|
|
HARRISON FORD IS BACK WITH A HI-TECH THRILLER
"It’s more a thriller than an action movie, there’s lot of tension. It’s a duel between two men. There a very explosive moments and lots of action, but the core is the story, a man with a great challenge, which rules are changing at the blink of an eye and he must defend himself with anything he has… I don’t think it can be describe as a classic noir because nobody’s smokes, but there are moment very dark. If there’s a scene with somebody sneaking holding a knife at a child in the spot light of a table lamp, it’s not that difficult to create tension. But if you have a man sitting at a computer, who’s talking at the phone sitting comfortable on his couch, at home, but all of a sudden a shotgun appear at his son head, that’s more difficult. The challenge is load of danger safe environment as a house and an office. If you can feel safe in your living-room, then where? … We shot everything with an 8 mm camera that gives that non-professional look. Nobody directs. I wanted irregular framing, unusual shooting and the same sound as in the monitored phone calls".
Director Richard Loncraine
"The idea that somebody can sneak in that way into your life has both enchanted and shook me. It’s a movie about vulnerability, potentially it’ could happen to anybody"
Writer Joe Forte
"People are convinced their computers are safe, but they are far away from reality. Somebody who has a motive, the knowledge and the power can enter into your system. I think that most of the people are safe because they don’t have what criminals want
Actor Harrison Ford
(Firewall, USA 2006; Thriller, Crime, Drama; 105’; Production Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures/Beacon Communications LLC/Beacon Pictures/Thunder Road/Warner Bros. Picture Inc; Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures)
(Comment by PATRIZIA FERRETTI) -
Harrison Ford logic choice. After a short break, “Firewall” gives Harrison Ford the opportunity to corroborate his classic believes about his acting inside his favourite type of movies but always with a variation of the theme. The role is almost unusual even thou still familiar to the audience and with these Ford wants to reconnect with his public; he wants to highlight that “it’s a thriller and it’s not an action movie”; the exception are the final scenes, the movie has the built of a very spectacular thriller with the perfect suspense, just enough to hold the plot. Hat off to a familiar Ford, with a grown expressiveness at the same time, more deep and sophisticated; with these qualities his has carved the personality of his character. This is the perfect recipe for an intense-everyday man projected into an exceptional situation, all this well balance by an extremely icy Paul Bettany, yet not insensitive to the children innocence. (Translation by MARTA SBRANA, Canada)
|
Titolo in italiano: Firewall - Accesso negato (English Version)
Titolo in lingua originale:
Firewall
Anno di produzione:
2006
Anno di uscita:
2006
Regia: Richard Loncraine
Sceneggiatura:
Joe Forte
Cast: Harrison Ford (Jack Stanfield)
Paul Bettany (Bill Cox)
Virginia Madsen (Beth Stanfield)
Mary Lynn Rajskub (Janet Stone)
Robert Patrick (Gary Mitchell)
Robert Forster (Harry Romano)
Alan Arkin (Arlin Forrester)
Carly Schroeder (Sarah Stanfield)
Jimmy Bennett (Andy Stanfield)
Matthew Currie Holmes (Bobby)
Candus Churchill (Betty)
David Lewis (Rich)
Zahf Paroo (Ravi)
Eric Keenleyside (Alan Hughes)
Ona Grauer (Waitress)
Cast completo Kett Turton (Vel)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Liam)
Vince Vieluf (Pim)
Vincent Gale (Willy)
Beverley Breuer (Sandra)
Jennifer Kitchen (Wendy)
Kevin Mundy (Tecnico Video Sorveglianza)
Finn Michael (impiegato di banca)
Richard Hendery (Guardia di sicurezza)
Ken Tremblett (Bob)
Rebecca Reichert (ragazza)
Andrew McNee (portiere)
Elizabeth Thai (vicina di Janet)
Lovena Fox (Gruppo cantante)
Marcus Mosely (Gruppo cantante)
Brenda Crichlow (cassiera di banca)
Ty Olsson (poliziotto del traffico aereo )
Musica: Alexandre Desplat
Costumi: Shuna Harwood
Scenografia: Brian Morris
Fotografia: Marco Pontecorvo
Scheda film aggiornata al:
25 Novembre 2012
|
Sinossi:
