Gene Hackman’s presence as a thinking man action star occupied video store shelf space in the 1980s with stuff like The Package, Bat 21 and Company Business. Pre-Tom Clancy, Cold War era, Dad movies utilising Hackman’s trademark quality; an affable chuckle that could snap into authoritarian rage. For the film noir remake, Narrow Margin (1990), Hackman plays a district attorney out to escort a witness to a mob murder, played by Anne Archer. It’s an on-the-run thriller that becomes a cat-and-mouse game as they find themselves taking a non-stop passenger train through the Canadian mountains while two professional killers are also on board. They know Hackman’s face but not hers. It’s a tight B-movie that is elevated by director and cinematographer Peter Hyams’ impressive use of neo-noir lighting and framing. Often, scenes will be in darkness with a shaft of light cutting across someone’s face. In other moments, the film luxuriates in the atmosphere of a train at night at a lonely stop, steam from underneath creating mists around characters waiting around, in pursuit or being pursued. Visually impressive in certain sequences with a good sense of depth in the interiors and nighttime sequences; there’s also muscular action, particularly the climactic chase on top of the train as its moving. Minor supporting characters are all intriguingly cast and conveyed, adding to the on-going suspense of who can be trusted. Character actor favourites are in good supply here such as JT Walsh, M Emmett Walsh, and James B Sikking to name a few. Hackman and Archer are a good double in their own unease with each other – she doesn’t want to testify as it will put her life in danger, and he keeps finding himself boxed in by the escalating situation. Narrow Margin is a B movie, yes, but its execution and style has a certain elegance that made it a favourite to me. Available to rent on YouTube. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 