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The Onion Field
Brilliant, absorbing if little-known true story from 1981, with James Woods, Ted Danson, John Savage and Ronny Cox. Hettinger(Savage) and Campbell (Danson) are two cops who pull over Powell(Woods) and his sidekick Jimmy (the excellent Franklyn Seales) for a minor traffic offence...not realising they are on their way to commit a robbery, and decide to take the cops hostage and drive them out to a remote field...one cop is brutally gunned down, one escapes.
Spoilers ahead.......
Set in 1963, the first half of the movie sets up the characters, particularly Powell's hyper, unpredictable, coiled-spring persona, and Jimmy's nervous, slightly timid and malleable nature, making him an easy target for Powell's more dominant and manipulative nature. Danson shines in his few scenes in the early part of the film, showing a rarely seen dramatic side to him (and he gets to play the bagpipes...seriously!). But the bulk of the movie is really Hettinger's story.
After the killing, the movie focuses partly on the trial(s), and endless legal manipulation on the part of Campbell and Smith, ultimately falling out whilst in prison awaiting sentencing, learning about law and stringing things out for years, learning to defend themselves etc, to the point where it becomes completely farcical.
During this time, the film also focuses on the effect of the events of that night on Hettinger...he has to live with the guilt of his partners death, but also of not being able to save him. But the fact that he gave up his gun to the killers, something that police procedure at the time considered a no-no. Not only does Hettinger question and doubt himself, but so do others around him. Therefore something has to give, and he eventually quits his job, has mental problems, nightmares and problems with his marriage.
One of the films strengths, apart from powerhouse performances from Woods and Savage, is that one crucial detail about the killing is left deliberately obscure, and indeed becomes the crux of much of the legal case...and the film leaves this detail unresolved, which adds to the tension and keeps you watching in fascination until the end.
Spoilers ahead.......
Set in 1963, the first half of the movie sets up the characters, particularly Powell's hyper, unpredictable, coiled-spring persona, and Jimmy's nervous, slightly timid and malleable nature, making him an easy target for Powell's more dominant and manipulative nature. Danson shines in his few scenes in the early part of the film, showing a rarely seen dramatic side to him (and he gets to play the bagpipes...seriously!). But the bulk of the movie is really Hettinger's story.
After the killing, the movie focuses partly on the trial(s), and endless legal manipulation on the part of Campbell and Smith, ultimately falling out whilst in prison awaiting sentencing, learning about law and stringing things out for years, learning to defend themselves etc, to the point where it becomes completely farcical.
During this time, the film also focuses on the effect of the events of that night on Hettinger...he has to live with the guilt of his partners death, but also of not being able to save him. But the fact that he gave up his gun to the killers, something that police procedure at the time considered a no-no. Not only does Hettinger question and doubt himself, but so do others around him. Therefore something has to give, and he eventually quits his job, has mental problems, nightmares and problems with his marriage.
One of the films strengths, apart from powerhouse performances from Woods and Savage, is that one crucial detail about the killing is left deliberately obscure, and indeed becomes the crux of much of the legal case...and the film leaves this detail unresolved, which adds to the tension and keeps you watching in fascination until the end.
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Any early Jimmy Woods performance is worth a look...
Woods is particularly hateful , and there's a scene where he has to show loyalty to another inmate and has to go down on him , really disturbing .
no-one plays a broken individual like John Savage , it's just heart-breaking . There's tons of good stuff in it - I remember a scene where all the cops are mocking Savage for giving up his gun and an old beat-cop gets up and tells them something like :
"I've seen everything , but if some young punk has me on the ground and puts his gun to the back of my head I'd give him my shit-stained skivvies if he asked for 'em ."
It was kind of the end of the grown up cop movie era , after that it was all dumb action hero schtick .
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...and the infamous baby scene.
I actually winced and put my hands over my eyes during that scene. It's not graphic or distasteful, and in fact you don't really see it properly...but it's just the notion of a baby that won't stop crying, and a man who is extremely emotionally disturbed who cannot take any more...
It sounds intriguing and I love the 3 main actors, Oddly it doesn't appear to be on iTunes but I'll definitely give it a watch if I see it on the planner.