Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock, Maggie Linderman
Director: George Sluizer
Producers: Larry Brezner and Paul Schiff
Screenplay: Todd Graff
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Released by Twentieth Century Fox
Barney (Jeff Bridges) is an eccentric college professor whose unstable personality leads him to attempt kidnappings in order to resolve certain issues about his inner self. While his initial attempts at abduction are failures, he eventually succeeds with Diane (Sandra Bullock). Her disappearance drives her boyfriend Jeff (Kiefer Sutherland) into an obsessive frenzy to learn her fate - did she run out on him after an argument they had shortly before she vanished, or is there another, more sinister solution to the mystery?
George Sluizer, the man at the helm for this version of The Vanishing, was also the force behind the original 1988 Dutch film. What happened between that version and this one is what too often occurs when Hollywood attempts to meddle with something superlative -- an inferior product is born. It's surprising, and a little sad, that Sluizer not only condoned the changes made to the American story, but championed them.
The original rendering of The Vanishingis a tense and compelling thriller. Co-written and directed by Sluizer, it shows how good a film can be when it doesn't depend upon formulas, stock situations, and pre-fabricated characters. Of course, some of the credit must go to Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu (the actor playing the kidnapper), who manages to create a personality that is paradoxically creepy, sympathetic, and hateful.
The remake is a complete disappointment. Although much of the story follows the original, it's the parts that deviate which are so distressing. While Nancy Travis is a fair actress, her character of Rita singlehandedly destroys the movie's uniqueness. The sensationalization of The Vanishing is a painful process to observe.
The transition of the story from Holland to Washington state is smooth. Whole scenes are left intact, down to the dialogue and camera angles. The performers in this The Vanishing are every bit as good as their foreign counterparts, and the characters are equally well-realized. In the few short minutes they have on screen together, Sutherland and Bullock mold the Jeff/Diane relationship into something the audience can believe. Likewise, Jeff Bridges' Barney is as complex as the villain played by Donnadieu.
Nothing about Rita is good. She is a stock character introduced exclusively to "Hollywoodize" the production. Her relationship with Jeff is contrived, and her powers of deduction, which would make Sherlock Holmes look stupid, are ludicrous. Unfortunately, they're also crucial to the movie's new resolution.
The Vanishing starts out with an interesting premise, and presents a good study of two extreme characters (Bridges' deranged Barney and Sutherland's obsessed Jeff). However, what begins with promise degenerates into a typical stalker film, with an ending that is pat and predictable. Too much of what is good about the original The Vanishing has been eviscerated. If you want quality, see the Dutch version; this one is a pale imitation.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli