Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer in "What Lies Beneath."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer Director: Robert Zemeckis Rated: R, with violence and sexual innuendo Length: 130 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(July 21, 2000) -- With What Lies Beneath, Robert Zemeckis, the Oscar-winning director of Forrest Gump, steps boldly but unsteadily into Alfred Hitchcock territory.

The result is an uneven but highly polished supernatural thriller that's part psychological mystery and part ghost story.

He and his veteran actors -- Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer -- explore a seemingly happy marriage that comes under the shadows of the husband's earlier indiscretion.

Ford is Norman Spencer, a highly regarded medical researcher. He lives in a lovely home in a relatively isolated (of course) lake-front area of Vermont.

His wife, Claire (Pfeiffer), is a former concert cellist who gave up her music to make a contented life for herself, Norman and her daughter from a previous marriage, Caitlin.

As the film opens, the Spencers are delivering Caitlin to college and suffering through the pangs of the empty nest. It's enough to trigger emotional turmoil in Claire, who begins to imagine all sorts of things.

First, she becomes convinced that the loud feud of the couple next door has led to murder. (You may be briefly reminded of Rear Window.)

Then Claire begins to encounter spectral phenomena -- doors opening, picture frames falling, you know the drill. They culminate with a bathtub that apparently fills itself -- and then reveals the ghostly image of another woman.

And, of course, Claire is alone a lot because her husband is busy with some key research.

I won't reveal much more, except to note that What Lies Beneath is in the tradition of psychological thrillers in which the behavior is triggered by unresolved issues from the past.

As suspense thrillers go, What Lies Beneath is admittedly intense, though much of the shock is generated through recognizable, tried-and-true methods. At several key junctures, though, I found myself slightly ahead of writer Clark Gregg -- predicting the red-herring arrival of a dog, a phone-number mix-up, who's behind the door, etc.

It's more fun when the filmmakers surprise you all the way. (That's why The Sixth Sense was a superb thriller, while What Lies Beneath is merely adequate.)

Gregg and Zemeckis also leave a few giant holes in their plot. One example: When Claire finds a small key, how does she know to go several miles down the road to find the very shop that sells elaborate gift boxes that are opened by such keys?

At over two hours, What Lies Beneath is oversized. Zemeckis spends far too much time on subplots, red herrings and false leads. For example, much is made of Norman's jealousy of the successes of his late father, who was also a researcher. This element goes nowhere.

Still, Ford and Pfeiffer are charismatic and talented lead performers, and bring depth and power to their portrayals. With lesser stars, the flaws in What Lies Beneath would be more pronounced.

And once the central point of What Lies Beneath finally kicks in about half-way through, viewers may find themselves riveted. (You could have heard a pin drop in my preview audience.) So, despite too many elements and not enough logic, What Lies Beneath still generates stylish thrills.