This is a John Schlesinger directed thriller about two unmarried, "upwardly mobile" people, who buy a Victorian mansion only to find themselves terrorized by a tenant. The couple are portrayed by Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine; the tenant is Michael Keaton, who was in between his Batman movies at the time. Keaton slithers his way into the apartment without a lease or paying a deposit, ...yeah right! People that have the kind of money to buy a $750,000 building aren't that dumb. It would probably take, in most cases, over $100,000 for a down payment. Yet this movie would have us believe that people would just allow anyone to waltz into an apartment without being checked out. The script leaves a lot of things unexplained like this. We're supposed to believe it's because the couple are so desperate for money to meet the mortgage that they'd allow someone in that flashes cash like that. OK, but then Keaton violates any number of landlord/tenant laws almost immediately. It should never take 6, 8, or 9 months to get rid of a tenant as the movie implies; because, it would most likely bankrupt any new owner. California must be the dumbest state in the country if that's the way it is there. In Wisconsin, you could throw someone out in about two months tops, worst case scenario. Also, a landlord has a right to enter the premises for any reason with a 24 hour notice to a tenant over here, which Modine attempted to do more than once. As a result, the varying degrees of law around the country would affect how viewers perceive this movie, alternating from suspenseful (as was the intent) to preposterous to downright bizarre. For me, it was just disbelief. The Modine character was a way over-the-top nut-ball himself, which is necessary for the viewer to believe that the Keaton character could get away with this for so long. Griffith redeems a small portion of the script in the last half hour, as she attempts to play detective. Keaton is the best thing in the movie, as he plays this whack-o to the hilt. You thoroughly detest him long before the end of the movie. The ending seems very tame though, considering all that's gone on before. Beverly D'Angelo has a small uncredited role, and Tippi Hedren has a bit in the last half hour too. There are just too many unexplained things in this movie for it to work, such as the landlord/tenant laws problem mentioned above. In addition, what was the point of the male character that answered Keaton's door a number of times, only to leave and never be heard from again later in the movie? Why would Modine remain clam and collected when he just happens to discover Keaton's game, but then rage out of control at the mere sight of Keaton? The movie never uses the San Francisco location to good effect either. Wanting Keaton stopped is the only reason to continue watching this movie. You don't really care about the couple or too much else. It would be interesting to see this on a double bill with Peter Weir's The Plumber. ** of 4 stars.
Review of Pacific Heights
