There is no doubt that Someone to Watch Over Me is a smoothly paced and extremely well made film. It is directed by Ridley Scott after all. There is also no doubt that the cast is fully capable and gets into their roles with a much needed grit and determination. Sadly, there is also no doubt as to just how unmemorable the film is. Here you have Scott genre hopping once again, with a story that has potential if told right and a talented cast that lend an air of believability to the cop genre when it is usually so overblown. Therefore it is so striking to me that so little of the film stays with you. It's almost as if those involved where intrigued by the premise but simply grew weary and bored the longer they were involved.Said premise is effectively that family man cop Mike is assigned to protect wealthy socialite Claire after she witness a murder and the mobster who did it vows to come after her. The problem here is that you know exactly where this story is going and if you think there's going to be any twists or changes to the formula then you are sadly mistaken. Mike's wife seems trusting at first and Claire seems to appreciate how much he cares for his family. Yet after some encounters bring them closer they become more attracted to each other and Mike's wife begins to become suspicious. It's a shame that so little comes of this. Mike's wife and Claire have almost no contact so we don't get any feisty scenes or morality questioning ones.Then you have the romance and it just doesn't work. Most of that comes from the fact that the actors have zero chemistry together. Though it's not that their performances are bad. Tom Berenger is one of the few serious actors of the time who could convincingly play a tough cop and Mimi Rogers does her best at giving Claire a gentle, attractive personality. The romance itself is just on autopilot throughout. They have a few close calls, he gets more protective and their suddenly head over heels. To the film's credit it is done with subtlety and isn't completely rushed, but for it to work you really must believe that these two characters are genuinely in love with each other and I never got a sense of that.Lorraine Bracco performance as Mike's wife Ellie is one of the films best features. She brings a much needed liveliness and aggression to the film, as well as providing the dialogue with the punch it calls for. The character is believable as a wife who has stuck by her husband through thick and thin, whilst her more grounded beauty is a nice contrast to high glamour of Claire. I also think the scenes Berenger and Bracco share are always engaging and well-acted.There is a distinct lack of danger and intensity throughout the film that is really noticeable. There is a sort of shoot-out at Claire's apartment that lacks any sense of threat and the would-be assassin looks very similar to Berenger, almost to the point where you can't tell who is who. The villain of the piece is so one-note, uninteresting and underdeveloped that he's barely worth a mention. While the climax certainly gets across that the stakes are high, it's a boring situation and one that is entirely predictable.Scott's visual flair is evident throughout the film. Its warm atmosphere and subdued lighting scheme fit the image of New York it creates. The opening credits sequence, featuring Sting's title track, floats over New York at night and it is a beautiful way to open the film. In a way the film restricts Scott somewhat and it's a shame that the films grittiness limits his eye here, even if he does make the best of what he has. Michael Kamen's score is appropriately subdued and ambient, suitably lurking in the background instead of jumping out at you. Questions have to be asked over the sets however, with Claire's apartment appearing to be never ending.In reflecting on the film, Someone to Watch Over Me becomes something curious. A film that is clearly well made and directed, but one that is mostly unengaging and leaves very little impact when it's finished. It sticks rigidly to a well-worn formula when it should attempt something fresh. It tries to convey a convincing romance without any chemistry. It comes to the conclusion you knew it would from the moment the story was set in motion. There is no questions over Ridley Scott's ability, I just wish that he'd have attempted to go against the grain with a story like this. In a way it is a testament to Scott's expertise that he was able to make the film as watchable as it is.

I remember seeing this movie back in the late 80's on VHS, I rented it and watched it with my parents. I was blown away by Berenger's performance, to me it is one of his best. I can't thin of a negative thing about this movie, it is all positive. It had a great cast, great plot, and action packed from the beginning to the end.The film takes place in New York and it is about a woman, Claire Gregory, who is played by Mimi Rodger's. One night she is at some outing and accidentally is a witness to a murder. She tries to leave before she is seen; but bumps into something and the killer sees her. The NYC police naturally are involved; and when they find out there's a witness; the next step is taken. Enter Mike Keegan, Tom Berenger, is assigned to protect her.Once on the job things begin to heat up, at first it's fun and games, he escorts her to some shindig in NY. She buys him a tie before going so he looks proper.There he gets a glimpse of the hit-man after her. He feels bad that she got approached and threatened by him and promises he will keep a better eye on her.He is assigned the night shift and begins to like his job just a little too much, by mixing business and pleasure. Then things get complicated, his wife finds out he's doing more than protecting her. He gets thrown out of his house, marriage is in jeopardy, and he is the talk of the department. Then all hell breaks loose, his partner gets stabbed, his wife hates him and he/Claire need to fix a mess.The hit-man finds Mikes family and threatens them and it's up to Keegan, Claire, and the NYC police to stop this fiend before it's too late. This is a great movie for anyone who likes a little drama mixed in with their action. I would recommend this to anyone, you won't be disappointed and the ending is excellent. Kris L. CocKayne :D

This film couldn't have been more 80's if it was wearing leg-warmers. Shot with all the depth and meaning of an MTV video, it's ludicrously plotted, poorly acted and surprisingly, considering it's a Ridley Scott feature, rather boringly directed if truth be told.Let's take the plot first and take your pick from the most far-fetched scenario, from the unlikely relationship between ever so rich, ever so posh Mimi Rogers and ever so working-class, ever so gauche Tom Berenger, to the mad murderer running about New York, coming back for lone witness, even after he's improbably let out on bail after a murder attempt, to the finale when Berenger's estranged wife comes to his aid in the most dramatic way and of course takes him back.As for the acting, I didn't detect any heat between the leads at all, a situation not helped by Scott deciding not to give us a big sex-scene involving them, which while I'm no advocate for X-rated scenes, felt something more could have been done to explain the unlikely liaison between the two of them. They make a good-looking couple, but their characterisations are too one-dimensional, Rogers as the poor little rich girl and particularly Berenger with his sub-Rocky like enunciation and dumb-lunk portrayal.I also felt there was too little action in the film and the intended suspense-ful bits were lacking in tension and th soundtrack an uneasy mix of jazz and pop, with the title song played far too often, no matter if it is in different guises.It's certainly a beautifully shot film but the colours are too ripe as if the cameras are in permanent soft-focus mode, over-prettifying the cinematography.I've struggled all through this review trying to avoid saying style over content, but there you go, I've said it...and I mean it.

A good plot premise from Howard Franklin and a likable performance from Mimi Rogers are about the only things going for this Ridley Scott film, "Someone to Watch Over Me".The script is slow and sadly predictable. The usual visual splendour and fantastic cinematography that we have come to expect from Scott as a director of such fine films as "Alien", "Bladerunner" and "Black Rain", are all missing here.Although there was little scope with which Ridley Scott could have worked, he has only done enough to make this 'thriller' just entertaining. Just.Thursday, June 27, 1991 - Video