Director: James Foley
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano, Amy Brenneman
Fear is a suspenseful thriller that tells the age-old story of boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy turns out to be a crazy psycho that tries to murder the girl’s entire family…Okay so it’s not exactly Romeo & Juliet, but it is notable for young performances by today’s superstars Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg, and the less-famous but still noteworthy Alyssa Milano.
I always enjoy watching early performances of actors who are now famous because you get to see how much they have, or haven’t changed over the years. Wahlberg, complete with third nipple, has the same brooding intensity that he shows in his later work and couples it with a crazed aura; even when he’s sweet there’s a underlying sense that it’s all an act. He provides a lot of depth to the role with his mannerisms and sly looks, all in all he created quite a disturbing character. Reese Witherspoon on the other hand showcased her wholesome, angelic glow while also showing a hint of a wild child underneath. William Petersen had the other biggest role as Nicole’s (Witherspoon) father, Steve, and he played seething rage quite well as he became unsettled with David’s (Wahlberg) presence in his daughter’s and family’s life.
The plot is by no means original and Fear isn’t an ambitious film, however, it accomplishes what it sets out to do and sometimes it’s not what story is being told, but how. I thought the relationship between Nicole and David progressed quite naturally, and even though she may have fallen for him too easily I think her feelings are given more weight because she wants to rebel against her father. The tension between her family doesn’t is handled well, and while it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before I’m glad they didn’t overplay it. At 97 minutes, probably a little less when you take the credits into account, the film is streamlined and tight. If it had been longer I think it would have suffered.
There are a few times when Nicole’s feelings seem to swing wildly, and at certain points she and Margo (Milano) have a discussion where they justify some abusive tendencies of David. It’s only a short scene but it’s quite tragic because you wonder how many actual people have had the same talk. If the film was a little smarter it maybe could have found a way to keep the audience guessing as to whether David was actually crazy or whether it was just the father being paranoid, but I’m happy with the way it unfolded because it gave a sense of impending doom. One thing Fear does exceptionally well is ramp up the tension. It’s quite a slow burn, but towards the end the tension increases dramatically and there were some moments where I didn’t know how they were going to get out of it. Some things that David did made my skin crawl and I felt immersed in the film, which is one major thing that constitutes whether I consider a movie good or not. The climax had suitable catharsis at the end and overall I was extremely satisfied.
It is quite cheesy though and there were some points where I just had to shake my head. The worst offender was when David gives himself a tattoo using ink from a pen. It looks so childish and cartoonish, and it’s absolutely ridiculous. I have to comment on the kissing as well. I’m not sure whether it was a character point or not, but the way he kissed her looked really bad. It wasn’t so much when they were fully making out but when he was just kissing her on the cheek it almost seemed like he literally wanted to suck her face off. But that may have been a directorial choice to show his possessive nature.
It was a really fun movie to watch though. Chilling, tense and disturbing, exactly what you want from a thriller.
