homersimpson_esq
Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield
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The final of what I've dubbed Scott's 'definitively eighties' trilogy, Black Rain can best be seen as a visual precursor of a world that would become that of Blade Runner. It is decidedly grubby, with Scott's eternal rain (here at least topically relevant!) obscuring that quintessentially 80s light source - neon. We have Michael Douglas' taste in clothes and hairstyles - two things which tend to identify era more than anyting else - and Douglas himself, who has come to typify eighties action of the non-muscular variety. Here he plays a morally questionable cop, Nick Conklin, under investigation by Internal Affairs for missing money on a drugs raid. His partner Charlie Vincent, played by Andy Garcia, is the rookie, the innocent, in New York. On a break, the two witness a Yakuza-centred murder in the middle of a restaurant, hunt and capture the perpetrator, who is promptly sent back to Japan, under Nick and Charlie's watchful eyes. A botch at the airport in Japan allows our villain to escape, and thus begins a game of cat and mouse.
Of course, this being a Scott film, things aren't quite so simple. Mixed in with this simplistic-seeming chase is the distinctive contrast between Nick's New York ways, and Masse's (the Japanese liaison assigned to help Nick and Charlie) honour-bound code of ethics. Where one is brash and loud and obvious, the other is quiet, diplomatic, deliberate. This is definitively a fish-out-of-water, with lines of contrast constantly drawn up, and used to highlight faults in both men. Through their differences, a mutual respect and friendship is forged, albeit slowly and tentatively.
Nevertheless, the film is not merely symbolic, nor solely to demonstrate cultural differences. It is, after all, an eighties action film, and as such contains some great chase scenes, excellent fight sequences, and some particularly tense scenes. Motorbikes, introduced at the start as a hobby of Nick's, form a significant vehicle throughout, both as the means of transportation for the Yakuza, but also for a thrilling finale chase scene before the final battle. In a male-dominated world such as the eighties was both in America and Japan, one could argue that a film need only have token female characters. Yet here, Scott's track record for strong female characters continues unabated. Ripley, Rachel (even if not, technically, human), Lily, Claire. These are all characters who could have easily been archetypal female roles. Joyce is another character who, rather than being merely a singer who Nick knows, is a plot-driving character who more than holds her own. Of course, Scott's devotion to strong female roles would reach a peak with his next film, but more on that in my next review.
Black Rain is one of several of Scott's films that are, I feel, underrated. I can't help but feel that some of this is down to the strength of his best films: When he's good, he's very, very good. It is a particularly eighties film - one cannot extract it from that time period - to do so would be to detract from the possible experience. (I believe that between Ridley Scott with this film, and his brother with Top Gun, sales of aviator sunglasses must have peaked in the late 80s.) Certainly, Scott excels at world-building, and in his contemporaneous films, he could be seen as losing that potential. However, with Black Rain, a world away from our own - separated by distance, not time past or future - that world-building is much in evidence.
Summary
Arguably, the acting is the weakest part of the film. Douglas does what he did best; Capshaw is, well, Capshaw. Garcia is vibrant as the young Charlie Vincent, and Ken Takakura is excellent as Masse. The story is excellent, interspersing the overarching 'cat and mouse' with the culture-clash and the building of the friendship. The music is typical Zimmer, with Oriental strains in evidence. (As an aside: I'm sure there is one musical cue that is very much like, for just a few notes, an Oriental version of a theme Zimmer would use eleven years later in what is considered Scott's return to form... As a second aside, embedded in the Japanese police car siren is a two-tone 'siren' that is the same interval, and possibly the same sound exactly, as that used for the off-world advertising zeppelin in Blade Runner.) Black Rain, is a fine eighties action film that looks wonderful, sounds great, and has some excellent action and some intelligent themes interwoven. if you've missed it, and fancy some sterling eighties action, then I highly recommend it.
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That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne.  TREK WARS |
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RE: The Complete Ridley Scott - 
Platoon isn't a classic. I have much to recommend it, however it's not in the same league as something like Full Metal Jacket. 
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