In 1998, director Steven Soderbergh attempted to climb his “way out of the arthouse ghetto” with Out of Sight, a very funny crime movie based upon Elmore Leonard’s 1996 novel of the same name.
Screenwriter Scott Frank adapted the story for the screen and Soderbergh cast George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez to lead the film early in their respective careers.
While Out of Sight wasn’t a blockbuster hit, it made quite an impression with critics and helped elevate Clooney and Lopez to greater stardom.
Out of Sight is also a pretty fantastic flick in its own right, and it’s our pick for the one Amazon Prime Video movie you have to watch in April.
It Feels a Lot Like a Quentin Tarantino Movie
There are no movies exactly like Quentin Tarantino movies, but Soderbergh comes about as close as humanly possible with Out of Sight. That may be because Tarantino himself was influenced by Leonard’s novels. Out of Sight doesn’t feature Tarantino’s kinetic editing style or a constant string of expletives, but it’s a very dialogue-and-character-driven film with a playful tone and a killer ‘70s soundtrack.
It also has a short crossover with Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, which was based on Leonard’s Ram Punch. Michael Keaton briefly reprises his role as FBI agent Ray Nicolette from that 1997 film. Pulp Fiction’s Ving Rhames has a substantial role in Out of Sight, while frequent Tarantino collaborator Samuel L. Jackson has a brief and memorable cameo. Many of the supporting characters also seem like they could have easily existed in a Tarantino flick. This may not be Tarantino’s movie, but his influence is felt everywhere.
George Clooney Had a Breakthrough Performance
George Clooney was already established due to his role on the blockbuster NBC series ER, but his previous attempts to become a movie star with the 1996 horror action flick From Dusk Till Dawn and the ill-fated 1997 comic book film Batman and Robin disappointed at the box office. Out of Sight was the first real chance Clooney had to establish himself as a leading man, and he did in the first five minutes of Out of Sight with one of the smoothest bank robberies ever put to film.
It would ruin the surprise to reveal how that plan goes sideways, but fortune doesn’t always favor Jack Foley (Clooney) in this story. Regardless, he’s kind of a gentleman thief compared to some of the other people he runs with. Jack’s no stranger to failure, but thanks to Clooney’s charismatic performance, the audience wants to see him get away with his crimes.
Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney Have Terrific Chemistry Together
Like Clooney, Jennifer Lopez was still relatively early in her career when she was cast as FBI agent Karen Sisco. Karen is an unconventional heroine, in part because she develops feelings for Jack while trying to capture him and his accomplices. That was only believable because Lopez and Clooney had fantastic chemistry together, especially during their scene where Karen and Jack are locked together in a car trunk.
Lopez and Clooney’s characters aren’t physically present with each other more than a handful of times, but each one is memorable. Small things like a wave or even a sensuous dream build their strange attraction to one another until the appropriate climax during Karen and Jack’s “time out.”
Soderbergh does something very interesting with Karen and Jack’s romantic interlude — he intercuts their initial casual meeting at a public bar with their very private and intimate time in a bedroom later, showing the outcome of their date before it ever really begins. It’s a great sequence, and one of the most memorable parts of the movie.
Even the Minor Characters Are Interesting To Watch
Out of Sight is impeccably cast with established performers and actors who became famous later, including Viola Davis in a small role as Moselle Miller. The truly impressive part of juggling such a large group of supporting players is that they all seem to get their due. Ving Rhames is one of the most down-to-earth guys in the story as Jack’s partner in crime, Buddy Bragg. Karen has her own confidant in her father, Marshall Sisco (Dennis Farina). Karen and her dad don’t get a lot of time together, but Farina brought a lot of heart to the part.
A very young Don Cheadle has the film’s most menacing turn as Maurice “Snoopy” Miller, a violent drug dealer and thief who really doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Jack. He’s the closest thing this story has to a true villain, followed closely by his associate Kenneth (Isaiah Washington). The film also has strong performances by the rest of the supporting cast, including Steve Zahn, Luis Guzmán, Albert Brooks and Nancy Allen.
Nearly three decades later, Out of Sight holds up remarkably well thanks to the actors and the team behind the camera. Don’t miss your chance to catch it.
Out of Sight is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