"The I.T. and security system expert is Jack Stanfield (HARRISON FORD); he works for Landrock Pacific Bank in Seattle. It’s a manager and he built his reputation and his career on the design of security systems for the bank. Thanks to his job he and his family have a very good life style. He’s married to Beth (VIRGINIA MADSEN) and they have two children; their house is built with a breathless view of the Ocean. The weak point of the whole system is something that Jack hasn’t count on: himself. It’s a debility that a ruthless, clever thief is ready to use. Bill Cox (PAUL BETTANY) is studying Jack and his family since the beginning of the year, he’s monitoring their activities online, he’s listening to their conversation on the phone and he observes their daily life with a full range of tape recorders, microphones with parabolic antenna. He knows the names of Jack’s children’s friends, their illnesses and the access code of the central unit of the security system. Once Cox knows everything about Jack and his life, he’s ready to start his plan. With a small group of accomplices, he takes Jack’s house over, he takes Beth and the kids as hostages and Jack finds himself, against his will, involved into the plan for stealing 100 million dollars from Landrock Pacific Bank. Cox finds and stops any way out; Jack can not find any help and with his wife and children’s life in danger he must find the weak point in his security system to transfer abroad the money. Doing so Jack must have condemned himself and delete Cox from the system. Just if that wasn’t easy enough, to make things more complicated the bank is going to be sold to a bigger Company: Accuwest, that subjects the operative system to a very strict control and so for Jack is harder to gain access to the data. His usual hi-tech gadgets have been transferred, then Jack in order to carry out Cox’ orders he has to improvise with whatever he’s. Jack is under constant supervision, he has only a few hours to make the risky transaction. In the meantime he tries to discover the weak point in the plot and the false identity of the thieves, so he can save his family and beat Cox on his own game".
From >Press-Book< of Firewall
Commento critico (a cura di PATRIZIA FERRETTI)
|
Harrison Ford logic choice. After a short break, Firewall gives Harrison Ford the opportunity to corroborate his classic believes about his acting inside his favourite type of movies but always with a variation of the theme. The role is almost unusual even thou still familiar to the audience and with these Ford wants to reconnect with his public; he wants to highlight that "it’s a thriller and it’s not an action movie"; the exception are the final scenes, the movie has the built of a very spectacular thriller with the perfect suspense, just enough to hold the plot. Hat off to a familiar Ford, with a grown expressiveness at the same time, more deep and sophisticated; with these qualities his has carved the personality of his character. This is the perfect recipe for an intense-everyday man projected into an exceptional situation, all this well balance by an extremely icy Paul |
|
Bettany, yet not insensitive to the children innocence
Harrison Ford had to say he has never liked action movie, just plain action movies and he repeated this until boredom. When there’s the necessity he can move well and quick, it has never been a problem for him, and it is not even now. As Tom Cruise, Ford loves do his own stunts and he refuses to ask for the specialists. Besides these considerations there were many kept-secret-long silences, kept-secret-tears that matched the several roles he played throughout his lucky and long career. In the character Jack Stanfield, in Firewall, we find all these qualities, all intersected among them. We don’t know anything about Indiana Jones IV yet, but if it will be anything like the other three: a story with the roles reversed in a way to leave more space to psychological inside view, and put aside the stuntman and the |
|
action, for sure that movie will be a great hit. And most important Harrison Ford will be able to create and make famous a new character more interesting, loading him with more personality, as he did in those roles more intimate throughout his career. As he proved in Firewall where, for the majority of time, he plays an emotional and psychological character, which’s ready to think a way to get out of a very sticky and tight situation for his family and himself. But unfortunately the plot didn’t received very good reviews from the U.S. press, misunderstanding Ford, so due speak, 'come-back-home' role, lacking in overpowering changes. If this thriller will look too much classic yet we can not deny establishing the growth with Ford emphasizes his character specially the inside-emotional side. There’re some commonplace situations: the last scene with the usual, exaggerated explosion; the wild fight until the end |
|
between the starring actors (Ford/Bettany); the family picture reconstructed, dog included that come back by himself from the bottom of the hill; the police that, as usual, is always late and not needed anymore but above all this we can breath and feel the familiarity with Ford plays this role (this brings back memories from James Marshall the President of the United States of America in Air Force One to Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger). And when is about Ford there’s no director, Richard Loncraine included, who doesn’t waste close-ups using every possible angle and here, in Firewall even the rear view mirror of the car to show the audience the thousands of inner expression perspiring from Ford face. Even if the close-ups are from behind when Ford is sitting on a chair, in absolute silence, like Rusty Sabich the lawyer in Presumed Innocent, or |
