Fresh out of training and on to the streets, Rookie cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) witnesses an attempted robbery on her first night. Megan approaches the criminal, a nice little role by Tom Sizemore, and when he aims his gun at her, she opens fire, killing the man. Unbeknownst to her, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver) an innocent bi-stander of the incident, takes the criminal's gun home leaving Megan with a hard story to explain to her superiors. Eugene, a wealthy stockbroker, becomes obsessed with Megan, having all the traits of an absolute sociopath. Going into Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard good things but nothing prepared me for what I would consider the best film of her career. While Jamie Lee Curtis is the star of the film, and does an admirable job, this film belongs to Ron Silver, who completely steals every scene he is in. Silver is down right amazing in this role, creating a iconic, creepy, incredibly fun villain who captures the screen with a presence which is rarely seen. There is a scene in this film where Eugene goes into the night, picking up a hooker. We see him on the rough top, the camera angle makes it appear as if he is merely in jubilee from sex, but then the horror hits. The camera shifts revealing that Eugene is getting off on the destruction he has caused to this hookers flesh, rubbing her bloody garments over his body in pure ecstasy. Yea, it's awesome. The film is loaded with interesting themes from the hallucinative, borderline seductive affect of guns, power and violence to stripping down Megan Turner's cop character to sick fetishism. Moody and atmospheric, the visuals have a blue hue to them, with light piercing through the frame creating an expressionistic tone. The cinematography also adds to this, mixing handheld and pow, really putting the viewer directly into the perspective of young Megan Turner. In the end, one could argue that the film is truly about self empowerment, showing a female character in Turner, who is perceived as somewhat weak and fragile, becoming a strong female character who goes toe to toe with Eugene. 9/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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