Out of Sight (1998)

A career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (novel), Scott Frank (screenplay)

Stars:

George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Jack Foley
Jennifer Lopez	...	Karen Sisco
Jim Robinson	...	Bank Employee
Mike Malone	...	Bank Customer (as Elgin Marlowe)
Ving Rhames	...	Buddy Bragg
Don Cheadle	...	Maurice Miller
Donna Frenzel	...	Bank Teller
Catherine Keener	...	Adele
Manny Suárez	...	Bank Cop (as Manny Suarez)
Dennis Farina	...	Marshall Sisco
Keith Hudson	...	Bank Cop
Steve Zahn	...	Glenn Michaels
Albert Brooks	...	Richard Ripley
Luis Guzmán	...	Chino (as Luis Guzman)
Paul Soileau	...	Lulu

Storyline

A career bank robber busts out of jail (Clooney) with the help of his buddy (Rhames) and kidnaps a US Marshal (Lopez) in the process. When the two cons head for Detroit to pull off their final big scam, the Marshal is put on their case but she finds she is attracted to one of them and has second thoughts about bringing them in.

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Plot Keywords:

opposites attract | bank robbery | u.s. marshal | prison | one last job | 

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Taglines:

Opposites attract.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some strong violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lopez's Karen Sisco and Clooney's Jack Foley ranked #4 on Moviefone's "The Top 25 Sexiest Movie Couples" in May 2008.

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Goofs

Assuming that Jack and Buddy flew by airplane from Miami to Detroit, how did Jack sneak Karen's pistol past airport security and bring it on the plane with him?

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Quotes

Jack Foley: Alright, now I can say that I fucked a U.S. marshal. Do you think I will?

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Alternate Versions

The laserdisk/DVD versions contain the following deleted scenes.

• The original trunk scene, much much longer with extra dialog, different lighting and more wriggling.
• Moselle is teaching Snoopy's dog "Tuffy" to do tricks with a Frisbee while Snoopy is watching boxing on TV. Glenn calls to tell Snoopy about the Ripley job and then steals a car from a gas station.
• In a bizarre scene in the Adams Hotel room, Buddy and Jack talk about the feeling you get when you take a bath.
• Karen gets a lecture from her dad about relationships while he fishes ocean debris out of his jetty.
• Extended scene of Karen questioning Adele.
• In the yard at Lompoc, Ripley talks to Foley about fish.
• Glenn, Snoopy, Kenneth and White Boy Bob talk in the car after the transsexual murder.
• We see the rather gruesome transsexual murder scene. Ray Cruz talks to Karen who spots Glenn's broken glasses on the floor.
• Ripley is released from Lompoc and we see him packing stuff from his cell and saying goodbye to Foley.
• After the job "interview" at Ripley's office building, Foley smashes a large fish tank with a paperweight shortly before being thrown out by two security guards.
• Foley and Buddy talk in the hotel after Foley has returned from his "socializing" with Karen
• Putting ski masks on in the van before the Ripley job. White Boy Bob tells a story about leaving his wallet behind at a break in.

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Connections

Referenced in Dinner for Five: Episode #3.1 (2004)

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Soundtracks

It's Your Thing
Written by Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley and O'Kelly Isley
Performed by The Isley Brothers
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Yes, that's right...this movie is "Out of Sight".

When released in 1998, "Out of Sight" was Steven Soderburgh's most mainstream film to date, after he burst onto the indie scene a decade earlier with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape". Based upon the novel by Elmore Leonard ("Get Shorty", "Jackie Brown"), the movie tells the tale of odd couple Jack Foley (George Clooney), a career criminal, and federal marshall Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez). After a unique first encounter, their paths continue intersecting, with various degrees of intent, to comprise the bulk of the story.

Similar to the Soderburgh-helmed "Ocean's Eleven", "Out of Sight" blends the standard apples and oranges of genres into a delicious smoothie. This is a drama, minus the driving intensity, light-hearted enough to pass as a comedy. It's a comedy, but not of the HAHA sort. The humor lies in things like Clooney's glances, JLo's relationship dilemmas, the paradox of Ving Rhames' self-righteous thief, and the sheer absurdity of Don Cheadle's gangsta. It's also a romance and a cop-and-robber story, but neither love nor crime is the whole point. All of these pieces unite to form a fantastic puzzle of a picture.

The tasty complexity is further deepened by the non-linear storytelling technique. Flashing backward here and there throughout the film is a good choice because the viewer can only fully understand the previous events with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Plus it eliminates what could have been a painful first half hour of exposition, instead spreading the backstory through the rest of the film.

The stylistic singular color palettes for different locations that Soderburgh later used magnificently in "Traffic" are present here as well. From bright sun-drenched Florida to the ice cold blues of Detroit, this technique serves as virtual atmosphere, allowing one to determine the geography even without the convenience of titles. In a non-linear film like this, that ease in recognizing time and place facilitates comprehension of what is happening when. Unique among Soderburgh's work (to my recollection) is the film's use of occasional freeze frames. Stopping the picture for just a second or two, Soderburgh gently identifies poignant moments, obvious or not, allowing an extra moment to deservedly linger on them.

With the high technical accomplishments, the acting almost doesn't matter, but the slightly understated method works wonders. Clooney is his usual suave self, complete with snappy dialogue and a cornucopia of confidence. In a role that "Enough" can only dream about, JLo almost looks like a real actress (joke). She is absent her too-common ditziness and easily holds her own, despite being a tad too glamorous. Rhames, Cheadle, and Albert Brooks are their usual solid selves, playing parts both similar and drastically different from their wheelhouses. Everyone seems to have perspective in their parts, not utilizing excessive gravity or levity, but rather hitting the appropriate notes as they inhabit their roles to perfection. Ultimately you believe all of these actors in their parts, even if JLo's skirts are entirely too short for a federal agent.

Like "Ocean's Eleven", "Out of Sight" is a very good film, merging quality in all aspects of film-making into a fully enjoyable two hour experience. The main themes of crime and love are basic, so the movie doesn't soar to remarkable heights. But if you're looking for a brilliantly made film that you might have missed on its theatrical run, espy Out of Sight and settle in for a quirkily involving night. If you saw it a few years back, check it out again to see Soderburgh's foundation for his own excellence.

Bottom Line: A wholly absorbing movie that serves as a film-making clinic of brilliance. 8 of 10.

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Out of Sight

Filming Locations:

Angola, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$48,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,020,435, 28 June 1998

Gross USA:

$37,562,568

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,745,568

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Jersey Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1