-screen chemistry out shines even that of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (in the various films they’ve done together, the most recent being of course the charming You’ve Got Mail). They have a good rhythm going on here, and it’s a joy to simply watch these two performers act with and against one Ving Rhames!another. The supporting cast is likewise great. Don Cheadle especially impressed me. He was able to be funny one moment and absolutely ruthless and chilling the next. Ving Rhames has always been a favorite actor of mine - the banter between him and Clooney is almost as fun to watch as that between Clooney and Lopez - and Steve Zahn is a great character actor who brings a lot of the humor to this piece.
    I’m not saying Out of Sight should have won best picture or best director. Those should have both gone to Spielberg, I think, with the former maybe going to Elizabeth. Maybe. But a nomination was certainly deserved (as it was for The Truman Show, another great film jilted at the Oscars this year), and I think that the writing nomination at least should have gone to the extremely talented Scott Frank, who took a fun, well-written book and made it even better.
    Bottom line: A wonderfully written, acted, and directed film that has gone vastly unappreciated.
    My grade: A
    My advice: Ignore the fact that it was a flop at the box office, and go rent this wonderful romance today.
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