Paul Schrader's
Investigation
(1987)
A Review
by
Kent Church
|
INVESTIGATION Written By Paul Schrader 101 pages Review by Kent Church I must start off by saying that I am an
avid Cannon Group fan. Every Saturday night, while in my early teens, I would
put my old worn VHS copy of Murphy’s
Law into the VCR and watch with glee as Bronson blew the crap out of
scumbags. I should also mention I enjoyed some of their weightier fare –
every time Barfly was on TV, I’d
laugh as Mickey Rourke stumbled into the wrong apartment. Good stuff. And Runaway Train? Brilliant! Investigation,
written by Paul Taxi
Driver Schrader was going to be one of Cannon’s more prestigious pictures
– like Barfly. Yoram and Menahem
had Al Pacino, who was bursting at the seams to make a comeback, signed up to
star and the producing duo also managed to get Andrei Konchalovsky on board
as director. This was before Andrei threw his directing career in the toilet
with Tango and Cash. This film COULD have been one of their
best pictures. I say COULD because something went
wrong. The script opens on the central
character – hotshot United States District Attorney Jude Mazzo. Jude’s a
colourful man. He dresses sharp, he’s confident and he loves power. And
that’s a good thing, because he has it in spades. People adore him, politicians
respect him and the decision makers on the hill in Washington have him lined
up for the Oval office. He’s also just become the head of NATA –
a new anti-terrorist agency that dishes out swift justice. Jude’s one weak spot is Karin Schrieber
– a sexpot who likes to play games with the many men in her life. One day,
while she and Jude are making steamy love in her apartment, Jude cuts her
throat with a razor. Not worried about covering his tracks,
Jude’s leaves finger prints, bloodied heel marks on the floor and fibres from
his blue silk tie under Karin’s fingernails. What the hell is going on you
ask? It seems Jude wants to get caught. He knows that deep down he has so
much power and authority that no one will ever believe he did it. He leaves the clues not to confuse the
investigators – but to point them in the right direction – so that whatever
remains – however improbable and shattering – must be the truth. Sounds pretty twisted. I was enthralled
for most of this screenplay. It had political intrigue, sex and snappy
dialogue. Mazzo would have been a perfect role Pacino. What went wrong? The writing. As the script went on it
became a racier, sexier version of All the President’s
Men. I’m sure that’s how it was sold to Cannon, but unfortunately, between
the bouts of sex and intrigue, there’s long drawn out spots and flashbacks
that seem to go nowhere. They serve a purpose the first few times, but after
a while they get monotonous. Schrader also breaks the rules by
leaving out any sympathetic characters. The “hero” is a cocksure power hungry
killer who butchers his girlfriend on page five. Everyone else isn’t much better. They’re
either power hungry cops, power hungry politicians
or power hungry office workers. Notice the pattern? I was hoping there would at least be an
action scene or two to spice things up, but the incident in question (a van
exploding) happens off screen. A special note must be made regarding
the end and the final twist. It’s so preposterous and lame that I almost
choked reading it. As it turns out, power is something everyone wants, but
few have. And because Mazzo has it, others are willing to cover up his
heinous crimes just so they can control his future. For what? The answer is
at the start of the review. The motivation for the murder is
understandable. The motivation for the cover up is entirely unbelievable. If The Cannon Group had made this, I’m
sure it would have copped bad reviews and played in a handful of mostly empty
theatres before being rushed off to video. C- © 2008 Kent Church
Could Have Beens. |
-thanks
to Kent Church for the review.
|
Cannon.org.uk comment: I love a lot of Paul Schrader's work and after reading his script and Kent's
excellent review I think we'll never really know what sort of film we'd of been given by
Cannon. With the combined
talents of Schrader, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Andrei Konchalovsky,
director of Runaway Train (1985), we could have had a real cinematic treat. We
could only of hoped for the freedom
given to the makers of the classic, Barfly (1987). We’ll never know of
course. If you’d like a copy of the script (for educational use only), see the Cannon, Could Have Been |
Got a better image, information or
something I’m missing or I have wrong?
Like to add something? See the 
Contact Me page on the main menu
Images and text © 2007 their respective owners. This site is an archive for educational
use only and has no connection
whatsoever with The Cannon Group, Inc.