|
his face maybe while his hanging down from a building, reminding us of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner up to the emotional moments betrayed by a clear look burst into tears almost at the end of the movie. We can say Ford portraits for each character a moment gushing out into tears; make this almost the signature of his movies. It’s a shame the direction fall on the finale with crowded commonplaces because the beginning draws an elegant and immediate impact, taking the audience into the heart of the problem. The camera moves fast, black and white photography, glimpses of a repetitive fragmentary view, zoom-in adjustments all these are the focal points of an inside vision: movie into a movie, grounds for a framing on the TV broadcasting Forbidden Planet. The shooting from outside with camera sounds in the background and the voices of the victims, the voices of somebody |
|
in danger, somebody harmed by somebody else who’s identity hasn’t been revealed yet. All this is shown before the very first frame that shows the Stanfields family dealing with the everyday routine, stating with Ford who enters the scene while he’s lacing a shoe lace. Some funny jokes with his daughter, with his wife (Virginia Madsen) those are essential to balance family and work. This Stanfield guy, a funny one easy to make jokes with everybody: the secretary, the associates and colleagues and at the same time so intent and reflective about his job; he’s bored by meetings not to comfortable, as we can get it from his relaxed posture, and he’s able to show his prickly side if touched on a personal level. But Jack Stanfield is a family man, who’s looking forward to the end of his working day to go back home and spend some time with |
|
his family specially when is "pizza-night”. It’s clear on the other side things are getting another turn thanks to whom was studying the situation, thanks to whom has different plans for the Stanfields family. This is the benchmark for the entrance of the bad guy: Bill Cox, nasty, merciless and cruel, played by Paul Bettany who gives this character an icy face and soul. From now on you’ll be always on the edge of your seat. The plot is a big puzzle: in the centre the kidnapping of the Stanfield family and the breadwinner forced to do the impossible on his job, because compelled by the kidnappers who keep everybody under their pressure even though they try to get away from them. The weak openings, created by the empathy shown by one of the kidnapper and more rarely by Cox/Bettany toward Jack Stanfield’s younger son, don’t give any results. The |
|
details of this adventure, well structured, are well orchestrated throughout the length of the movie but, unfortunately, as already said before, sagged at the finale lucking originality and surprise.
(Translation by MARTA SBRANA, Canada) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Commenti del regista
Director comments:
Talking about the leading actors:
"The couple Harrison (Ford) and Paul (Bettany) renders the movie emotional. It’s chemistry matter".
About HARRISON FORD and his unique approach to acting, made out of instinct and an understanding for details that give a great depth to his performances:
"He’s good mostly in the scene where there’s no dialogue, for example he can peep through an ajar door to see what’s going on and have a reaction. He can perform pathos when on the script is not entirely structured. He’s awesome. He senses immediately when in a scene is the moment to make the tension grow".
About the atmosphere of the movie:
"Most of the movie is shot in two and half rooms. There’s the family kept hostage at home by 5 kidnappers, no privacy, no freedom and the rain is pouring on the windows and the roof".
Commenti dei protagonisti:
Main characters comments:
HARRISON FORD (about his character Jack Stanfield):
"Jack Stanfield is not tough. On the contrary he’s very emotional and anxious because, even when he tries to cooperate, things don’t go so well… Jack understands the only power he has on Cox is the power of money. The only way is to get the money from his account… - ( I prefer) - stories when my character lives an extreme situation. I look for true characters in a very involving story. I don’t think about them as heroes, but people in peculiar circumstances and they try to have the better hand".
