LE FIGARO
Friday, May 12 2000

FREEMAN, FROM THRILLER TO BLACK COMEDY

By Jean-Luc Wachthausen

"My strength, I think, is having read many books early on, along with having watched television" claims Morgan Freeman, a kind of debonair giant who, we can guess behind the soft voice and the calm exterior, possesses a will of fire - - a real inner force.
At 62 years old, the American actor, unforgettable as the chauffeur in "Driving Miss Daisy" or as the meticulous detective in "Seven", has two films at the festival: "Under Suspicion", a thriller directed by Stephen Hopkins and presented in special selection, and "Nurse Betty", a black comedy from Neil LaBute in official competition.
"This access to reading now permits me to better choose scripts", says Morgan Freeman who hasn't often made mistakes in his long career, and who was quickly seduced by the original film "Garde A Vue", directed by Claude Miller with Lino Ventura, Michel Serrault and Romy Schneider. It was Gene Hackman, his partner in Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven", who acquired the rights to the film two years ago at Cannes, and who convinced him to come on board as producer, as the studios weren't then interested in the project.
Under the direction of Stephen Hopkins, he rapidly found himself in the skin of a police inspector interrogating Gene Hackman as the politically-inclined suspect, and his wife, played by the beautiful Monica Belluci.
"I've always liked this type of psychological thriller, which I find to be typically French", remarks Morgan Freeman. "It reminds me of films of my youth when I studied French, classics like "Purple Noon" with Alain Delon, "The Truth" with Bridgitte Bardot, along with "The 400 Blows" and "Jules and Jim" by Francois Truffaut. These films nourished me, and above all taught me that the most important thing in a film is, first and foremost, the story and the manner in which the actors interprets it."
In this remake, which departs considerably from the claustrophobic original, the confrontation between the two willful, formidable men is no longer a 'garde a vue' as defined by French law, but rather a test of wills between two characters, dissimilar as much by their social status as by the color of their skin. The two actors have decided to use flashbacks to enhance the intrigue and accentuate the ambiguity of the characters.
The other notable film that Morgan Freeman appears in is Neil LaBute's "Nurse Betty", the first American film in competition. A very black comedy in which he plays a contract killer pursuing a waitress, Betty (played by Renee Zellweger), whom he falls in love with…
"It's both funny and serious", says Morgan Freeman. "I really enjoy switching gears, and abandoning my "good cop" roles to become a bad guy, and to be guided by a young director. It's a question of opportunity, a matter of taking risks. Today, when producers put millions of dollars on the table, and wait for large profits to come in, if you accept this game, you will find yourself locked in a box, with no way of getting out. And throughout my career, I often said no".
Which, so far, has been successful for Morgan Freeman who sees himself, modestly, more like "an actor who's trying to simply be myself, rather than a character actor".

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LA Times Article from September 22, 2000

Under Suspicion Succeeds in the Hands of Two Pros

By Kevin Thomas

"Under Suspicion," the latest in a long line of cat-and-mouse police interrogation movies, pits Morgan Freeman's veteran cop against Gene Hackman's rich tax attorney and affords its stars terrific roles. It's no wonder they were so eager to remake Claude Miller's superb 1981 "Garde a (accent over the a) vue" that they signed on as executive producers.

While you could wish W. Peter's Iliff and Tom Provost's adaptation and Stephen Hopkins' direction were as tight and dynamic as Miller's, "Under Suspicion" is absorbing, keeps you guessing right up to a wallop of a finish and offers the pleasures of a chamber drama's bravura performances from a pair of supremely accomplished pros. What's more, with admirable rigor it makes the important distinction between experiencing desire and acting upon it.

The story has been transplanted from a small seaside French town to Puerto Rico. San Juan is in the throes of a carnival, and Henry Hearst (Hackman) and his gorgeous, much-younger wife, Chantal (Monica Bellucci), are arriving at a black-tie affair at a posh hotel where Hearst is to deliver a speech to help raise funds to cope with the ravages of a recent hurricane. He's immediately asked by Capt. Victor Benezet (Freeman) to come across the street to answer a few questions. Hearst has reported the discovery of the corpse of a 13-year-old girl who had been raped and murdered and left in a thicket he passed by while on a hike. He's not at all happy but is urged rather forcefully to comply.

We quickly discover that the two men know each other well, which is perhaps why Hearst doesn't swiftly ask to contact his lawyer. As it turns out, the disarming Benezet and his thoroughly nasty detective (Thomas Jane) are amassing considerable circumstantial evidence that convinces them that Hearst not only killed the girl but another of about the same age in a slum district where he freely admits he had gone to seek out a prostitute. Hearst is a well-connected public figure, tough-minded, capable of arrogance to girls in their early teen-and believes many men are-but doesn't mean he or most other men actually act upon such feelings.

