Caution: This review is jam-packed with spoilers. Proceed at your own risk!
"Night Moves" has a lot to offer, including an impressive cast, but I felt it was sorely lacking in the story department. For a mystery, even of the neo-noir type, this is a bad thing.
First problem: Why does Melanie (Griffith) die? Is it because her mother wants the inheritance earmarked for her? Or is it because Melanie knows that the dead pilot is the stuntman, and this knowledge makes her a danger to the smuggling operation? I assume it's the latter, but at least one other reviewer believes the first explanation is correct, and it's never made clear.
Second problem: What exactly is the plan to kill Melanie? Since the movie director is apparently in on the plot (assuming Melanie is in fact killed because she knows too much), then he must have ordered James Woods to tamper with the brakes. In which case, the director's master plan is to drive a car with no brakes directly into a wall at high speed and hope he survives the crash and his passenger doesn't. Great thinking.
Third problem: Why does the director show up in a seaplane just as Gene Hackman and Jennifer Warner are collecting the loot? Did the Florida couple arrange a rendezvous? If so, presumably Jennifer is leading Hackman into a trap. But if she is, why does the director murder her? Or does she not know he is coming, in which case his arrival at that exact moment is a total coincidence? And how can he fly a plane when his arm is immobilized in a cast anyway?
Fourth problem: Why is James Woods killed? Is it because he's become a target of Hackman's investigation, or is it because he sabotaged the stuntman's plane for personal reasons and the smugglers found out? Given his hostile attitude toward the stuntman, the second option can't be ruled out. But we never know. And incidentally, why is his body left in shallow water near the dock where anybody can find it?
Fifth problem: This one irritates me the most. Melanie leaves a message on Hackman's answering machine in which she starts to tell him something vital (it's that she knows the identity of the dead pilot - even though he was totally unrecognizable underwater, which is another problem). Hackman is interrupted before he can hear what she has to say. At no time afterward does he play back the message, even after learning of Melanie's death and suspecting foul play. He actually mentions the phone message to the director, at which point I was sure a lightbulb would go on over his head ... but nope, he still doesn't remember that he never finished listening to it. Sure, he's not supposed to be that great a detective, but ... seriously?
"Night Moves," like any film, can be appreciated on other levels - performances (generally quite good), cinematography (nothing special for the most part), dialogue (less witty than it wants to be), editing, music etc. I've focused on the plot because, to me, that's where it all unravels, especially toward the end.
"Night Moves" has a lot to offer, including an impressive cast, but I felt it was sorely lacking in the story department. For a mystery, even of the neo-noir type, this is a bad thing.
First problem: Why does Melanie (Griffith) die? Is it because her mother wants the inheritance earmarked for her? Or is it because Melanie knows that the dead pilot is the stuntman, and this knowledge makes her a danger to the smuggling operation? I assume it's the latter, but at least one other reviewer believes the first explanation is correct, and it's never made clear.
Second problem: What exactly is the plan to kill Melanie? Since the movie director is apparently in on the plot (assuming Melanie is in fact killed because she knows too much), then he must have ordered James Woods to tamper with the brakes. In which case, the director's master plan is to drive a car with no brakes directly into a wall at high speed and hope he survives the crash and his passenger doesn't. Great thinking.
Third problem: Why does the director show up in a seaplane just as Gene Hackman and Jennifer Warner are collecting the loot? Did the Florida couple arrange a rendezvous? If so, presumably Jennifer is leading Hackman into a trap. But if she is, why does the director murder her? Or does she not know he is coming, in which case his arrival at that exact moment is a total coincidence? And how can he fly a plane when his arm is immobilized in a cast anyway?
Fourth problem: Why is James Woods killed? Is it because he's become a target of Hackman's investigation, or is it because he sabotaged the stuntman's plane for personal reasons and the smugglers found out? Given his hostile attitude toward the stuntman, the second option can't be ruled out. But we never know. And incidentally, why is his body left in shallow water near the dock where anybody can find it?
Fifth problem: This one irritates me the most. Melanie leaves a message on Hackman's answering machine in which she starts to tell him something vital (it's that she knows the identity of the dead pilot - even though he was totally unrecognizable underwater, which is another problem). Hackman is interrupted before he can hear what she has to say. At no time afterward does he play back the message, even after learning of Melanie's death and suspecting foul play. He actually mentions the phone message to the director, at which point I was sure a lightbulb would go on over his head ... but nope, he still doesn't remember that he never finished listening to it. Sure, he's not supposed to be that great a detective, but ... seriously?
"Night Moves," like any film, can be appreciated on other levels - performances (generally quite good), cinematography (nothing special for the most part), dialogue (less witty than it wants to be), editing, music etc. I've focused on the plot because, to me, that's where it all unravels, especially toward the end.