HARRISON FORD (about his encounter on the set with Bettany):
"It’s a brief battle, but wild and intense, rather original. I still like them - (these kind of scenes) - yet I like to work on the choreography, the details e then on the fulfilment. The audience desire for justice has to be fulfilled before the curtain falls".
PAUL BETTANY (Bill Cox):
"(In his character point of view the kidnapping is a business) In a scene where I explain to Jack’s wife who I’m and what I want, I tell her: 'If you do this everything will be OK, but if you don’t do it, then I’ll kill you and your two children', with the same indifference when a rug salesman explains the advantages of the warranty on his products".
VIRGINIA MADSEN (about her character Beth Stanfield):
"She is a realistic character; she’s a very good wife and an awesome mother, not just a woman in danger. At the beginning I talked about it with Richard (Loncraine) and Harrison (Ford) and we agreed Beth should have been fully involved in the situation. I wanted to show her strength as a woman and her pride as a mother… It was unusual do not know where the camera was. Carly - (Carly Schroeder plays Sarah, Beth’s daughter) - and I were shooting a scene where we are shopping downtown, but we didn’t know where the crew was. At one point we were filmed, while I was thinking they have cut. After we realized somebody was walking beside us with a small video camera. It’s frightening the thought of strangers listening and observing you and your children without you knowing it".
Altre voci dal set:
More voices from the set:
The expert of information security system LAWRENCE LEVINE (founder of “SecurPipe”):
"The industry has gone under a major transformation. The cash inside a bank sometimes is nothing compare that one shown on the computers, usually is never more than one per cent. So if ninety-nine per cent is inside the computers, and we are talking about banks with capitals measured in million of American dollars, then those computers become an important target for the hackers".
The producer ARMYAN BERNSTEIN:
"We are not in the era of the big bank robberies anymore. This is a very hi-tech world and enormous quantities of money are controlled by code and keyboards".
Producer BASIL IWANYK (about Harrison Ford character Jack Stanfield):
"Jack has spent all his life building a career and a reputation, a beautiful family, a comfortable and welcoming home, in few words the American dream, and everything is ripped all of a sudden. This is not only devastated, it’s absolutely ravage, something that, I believe, hit the majority of people… He’s an angry man. The only thought in his mind is to have his family back - (and still more about Harrison Ford):
"He’s a character on his own (as he mix action with true emotions)".
Producer BASIL IWANYK (about Paul Bettany character Bill Cox):
"… his attitude, his violence at the end makes him glacial. It seems he doesn’t feel happiness or repulsion for what he does and you understand he’s capable about everything. You can not foresee his moves".
Producer BASIL IWANYK (about the director’s work and the results obtained):
"Give discomfort to the audience, as much as the characters they are watching. He was able to create a sense of claustrophobia".
Special effects coordinator TONY LAZAROVICH:
"Richard used rain in particular way, sometimes just drizzling, sometimes pouring. Marco (photography director Marco Pontecorvo) and I were busy modifying one or two rain drops, to make them fall at the right angle on Harrison’s face".
Stunt coordinator BILL FERGUSON: (referring to the director)
"He didn’t want anything to look like prearranged. No fights in a bar, but rough encounters, the more realistic possible… with Bettany who kicks and punches, almost like a boxer, because his character probably is an ex army guy, and Harrison (Ford) fight man to man. It’s a combination that has created a good energy".
(Referring to Harrison Ford):
"… among the actors shooting an action scene, Harrison is one of the best. He fights as you expect from a stuntman. He did in person the scene where he falls down the stairs, without considering during rehearsals; when I was banging him against the wall or he was throw me down to the ground. He’s strong and you can not deceive. He knows the angles, the cuts, the timing between a move and the other. He knows exactly what’s happening… His ability in the fight is beyond his character, so sometimes he must restrain himself, because he’s playing a bank manager with a sedentary job".
Links:
Galleria Fotografica:
1
Firewall (english).htm
<- torna alla pagina Movies & DVD
|
|
|
