Fear X (2003)

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Hubert Selby Jr. (writer)
Nicolas Winding Refn (writer)

Release Date:

4 April 2003 (Denmark)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

The Past Can Never Be Rewound

Plot:

When his wife is killed in a seemingly random incident Harry (Turturro), prompted by mysterious visions, journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Wife Killed | Security Guard | Cctv | Murder Investigation | Colour Red

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

John Turturro	...	Harry
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Kate
Stephen McIntyre	...	Phil
William Allen Young	...	Agent Lawrence
Gene Davis	...	Ed (as Eugene M. Davis)
Mark Houghton	...	Diner Cop
Jacqueline Ramel	...	Claire
James Remar	...	Lt. Peter Northrup
Nadia Litz	...	Ellen
Amanda Ooms	...	Prostitute
Liv Corfixen	...	Hotel Waitress
Frank Adamson	...	Adamson
Spencer Duncanson	...	Man
Dan K. Toth	...	Hotel Clerk
Jeffrey R. Lawrence	...	Sergeant Frank

Also Known As:

Fear the X (Denmark) (working title)
Medo X (Brazil)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material.

Runtime:

USA:91 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

Denmark | Canada | UK | Brazil

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Polo Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Det Danske Filminstitut

Trivia:

Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Sizemore were all considered for the lead role.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow (2005)

Haunting downbeat Noir-ish mystery

"Fear X" is a change of pace and scenery for both Danish director Refn ("Pusher", "Bleeder") and writer Selby Jr. ("Last Exit To Brooklyn", "Requiem For A Dream") who mostly deal with violent urban decay and despair.

A shopping mall security guard, John Turturro, is trying to track down whoever shot his wife in the same mall. A co-worker supplies him with endless surveillance tapes which he watches over and over, while taking photos of blurry 'suspects' of the tapes. Little by little he collects fragments of evidence of the identity of the murderer. But "Fear X" is not a straight forward thriller with a crystal clear conclusion, it's more of a dark unsettling psychological journey of a man in need of healing for his loss.

Snowy Canada is stand-in for Midwestern small town Wisconsin in this independent film (co-produced by Denmark, Britian, and Canada) that has a "Fargo" look to it. The director's two first films was clearly inspired by the works of Scorsese and especially Abel Ferrara, but "Fear X" is less easy to compare to others. There's a conspiracy feel of movies like "Blow Up" and "The Conversation" but some of the surreal images in the end recalls David Lynch and vintage Polanski. The pace is subtle just like John Turturro's awesome lowkey performance which suits the film perfectly because you can totally identify and feel for his character's quest for the truth. Brian Eno's haunting score also fits the movie quite nicely and gives a feeling of genuine dread. Anyone who think all Danish movies are overhyped Dogme experiments shot on video by epileptic camera men are in for a nice surprise. The film is shot in beautiful scope by Kubrick's cinematopgrapher. The always reliable James Remar, whom I loved since "The Warriors", also deserves praise for his small but important role.

"Fear X" received some good reviews at the recent Sundance festival, and will hopefully find a larger audience. Refn still remains the most promising Danish director, in my opinion, because he totally operates outside the Danish trendy mainstream film circles with a genuine love for movies, from classic Italian cinema to hardboiled American crime flicks, which make his vision of filmmaking pretty unique in Denmark and Europe.