Out of Sight is one of my all time 25 favorite movies. It's a fantastic blend of crime drama, romance, comedy and a has tone that fits the source novel by Elmore Leonard (my favorite author) perfectly. Everything from the Scott Frank Screenplay to Stephen Soderbergh's direction to the pitch perfect cast came together amazingly well during the making of Out of Sight. It may not have been a huge box office success but it did establish Soderbergh's ability to make a successful mainstream movie. It also brought George Clooney's movie star credentials to the fray as well as representing Jennifer Lopez's best work (by far).
Jack Foley (George Clooney) is a very prolific bank robber serving time after getting busted on a robbery gone wrong. During an escape from prison he "kidnaps" female Federal Marshall, Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). The two have an obvious physical and emotional chemistry but their chosen professions make acting on that chemistry next to impossible. There's a lot more to the movie than that but revealing more would take all the fun away from first time viewers.
The most obvious reason Out of Sight works so well is the amazing cast. At this point in his career, Clooney was still best known for his role on E.R. and for being a terrible Batman. This was the film that proved he was capable of playing a cool, sexy and suave male lead with the best of them. While it's really easy to make fun of Jennifer Lopez now, back in 1998 she was viewed as one of the brightest young actresses in Hollywood. Karen Sisco is not an easy role to play and Lopez displays a great blend of sex appeal and toughness. As great as the two leads are, it's the supporting cast that puts the movie over the top. Don Cheadle is awesome as the primary antagonist, Ving Rhames is rock solid as Foley's partner, Albert Brooks is barely recognizable as a patsy and Steve Zahn's comic relief is impeccable. There are numerous other recognizable actors that show up in smaller parts (Luis Guzman, Katherine Keener, Isiah Washington, Dennis Farina, Michael Keaton) that only add to the fun and make the cast of Out of Sight one of the best of the last 20 years.
While the cast is the obvious highlight, it's Soderbergh's direction that gives the film it's shape. He uses a lot of different tricks to convey the mood and tone the script requires to work so well. Flashbacks, freeze-frames, jump cuts, a non linear story line and various lens filters are all used to perfection. There's a lot of different tones, styles and storylines to juggle here and without a strong director, Out of Sight could easily have been a giant mess. Lots of credit has to go the Scott Frank as well. Elmore Leonard novels are infamously hard to successfully adapt to the screen and between Out of Sight and Get Shorty, Frank proved extremely capable of doing so.
The blu-ray is a pretty big upgrade from the standard dvd. Color is a very important aspect of Out of Sight and the transfer really brings those colors out. The bright blown out scenes in Florida really pop and are a great contrast between the blue tinted, washed out look that occurs when the setting moves to Detroit. Detail is good for a catalog title but isn't overly strong. Some of the casts faces seem a bit waxy as well and I suspect there was a little more DNR used than I would like to see. It's still a very good video image that should appeal to fans and newcomers alike. The audio track is very good as well. Out of Sight is a largely dialogue driven affair and that comes through loud and clear. The jazzy soundtrack is well represented and on the occasions when the film moves into action territory, the track presents strong surround usage, good directionality and just enough low end.
Out of Sight is easily one of the best movies of the 90's. It's got everything that movie lovers should want in spades. There is no reason to not pick up the blu-ray of this film. It's pretty cheap (and only available at Best Buy until March 1st) and needs to be in everyones film collection (yes I'm a bit biased).
Ratings
Movie: 5
Blu-ray 4
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