Think Harrison Ford and images of Indy or Han Solo jump to mind. Just can’t help it.
Dig deeper, and you find either his hardnosed performance in “Blade Runner” or soulful work in “Witness.”
But what about 1986’s “The Mosquito Coast,” the one movie he truly carried, the one which dared him to dial up his quiet charisma to 11?
The 1986 film by Aussie director Peter Weir cast Ford as a brilliant inventor who whisks his family to the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. America is a dying nation, Ford’s Allie Fox declares. Junk food. Junk living. It’s time to leave before the inevitable nuclear war breaks out.
Besides, no one appreciates his nifty inventions there anyway.
So he drags his wife (Helen Mirren), his oldest boy, Charlie (River Phoenix) and his three other nondescript children to their new home.
Allie’s plan for a tropical paradise come true – for a while. He creates a self-sustaining community complete with air conditioning and freshly made ice. But nature, and the bullying impact of strangers, interrupts Allie’s vision. So does his ego, which must be constantly fed or it flares up with disastrous results.
The film, based on the novel by Paul Theroux, masterfully depicts Allie’s quest. But it all hinges on Ford, who never appeared more empowered, more crazed on screen before or since. It’s the type of role Russell Crowe would fill out today, but Ford does it better.
He’s so good you almost miss the movie’s glaring flaws. Let’s start with Mirren’s wasted role as Allie’s wife. What kind of a woman would stay with a man like Allie? We never find out, as the great actress’ character is never developed beyond a few reaction shots.
And the subplot involving a local reverend feels like it’s building to something dramatically profound, like the duel featured in “There Will Be Blood.” Ultimately, the reverend’s path crosses Allie’s in a predictable, and convoluted fashion.
“The Mosquito Coast” begs for a DVD re-release. The copy I watched was one of Warner Home Video’s earlier efforts … and the film’s gorgeous scenery didn’t pop off the screen as it should.
(Photo: Harrison Ford and River Phoenix play a father and son who flee the U.S. for a tropical paradise in “The Mosquito Coast.”)
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