HEAR NO EVIL
US, 1993, 98 minutes, Colour.
Martin Sheen, Marlee Matlin, D.B.Sweeney, John C. McGinley?.
Directed by Robert Greenwald.
Hear No Evil is a routinely enjoyable crime thriller with touches of romance. With the hearing impaired heroine, it has parallels with such screamy thrillers as Wait Until Dark, where Audrey Hepburn was blind.
Marlee Matlin, Oscar-winner for Children of a Lesser God, is a vigorous heroine - although, so many times, she has to be helpless and screaming. D.B. Sweeney (The Cutting Edge, No Man's Land, Eight Men Out) is the hero. Martin Sheen has a strong role as a corrupt policeman.
The film is set in Portland, Oregon, and makes excellent use of cityscapes. There is a seeming winding-down after about an hour, with everything neatly tied up - but there is a somewhat unexpected twist to bring the film to its climax.
1.Entertaining thriller, crime story, police work?
2.The city of Portland, the use of the city, homes, the bridge, precincts? Musical score?
3.The title and the hearing impaired, prejudice and ignorance about them, ways of communicating, learning to communicate, sign language? Possibilities of speaking even though not hearing? The use of the hearing impaired for the thriller devices - especially with the paging system?
4.The young man on the horse, the guard eating, the brutal murder, the stealing of the coin? Brock and his corruption, masterminding the robbery? Mike and his newspaper denunciations of Brock? The coin and its disappearance, accidents, the car plunging from the bridge?
5.Mike and his intensity, friendship with Ben, training with Jillian's help? Discussing with the criminal, getting the coin? Videoed by Brock? Going back to Jillian's, hiding the coin? Brock's attack and barging in? His death? The pathos of the funeral - Ben's speech, Brock's presence? The irony of his faking the death and coming after the coin? The brutal intruder? The finale and the confrontation with Jillian? His death?
6.Jillian, in Portland, family background, work, athletic, training people, friendship with Grace? Training Mike? The relationship, Brock barging into her house? Communicating with Ben, the funeral? Questions and suspicions, Brock's menace? Under surveillance? With Ben, with Grace, the bath, the brutal intruder? Ben wanting to protect her, going into his house, sharing with him - and the ironies of noise and silence, his inability to sleep? Brock threatening her in the car park? With Ben and her delight with the children, telling them stories? In the hospital with Grace? The plan to steal the video, her being terrorised and running away? The plan to track Brock, jogging, the attempted arrest, her lip-reading? Going on holiday with Ben, surf skiing, alone in the house, the pager, the phone, the death of the proprietor? Finding the coin? The final confrontation with Mike and his death?
7.Ben, scaling the walls, at work in the restaurant? The funeral? The information given by Mike, concealing it from Brock, confronting him? Helping Jillian? Taking her to the hospital with Grace? Taking her to his house, staying, his insomnia - and the comic attempts to sleep? The noise? The plan for the stealing, getting into the house, evading Brock? Setting him up, being videoed? Away for the holiday, away, phoning Jillian? To the rescue?
8.Brock and corrupt, his plan, the tradition of corruption in the police force, his assistants? The clashes with Mike? The brutal questioning? At the funeral? Standover tactics on Jillian? Menacing her in the car park? The opera, coming home quickly, his house being burgled? His being set up - and arrested?
9.Grace, her friendship, experiencing the brutality?
10.Calling in the FBI, the smoothness of the operation in setting up Brock?
11.Popular ingredients of crime and detection stories? Romance? The mystery twist at the end?
