Rent The Underneath (1995)
3.2 of 5 from 55 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Michael Chambers (Peter Gallagher) is a drifter and a charmer living on his good looks and luck. When he returns to the place he calls "home", he is greeted by a mother starting her new life, a brother driven by jealous rage and Rachel (Alison Elliot), the woman he left behind. In a frantic attempt to get Rachel back, Michael makes a desperate and very dangerous deal. When passion ignites into obsession, a treacherous game of "who do you trust?" spins a deadly web of intrigue and murder.
- Actors:
- Peter Gallagher, Elisabeth Shue, Alison Elliott, William Fichtner, Adam Trese, Joe Don Baker, Paul Dooley, Shelley Duvall, Anjanette Comer, Dennis Hill, Harry Goaz, Mark Feltch, Jules Sharp, Kenneth D. Harris, Vincent Gaskins
- Directors:
- Steven Soderbergh
- Producers:
- John Hardy
- Writers:
- Don Tracy, Steven Soderbergh, Daniel Fuchs
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Steven Soderbergh
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Reviews (2) of The Underneath
Criss Crossed - The Underneath review by griggs
What works is the mood. Soderbergh keeps the bones of Criss Cross — desire, betrayal, bad decisions, that lovely noir machinery of people walking into traps they helped build — but drains away the noir shadows. Instead, he uses blocks of green, red and yellow, which flatten the image and keep you at arm’s length. It’s distancing, but also strangely seductive. Nasty things happen, yet the film keeps making them look attractive.
The non-linear storytelling is pushed hard, maybe too hard, but it deserves attention. It’s about mood, memory, self-deception and the uncomfortable truth-telling side of noir. You have to pay attention, and the film rewards that attention, particularly once the various timelines start locking together.
The problem is the emotional temperature. It’s cool to the point of frostbite. I usually need at least one performance or relationship to grab hold of, but here everyone feels slightly distant. It’s technically accomplished without quite giving me a reason to care.
Compared with Criss Cross, it lacks that brutal sense of doom. Siodmak’s film tightens like a noose; this one studies the noose from several angles. The last fifteen minutes finally click into place, with a terrific cross-and-double-cross payoff, but by then I admired what it was doing more than I was invested in what was happening.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Early Soderbergh thriller that doesn't stick the landing - The Underneath review by AER
Intriguing early Steven Soderbergh movie where he began to adopt his trademark editing tricks. This a clever little movie that presents a likeable lead who is ultimately a pretty despicable bloke. For a while, you're watching it wandering where the 'bad guy' is before you realise that it's our hero. Peter Gallagher returns home to Austin, TX for his mother's wedding and has to account for his past absence to his brother and his old girlfriend. He ran out on dangerous gambling debts and it would seem that his ways haven't changed. This has us on the hook until the aftermath of a doomed heist and then slips and slides to an unconvincing ending over the last 15 mins or so. It's a shame as this was 3/4 classic grift with delicious dialogue and interesting characters. It's a lost Soderbergh film that needs another look.
Keep an eye out for tiny cameos from Richard Linklater and Soderbergh himself.
7 out of 10
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