The Underneath (film)
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''The Underneath'' is a 1995 American
crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...
and starring Peter Gallagher and Alison Elliott. The film is based on the novel ''Criss Cross'' by Don Tracy, and is a
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of the original 1949 film adaptation. The plot revolves around many themes common to
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
, including romantic intrigue, a botched robbery, and a surprise ending.


Plot

Michael Chambers returns home to celebrate his mother's remarriage. Michael had fled his hometown due to gambling indiscretions and had left his wife Rachel to deal with the mess he created. He must now reassimilate into the town, renew his relationships with his family and friends (and enemies) and, most of all, seek out his ex-wife to woo her again. Michael obtains a job working for his mother's new husband as an armored car driver. He almost seems the perfect prodigal son as he finds his niche back in the community and his way back into his ex-wife's heart. His troubles increase when he and Rachel are caught in the act by her hoodlum boyfriend, Dundee. To get out of this predicament, Michael must concoct a plan to steal a payroll being transported by his armored car company.


Cast


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a 62% approval rating based on 26 reviews, with an average ranking of 6.1/10. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of a 100 basing on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote: "What ''The Underneath'' lacks is the kind of emotional connection that the best film noirs have. Instead of involving, this film is distancing, too given to admiring its own shiny surface". Writing for '' Variety'', Todd McCarthy said: "Steven Soderbergh attempts to navigate a tense story of a criminal heist into the uncustomarily deep waters of emotional, psychological and philosophical exploration in ''The Underneath'', with intriguing results". Barbara Shulgasser of the ''
San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...
'' praised film's director by calling him a "talent", but added: "he still hasn't found his groove. He seems to be searching for the project that will be a match for his talents. He needs to keep looking". An identical observation of the film was made by Steven Winn of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''. His comment was that: "''The Underneath'' may turn out to have been more of a stylistic adventure for the director than for an audience". Caryn James of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' put her distaste in the film simply: "Too chaotic to work as a thriller". ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' critics had mixed reactions to the film. Joe Brown had praised the film, calling it: "Downbeat, laconically funny, arty (maybe a touch too arty), it's simmering, smoldering lowlife fun, like a good episode of ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...
'' without the self-conscious weirdness". Meanwhile, Rita Kempley criticized the film, writing: "As tales of sex and sinfulness go, Soderbergh's fourth film doesn't deliver". The film also got 2.5 out of 4 stars from
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'', and an "A−" from
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underneath, The 1995 crime thriller films 1990s heist films American crime thriller films Remakes of American films American heist films Great Depression films Films based on American novels Films directed by Steven Soderbergh Films scored by Cliff Martinez Films shot in Austin, Texas Films with screenplays by Steven Soderbergh Gramercy Pictures films American neo-noir films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films