Yet we learn that Heart's marriage has become a sham and that he is concerned enough about aging to wear a too-obvious toupee. For his part, Benezet has two failed marriages behind him; these two men are strong, shrewd personalities who are nonetheless not without vulnerabilities.

In the escalating psychological tug of war you start considering who will prove to be the stronger of the two as you keep wondering if Hearst, as embodied by so forceful and direct a presence as Hackman, could really be guilty of such deplorable killings.

The filmmakers take advantage of vivid Puerto Rico settings whenever the script moves outside Benezet's spacious office. Jane is convincingly hateful and ominous, and Bellucci gets more chances than you might expect to demonstrate that she is not just another pretty face. Made with more solidity than inspiration, "Under Suspicion" is nevertheless worthwhile and thought-provoking.

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UK Daily National Press

"Gene Hackman's performance has a ripeness which suggests that he has never sweated beneath moral searchlights. He makes decay feel fresh."
Ryan Gilbey-Daily Express

"is the kind of film they rarely make these days…an intelligent crime drama that might not be immediately satisfying but which stays with you long after the credits roll…The film turns into a compelling battle of wits between the two men…offers a rare chance to see two of the very best actors in the biz squaring up against each other in some nail-bitingly tense scenes…. although acting is first-rate, the story might be too far-fetched for many of you to swallow. But I really liked it. It's a memorable and different movie that stays with you long after you leave the cinema and should be top of any discerning cinema-goer's list of new movies to see."
Jonathan Ross-Daily Mirror (A List Jan 12)

"Is in many ways terrific, slow-burning, morally thorny film about two sense of the word guilt, the line between contemplating a crime and committing it…. Stephen Hopkins pulls it off with dexterity and imagination, amply showcasing Hackman's most fearless, layered performance in years."
Tim Robey-Daily Telegraph

"Freeman's cruise-control professionalism and Hackman's ferment of arrogance and self-loathing provide the quality on offer"
Trevor Johnston-Time Out

Riveting Heavyweight clash in hurricane-lashed, carnival-time Puerto Rico, a killer of young girls is on the lose… Never just the Hackman-Freeman heavyweight clash it must have been billed as to the studio, about suspicions quite different from those it leads you to expect, child's deaths queasy signifiers to a stickier trail, bravely blurred in the emotions it ends with, Under Suspicion is an unassuming gem.
Nick Hasted-Uncut (Advance Review)

"Hackman v Freeman in a head-on, no holds-barred bout of bruising mind games is a mouthwatering proposition, and Hopkins' simmering, claustrophobic drama certainly has its moments…. These two in third gear have more to offer than most actors do in overdrive. And the plot, stoked with sordid revelations and psychological sparring, keeps you guessing"
Simon Braund-Empire

"This superior and eerily topical thriller confronts pedophilia head on and strikes raw nerves in the wake of recent news… A tour de force from Hackman and Freeman in a film that's as tough as they come"
Lorien Haynes -New Woman

Zeitgeist and tropical this superior thriller confronts pedophilia head on and strikes raw nerves in the wake of recent events. Gene Hackman is a wealthy Puerto Rican attorney accused by Police chief Morgan Freeman of the rape and murder of two young girls. Freeman's inquisition unearths Hackman's sexually frustrating marriage and seedy tendencies but does that make him a child murder? A tour de force from Hackman and Freeman in a film that's tough, visually inspired and razor sharp relevant.
ELLE

"A rare chance to see two of the very best actors in the biz squaring up against each other in some nail-bitingly tense scenes…. should be top of any discerning cinema-goers's list of new movies to see."
Jonathan Ross Daily Mirror (A list Jan 12)

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'Daily Telegraph' (U.K.) January 12th, 2001

Under Suspicion
15 cert, 111 min.

This is very theatrical as thrillers go, Morgan Freeman's role is underwritten, and the generic title does it no favours. But Under Suspicion is in many ways terrific, a slow-burning, morally thorny film about the two senses of the world guilt, the time between contemplating a crime and committing it.
Henry Hearst (Gene Hackman) is capable, we come to realize, of raping and murdering the two young girls found strangled near his home in Puerto Rico. A wealthy tax lawyer sleeping apart from his much younger wife (Monica Bellucci), he has been resorting to underage prostitutes to satisfy what he doesn't get from the marriage bed. But is he responsible for the murders? The police captain (Freeman) believes so, catching Hearst in lie after lie during interrogation.
Director Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, Lost in Space) is a strange choice to remake the minor French classic Garde a Vue (1981), but he pulls it of with dexterity and imagination, amply showcasing Hackman's most fearless, layered performance in years.

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