Jawbox5 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.

Leofwine_draca Ridley Scott's SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME had the misfortune to come out during a time when FATAL ATTRACTION was going to change the whole look of the psycho-thriller movie. Thus by comparison, this film feels very ponderous and dated. It's a mixed bag of a production, with some decent performances and a nice visual style, but it doesn't really do much we haven't seen before.It's clear from the outset that Scott is most interested in the dark and brooding cinematography here, because this is a fine-looking movie. The plot, which is about a cop who has to protect a woman who witnessed a mob murder, is less intriguing and indeed rather predictable. Tom Berenger is an acceptable hero and Mimi Rogers is ever-intriguing as the object of his desire, but I can't help but think there's a little too much romance here and not enough thrills. Jerry Orbach props up the supporting cast, as in so many films.

tieman64 Ridley Scott's "Someone to Watch Over Me" stars Tom Berenger as Mike Keegan, a detective tasked with protecting Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers), a woman who witnessed a murder. Like most "bodyguard fantasies", she's a wealthy socialite, and it isn't long before the couple are locking lips and trampling over class boundaries. Problem is, Keegan's already married. Much domestic squabbles then occur, before the film climaxes with a derivative hostage situation."Someone to Watch Over Me" isn't as exciting as Kevin Costner's "The Bodyguard", but it's just as unintentionally funny, with its breathless lovers, cartoon bad guys, poor script and syrupy score. Scott's aesthetic – call it MTV-noir – plays like a half-baked version of his other 80s movies ("Blade Runner" and "Black Rain"), complete with shadowy streets, midnight skylines and flapping trench-coats. The film has several action sequences, all dull due to Scott's shooting style, which lacks fluidity, possibly due to all the smoke machines and off-camera equipment necessary to sustain each shot. After a string of box-office duds ("Blade Runner", "Legend" and "Someone to Watch Over Me"), Scott would hit pay dirt with his Michael Douglas thriller, "Black Rain".7/10 - Worth no viewings.

jotix100 The concept in a story about two people from two different walks of life getting involved in a love affair that will consume them, is not exactly new in mainstream movies. If one adds to the concept two attractive players to impersonate those lovers on the screen, the result will play heavily in the way an audience responds. If then, a murder is thrown in, it adds another layer to the film.Ridley Scott, is a director with a keen sense of style. He has produced a string of movies that have resonated with the movie going public, and "Someone to Watch Over Me", his 1987 film, proves to be one of those favorites, if one is to go by the comments submitted to this forum. The screen play is by Howard Franklin. The excellent cinematography by Steven Poster pays tribute to New York City with the breathtaking aerial night shots. Michael Kamen added to the texture of the film with his music score that also blends music by Antonio Vivaldi and Leo Delibes' "Lakme" into the sound track.Although the mere idea of a rich socialite getting involved with a Queens detective is preposterous at best, one goes along with the possibility. We realize from the start they have no future together because the detective is pure polyester and the rich girl will not ever set her foot in the outer boroughs for all the money in the world. We realize from the beginning these lovers are doomed.The best thing in the film are the two leads, Mimi Rogers is an exciting presence in whatever she decides to appear in, as it's the case here. Tom Berenger, with his rough good looks is perfect for the awkward detective that can't resist a woman out of his league. Lorraine Bracco, who in this film bears an uncanny resemblance with Debra Winger, plays the wife of the detective, and is also a cop. Andreas Katsulas is at his best creepy self as the man who doesn't want to be identified and will do anything to get his accuser out of the picture.Ridley Scott delivers with his usual elegance and eye for the luxury most of us mere mortals can't afford.