Point of No Return (1993)

A government fakes the death of a criminal to turn this young woman into a killer on its service.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Luc Besson (film La Femme Nikita), Robert Getchell (screenplay)

Stars:

Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bridget Fonda	...	Maggie
Gabriel Byrne	...	Bob
Dermot Mulroney	...	J.P.
Miguel Ferrer	...	Kaufman
Anne Bancroft	...	Amanda
Olivia d'Abo	...	Angela
Richard Romanus	...	Fahd Bahktiar
Harvey Keitel	...	Victor the Cleaner
Lorraine Toussaint	...	Beth
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Drugstore Owner
Mic Rodgers	...	Cop
Michael Rapaport	...	Big Stan
Ray Oriel	...	Burt
Spike McClure	...	Johnny D
Lieux Dressler	...	Johnny's Mom

Storyline

Drug addict Maggie Hayward's consistent violence, even in police custody, ends in the execution chamber. However, top secret U.S. government Agent "Bob" arranges a staged death, so Maggie can be elaborately trained as a killer. She gets a new cover identity as saleswoman Claudia Anne Doran. She also finds a housemate, building super J.P., a broad-minded, gentle photographer. The two fall in love, and that complicates her government assignments. His influence extends to breeding in her a conscience that supplants her violent tendencies, and desire to continue work for the agency.

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Plot Keywords:

remake of french film | female assassin | hitwoman | pantyhose | woman murders a man | 

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Taglines:

The Government gave her a choice. Death. Or life as an assassin. Now, there's no turning back.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and for language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Girl No. 5

Filming Locations:

523 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$30,038,362

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Art Linson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 104 min (TV) 101 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Titled "Nikita" during filming, Producer Art Linson and Warner Brothers settled on a new title during post-production that Warner Brothers owned, "The Specialist". However, two months before the film was to be released, Linson was contacted by Warner Brothers executive Bruce Berman, and told that the title would be changed to "Point of No Return". Warner Brothers gave the working title to an upcoming Steven Seagal vehicle, which was yet-to-be-filmed. Ultimately, that movie, The Specialist (1994), ended up starring Sylvester Stallone after Seagal dropped out.

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Goofs

In the bathroom she drops the gun in the water full of bubbles, but she never put bubbles in.

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Quotes

Bob: Why do you talk so dirty, Maggie?
Maggie: Why do you talk so faggy, Bob?

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Alternate Versions

Although rated "not under 18" Warner Bros cut a few seconds from the German rental video release to lower violence. One missing scene takes place during the kitchen-shootout in the restaurant. We don't see a cook being hit by 2 bullets.

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Connections

Features Deception (1946)

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Soundtracks

Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
Arranged and Performed by Nina Simone
Courtesy of Polygram Special Markets, a division of Polygram Group Distribution, Inc.

User Reviews

Violent, stupid but enjoyable

Yes, it's a bad remake of La Femme Nikita--yes, it's overly violent and amoral (but so was the original)--yes, it's REALLY stupid, but I enjoyed it. It moves quickly, Fonda manages to give out a pretty good performance and it's certainly never boring. If you can turn off your brain, and sit through bursts of graphic violence (and a really sick sequence involving Harvey Keitel as "The Cleaner") you should be able to enjoy it. No great movie, just a really good bad movie. Critics predictably hated this movie. There's a now infamous review from the "New Yorker" magazine that's only 9 words long--"The end of French cinema as we know it." Ignore them--this is lots of fun.