What Lies Beneath Review
By Joe Lozito
The Lies that Bind
Robert Zemeckis may be one of the few Hollywood directors who can actually use special effects with some degree of subtlety. This has certainly not always been the case. His "Death Becomes Her" and "Back to the Future II" were so laden with effects that the movies themselves seemed to have an otherworldly gloss to them. His recent work, however - "Contact" and "Forrest Gump" in particular - have used effects wizardry to enhance the action. His new film, "What Lies Beneath", is a supernatural thriller that manages to generate some genuine scares - only in part thanks to special effects - before turning towards a hokey, nearly laughable ending.
Mr. Zemeckis is a very capable director, and he takes what could have been a predictable yarn and invests it with a much-needed element of creepiness and a general tone of foreboding. Not long into the film it seems as though there may be a new scare around each corner of the picturesque Vermont house owned by Norman and Claire Spencer (Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer) in which most of the action takes place.
The Hitchcockian worship is plentiful. From "Rear Window" we have Ms. Pfeiffer's nosy wife spying on the neighbor next door (who, imagine this, she suspects of murdering his wife!) with binoculars; from "Psycho" there are many frightening shower scenes - including one in which Ms. Pfeiffer brings down the shower curtain; there are also "Vertigo" and "Dial M for Murder" references which, for spoiler's sake, should not be revealed.
What "Lies" really has going for it is Ms. Pfeiffer. She is a confidant, commanding actress, and her solid performance here gives the film its heart and soul. Ms. Pfeiffer's Claire has enough to contend with (she's getting over a car accident and her only daughter has just gone away to college) without having an 'entity' in the house to worry about. Claire's conflicting emotions and her slow descent to the edge of madness serve to heighten the suspense of the film. Mr. Ford is not an actor of the same caliber, but his scenes with Ms. Pfeiffer are some of his best in his post-Action-Hero era. These two A-listers make a very cute couple and their playfulness together works very well - you route for them as a couple.
The haunted house routine has been done many times before. Most recently, "The Haunting" comes to mind - a perfect example of a special effects nightmare. "What Lies Beneath" has more going for it, thankfully. Its plot is better left concealed and, unfortunately, if you have seen the preview, you've already seen too much. It's hard to believe that Mr. Zemeckis, obviously a shrewd craftsman as a director, would have allowed so much to be revealed prior to the film. It's a major misstep in what could have been well calculated piece of entertainment.
