A Perfect Getaway Review

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 08.10.2009

It might be the perfect getaway...but is it the perfect thriller?

Directed by: David Twohy
Written by: David Twohy

Starring:
Steve Zahn - Cliff Anderson
Milla Jovovich - Cydney Anderson
Timothy Olyphant - Nick
Kiele Sanchez - Gina
Marley Shelton - Cleo
Chris Hemsworth - Kale




Running Time: 98 minutes
Rated R for graphic violence, language including sexual references and some drug use.

David Twohy has long seemed like a filmmaker with a lot of talent, waiting for that one film to push him to the next level of esteem. After starting out as a B-movie horror writer with films like Critters 2: The Main Course and Warlock, the actor broke into the Hollywood mainstream when he was tapped to pen the story and screenplay for 1993's The Fugitive. Twohy's script helped Tommy Lee Jones win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and propelled the film to a Best Picture nomination. Unfortunately for the writer, his next few projects weren't quite as prestigious, as Terminal Velocity barely registered a blip on the radar and 1995's Waterworld, which he co-wrote with Peter Rader and on which the inestimable Joss Whedon did rewrites, is still spoken of like a cautionary tale. It wasn't until Twohy went behind the camera that he finally re-elevated himself, as he wrote and directed the sci-fi horror film Pitch Black. Not only did the modestly-budgeted film become a surprise hit, it launched the career of Vin Diesel and made Twohy a wanted man again within the ranks of the movie industry. Since then Twohy has let his star sink a little once more His ambitious reteaming with Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick was considered a box office failure, his script for Imposter garnered poor reviews and the World War II-themed horror film Below unfairly got no attention. With all of these ups and downs behind him, Twohy has set forth with his latest trip at the writer's desk and behind the camera, the vacation thriller A Perfect Getaway.

Getaway stars Steve Zahn and Milla Jojovich as Cliff and Cydney Anderson. Cliff and Cydney have just gotten married and are giddily honeymooning in Hawaii while screenwriter Cliff's first sold script is entering pre-production. When they learn about an isolated beach that's accessible only by one trail that's a day in and a day out, they decide to take the drive and hike there. En route, they have a vaguely disturbing encounter when they almost pick up threatening-looking hitchhikers Kale (Hemsworth) and Cleo (Shelton). Soon after, they reach the trail and hook up with Nick (Olyphant). Nick has a whole host of stories about being former Special Forces operative with a titanium plate in his skull and who found a stash of Silver Age Marvel comic books in Saddam Hussein's palace. On the way back to Nick's girlfriend Gina (Sanchez), Cliff and Cydney learn about a newlywed couple who were murdered in Honolulu. As the two couples head along the trail and Nick tries to finagle a movie deal for his stories out of Cliff, the happy couple wonder if they chose the wrong path to travel, and whether the killers are lurking in the wilderness or even within their midst.

Twohy's script starts off slow, taking time to establish his characters. This is something that might normally be considered taboo in a thriller that only runs just under an hour and forty minutes, where there is a pathological need for the filmmakers to throw out spooks and jump-scares. While there are some spooks to be had, Twohy is more interested in making memorable characters and creating suspicions of potential killers. Along the way he injects a good dose of humor in it—definitely noticeable, but not so much as to seem garish or overused, but for a panicked phone call late in the film to an Indian-speaking customer service representative. The humor comes out very naturally, some of which from Twohy's ability to poke fun at screenwriters and Hollywood due to Cliff's profession. The characters are also very real, primarily the two couples of Nick and Gina and Cliff and Cydney. It is by and large their show, with Kale and Cleo getting some time also, though far less. Very few other characters come into play or make any real impact, but that is perfectly fine as the dynamic between the three couples is quite good.

Meanwhile, anyone who has seen the trailers or advertisements will be waiting for the twist. That the marketing announces that there is a twist is an irritating move, though Twohy's plot does leave people guessing. Are Nick and Gina not who they say they are? Is it Kale and Cleo, despite the latter's apparent exuberance and good nature? Maybe the two couples are working together in some sort of competition—a game, as the poster suggests. Or is there someone else walking around the jungle, hunting them all down? There are plenty clues thrown every which way and certainly some of them are red herrings—or "red snappers" as Nick calls them when he tries to sound industry-savvy to Cliff. The end result is one that can be predicted if one pays close enough attention and on retrospection it holds up very well. Twohy does an excellent job of making all the pieces fit together, and once the big reveal is made the story kicks into high-gear.

It is there, during the last act, that Twohy really comes out as a director and starts framing some very well-done action sequences. There are no huge explosions or acrobatic wire-fu sequences; instead it's man vs. man, pistol and knife and hatchet. Twohy does let some of his over-the-top camera tricks come into play—an extended flashback sequence is done in oversaturated white and a moment of three characters chasing each other through the woods is done in quick cuts between them which transitions into a three-way split screen showing each runner. The flashback sequence works; the chase, not quite as well. Twohy's tricks seem more appropriate for one of his sci-fi films than this more restrained thriller, but he keeps the action exciting and never makes it seem unrealistic.

One of the biggest surprises was the acting. Steve Zahn has been trying to prove he's a more capable actor than his reputation states for some time now. Movies like Rescue Dawn have proven Zahn's range; unfortunately to pay the bills he has to go back to the well and play the goofy comedic characters such as in Strange Wilderness. Here he does an excellent job of playing Cliff, shedding enough of his dorkiness to not seem like a caricature and yet still playing things straight-laced. Milla Jojovich sheds her accent more effectively than she ever has here and does a lot of the heavier lifting on the acting front, carrying it off well. Kiele Sanchez makes a good case for being more than just the girl from Samantha Who? and Hemsworth and Shelton do as much as they can with their roles. The true scene stealer here is Timothy Olyphant, though. Olyphant has long been underrated as an actor, and his work in films like Hitman have given the impression that he doesn't have the charms or skills to be a leading man. This is one of those roles where he proves that criticism very wrong as he takes over every scene he's in. His character is noted as being "really hard to kill" due to some tall-sounding stories, and he carries that swagger very effectively. He's able to seem menacing without overdoing it, and he builds an inherent likability into a character that is supposed to be creepy without turning off the audience. A lesser actor may not have had the chops to do so, and it's to Olyphant's credit that he can.

The film is not, as much as it would like to be, a perfect one. The previously-mentioned camera tricks that pop up late into the film do work at varying levels and if one is looking too hard for the identity of the killers than it may become obvious too quickly, robbing it of some of its effectiveness. A character turn from one of the women at the climax point makes almost no sense, and what sense there is in it doesn't hold up very well. Finally, there are times when it almost feels like Twohy waits too long in setting up for the action sequence, which makes it feel rushed when it does happen. This is a film that could have used another ten minutes or so added on. These are relatively minor flaws though, and when it's all said and done Twohy has managed to craft a solid thriller, one which hopefully puts his name back up toward the top of Hollywood's list.

The 411: With A Perfect Getaway David Twohy makes what is his best work since 2000's Pitch Black. His script is quite smart for a thriller and is helped along with some good acting from the six main characters in the film, particularly Tim Olyphant and Milla Jojovich. Twohy still has some failings as a director that come into play when he resorts to camera tricks that don't always work, but otherwise this was an excellent little thriller that will stick with you after the credits have rolled.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]