Alec Baldwin’s transformation from leading man to character actor was so complete it’s a shock to see his old self on screen.
Baldwin flirted with A-list status thanks to “The Hunt for Red October,” but his follow up movies – like “The Shadow” and “The Marrying Man” – forced him to consider other options.
That’s a shame, since perhaps his least populist film, “Miami Blues,” gave us the best proof he could have been a major movie star.
The film, from writer/director George Armitage, let Baldwin flash a dangerous brand of sex appeal – and a hairy chest that belongs back in the 1970s.
“Blues” follows an ex-con named Junior (Baldwin) whose bid for a fresh start begins with a series of petty crimes.
He steals a suitcase, breaks the finger of an intrusive Hari Krishna devotee and orders a prostitute up to his hotel room. It’s dumb luck the man with the broken finger dies of shock, but his room service prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh) gives him a loyal love interest.
Junior’s activities catch the attention of a bedraggled detective named Hoke (Fred Ward) who makes it his mission to bring Junior to justice – and retrieve his stolen dentures.
But first he’ll share a porkchop dinner with him.
Suffice to say Junior isn’t a nice fellow. He’s prone to bending people’s bones in the wrong direction and harbors no remorse for anything he does – except when it comes to Susie.
“Miami Blues” doesn’t have much of a narrative beyond Junior’s downward spiral. The Miami setting gives color to a story already brimming with texture, and Armitage’s screenplay wisely includes some biting humor.
Armitage takes pains to mix up his shots, extolling in the power of Junior unhinged mind one moment, then slowing things done to reveal his shattered soul. Consider a smart sequence early in the movie using a hand-held camera to capture the tenderness – and fragility – of Junior putting the moves on Susie for the first time.
That’s quiet, beautiful movie making.
Baldwin, his voice a register or two higher than his “30 Rock” line readings, is all coiled energy here. He’s as cool as Ward is disheveled, and their cat and mouse chase is one we haven’t seen before. Or since.
Leigh turns prostitute cliches on their head, and while she’s dim enough to buy Junior’s shpiel she never loses sight of her real goal – a honest life.
“Miami Blues” may have been too dark, too scattered for mainstream success. But watching it today shows just how far Baldwin could take his talents – and what we’d see when he pushed them to the edge.
(Photo: Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a woman who takes a risk on a charismatic stranger (Alec Baldwin) in “Miami Blues.”)
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I do like “Miami Blues”, but I think “The Hunt for Red October” was the star making performance for Baldwin. Didn’t he abandon Hollywood shortly thereafter to work on Broadway? It’s a shame Baldwin never played Jack Ryan again because he did a much better job than Harrison Ford and (ugh) Ben Affleck.
Not sure precisely why they ditched Baldwin for Ford. And while he was excellent in “October” I think he showed more range in “Blues.” It isn’t every actor who can play a psychopath and still keep the viewer rooting for him – on a certain level.
Did not ditch Baldwin for Ford. Baldwin opted for a B’way piece over being contracted for sequels. For a long time, this was a case study for Bad Career Moves. Ford became the new Jack Ryan, and the rest, they say, is….
“That’s quiet, beautiful movie making.”
~ and this is elegant review writing to make Ms. Kael proud. Keep up this sort of thing, Mr. WWTW.
D.