Review: 'Nightwatch' almost works

Ewan McGregor

April 20, 1998
Web posted at: 5:33 p.m. EDT (2133 GMT)

From Reviewer Paul Clinton

(CNN) -- In his American filmmaking debut, veteran Danish screenwriter/director Ole Bornedal offers a remake of one of his earlier films, "Nattevagten." The film was a hit overseas, but it was never released in the United States. Now comes the English-language version, "Nightwatch," starring Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte, Josh Brolin and Patricia Arquette.

The plot: Take a young law student "Martin," played by Ewan McGregor, ("Trainspotting," "Emma" and "A Life Less Ordinary"), and give him a job as the lone night watchman in a morgue.

Josh Brolin

Add a mysterious murderer who is terrorizing the city by killing prostitutes, toss in Josh Brolin as a mildly psychotic best friend, Nick Nolte as a world-weary homicide detective, and you have one chiller thriller about a serial killer. The film begins with a brutal murder and leaves no doubt about what's in store for the next one hour and 40 minutes.

McGregor, as the protagonist caught in a web of terror and deceit, once again proves he's a young actor to watch as he slowly finds himself framed for the brutal killings of a serial murderer. (He also does a pretty fair job of hiding his Scottish accent.)

Patricia Arquette

Brolin comes across more like the son of Tommy Lee Jones than James Brolin, as he plays McGregor's best friend with just a few psychological issues. His best work continues to be his role in "Flirting With Disaster," which also co-starred Patricia Arquette.

Nolte brings little to his role other than a face lined like a road map, and Patricia Arquette, as McGregor's girlfriend, has little to do until the end of the film.

Brad Dourif, best known for "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," plays a creepy doctor. In casting offices all over Hollywood under the heading "creepy" there should be a huge photo of Dourif. It also doesn't hurt that he's the voice of Chucky in the "Child's Play" horror film series.

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But Alix Koromzay, who has had small roles in films such as "Kindergarten Cop" and "The Doors," is brilliant in the pivotal role of a young hooker named Joyce. The scene she plays with McGregor in a restaurant is funny, poignant and painful all at the same time.

All in all, "Nightwatch" is a fairly good effort. The cinematography by Dan Laustsen and the lighting are excellent and add immensely to the overall tension of the piece. Director Bornedal maintains a sense of terror that builds slowly and is effective until the end, when things get a bit cartoonish.

McGregor gets a B-plus for his American accent, but an F for skin care. I'm sorry, but on a 40-foot screen it's impossible to ignore two huge zits on his forehead that keep changing position in every shot. He either needed a dermatologist to get rid of them or a continuity person to match them from shot to shot. Although this may have something to do with some kind of European sense of reality (like bad teeth and under arm hair), it's still a type of reality I could do without.

Overall, "Nightwatch" is an enjoyable, but flawed film. Made on a shoestring budget, and at a running time of 101 minutes, it's a noble effort that doesn't totally work. "Nightwatch" is rated "R" for both sex and violence.

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