Frantic

Danger. Desire. Desperation.

When American surgeon Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) and his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley) arrive in Paris for a conference, it doesn’t take long for Sondra to vanish without a trace. Roman Polanski’s most talked-about thriller of the 1980s has a Hitchcockian flavor, with its mysterious disappearance, a few dizzying scenes on the roof of a building, and the use of a “MacGuffin”, an object that drives the story forward (in this case a krytron). Polanski is comfortable in his Paris environs, and Ford is good as the increasingly frustrated doctor. The music helps build a sense of dread, but the story has too many lulls.

1988-U.S. 120 min. Color. Directed by Roman Polanski. Screenplay: Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach. Music: Ennio Morricone. Cast: Harrison Ford (Richard Walker), Emmanuelle Seigner (Michelle), Betty Buckley (Sondra Walker), John Mahoney, Jimmie Ray Weeks, Yorgo Voyagis.