Film Review: Narrow Margin (1990)

Blind dates can be fun, but they also include risks of all kinds of unpleasant surprises. One such situation occurs at the beginning of Narrow Margin, 1990 action thriller written and directed by Peter Hyams. Divorced publishing editor Carol Hunnicut (played by Anne Archer) has been set by a friend to meet widowed lawyer Michael Tarlow (played by J. T. Walsh) in Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles. She agrees to accompany him to his room but, while refreshing in toilet, accidentally learns that Tarlow might not be such a good match – he steals money from his clients, one of his clients is powerful gangland boss Leo Watts (played by Harris Yulin) and, finally, gets killed by one of Watts’ goons. Carol, who witnessed the execution and Watts ordering it, decides to leave town and hide in remote mountain cabin in Canadian Rockies. Robert Caulfield (played by Gene Hackman), Los Angeles deputy district attorney, has nevertheless managed to obtain her fingerprints from the scene and deduce that she should be ideal witness against Watts. He goes to Canada in order to convince her to return with him to testify. She is quite hesitant, but all the dilemmas about further course of action are made with surprise arrival of small army of well-armed, professional and determined assassins apparently hired by Watts. Caulfield and Carol barely escape with their lives and the only route to relative safety appears to be a train bound for Vancouver. There Caulfield learns that at least two of the assassins also got on the same train. Unarmed and isolated, Caulfield must use all of its ingenuity to hide and protect his witness.

Narrow Margin represents the remake of The Narrow Margin, 1952 black-and-white low budget thriller directed by Richard Fleischer, which is considered as one of film noir classics. Hyams was attracted to the material because of the train setting, which is both claustrophobic and romantic and with limits that keep the plot very simple. If he had stuck to those principles, Narrow Margin could have been a very good film. Hyams is, on the other hand, also a famed cinematographer and in the succumbed to desire to show his skill both in exterior and interiors. The film looks great, but it also has relatively long sections where simple thriller plot gives away to often over-the-top and not so plausible action, especially in the first part that features gunfire, car chases and even 1980s action cinema trope of exploding helicopter. The final showdown features some action which is somewhat more plausible, but it ends with the one-liner that could expect from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gene Hackman, despite being near seventh decade of his life, is convincing as protagonist and he more or less carries the entire film, despite his role being simple and somewhat underwritten; the audience can believe that he, despite lack of guns, could defeat his enemies. The rest of the cast is merely serviceable, with Anne Archer portrayed as nothing more than damsel in distress with only short expository segment in the middle trying to add some depth to her character. Musical score by Bruce Broughton is also adequate but the film could, like the 1952 original, work very well without it. Today’s viewers might not like this film because some of the period details – like the absence of cellphones that could have saved protagonist from much of the trouble – make it look dated. Hackman’s no-nonsense acting, Hyams’ competent direction and cinematography nevertheless make Narrow Margin good piece of genre cinema, especially for less demanding viewers.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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