Two very able actors, better known for their supporting work elsewhere, step forward in this two-character psychological drama that is remarkably subtle and engrossing despite its contrived premise. George DiCenzo plays James Wald, a former CIA agent whose life has been on a steady slide
since his extended captivity as a hostage in an unnamed country in the Middle East. Despite steady physical and psychological torture, Wald didn't reveal any secrets, but the ordeal has left him an emotional invalid. With his once-promising career down the drain, Wald is now head of security at a
chemical plant. His picture-perfect wife and kids have deserted him; even his rambling Long Beach, California, house has a "condemned" sign out front. Wald's former government employers have been next to no help. Indeed, they have him in their computer files under the heading of "annoying loony,"
to be humored when he does call, or, better yet, ignored entirely. When Wald reports that he has spotted a woman whom he recognizes as one of his former captors, the sighting is all but dismissed in light of the "paranoid" label in Wald's file. An FBI agent does show up at his door, but only to
warn him that, due to a political agreement, blanket amnesty has been granted to all former terrorists from the Middle Eastern country where Wald was held hostage. Deprived even of the satisfaction of bringing his tormentor to justice, Wald takes matters into his own hands, kidnaping the woman in
question, who goes by the name of Nell Neal (Rosana DeSoto), and locking her in his basement. What he intends to do with her is never quite clear. He tells her he will kill her, but from the outset, that doesn't seem likely. Wald seems vaguely intent on subjecting her to some of the same tortures
he suffered, but even in this pursuit he seems only halfhearted. At first, he keeps her bound hand-and-foot and blindfolded. But before long, though he still keeps her locked in the basement, he unties her and allows her to wander at will. When she insists on taking a shower, Wald has her strip
down to submit to the same humiliating body search he was subjected to during his captivity. But, again, he hasn't the heart to go through with it. Amid all this, Nell is anything but a terrified victim. She constantly probes for Wald's vulnerabilities in search of a means of escape, not so much
to save herself, but to protect her young daughter from Wald's possible wrath.
What emerges is a taut, fascinating battle of wills. Just as Nell is more than a victim, so Wald is more than a standard-issue slobbering psycho. DiCenzo plays him as a man who seems to be dead but just doesn't know it yet. His kidnaping of Nell has none of the heat of real vengeance; rather it
appears to be the last futile gesture of a man whose entire life has been a masterpiece of futility. It's his one last attempt to exert some control over a life that has been resolutely slipping through his fingers since the first time he awoke in a cell with a veiled woman--who may or may not be
in his basement--standing over him.
It would be easy to overstate the modest virtues of a film like this, especially since it's difficult to recall a two-character political-psychological drama that isn't just plain painful to sit through. But in this case, the premise works. And the lion's share of credit has to go to the actors.
Although DiCenzo's most prominent role to date remains that of prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi in "Helter Skelter," the TV miniseries about Charles Manson, most of his roles have been on the fringes of A movies (he was Lea Thompson's dad in BACK TO THE FUTURE) and as villains in series television and
B movies. His work here is masterful. While FACE OF THE ENEMY is largely his show, DeSoto, best known for playing nurturing roles in LA BAMBA and STAND AND DELIVER, also gives a skilled and emotionally sharp performance.
The skill of the performances is carried throughout the production. Iranian-American director Hassan Ildari never lets the action lag, keeping his main theme--how the inhumanity of high-stakes international politics cripples and crushes individual lives--in focus without belaboring it. The script,
adapted by Philip Alderton from a story by Ildari, and the cinematography, by Peter Indergand, are similarly noteworthy for their richness and understatement. FACE OF THE ENEMY is a rare example of a low-budget movie that manages to make virtues of its limitations. (Profanity, adult situations,
violence.) leave a comment