In 1998, a movie called Out of Sight was released. It starred George Clooney, the most recent Batman at the time, and someone that people still thought of as doctor Doug Ross from E.R., and Jennifer Lopez, a singer and dancer, not yet a pop star, who was more known for her roles in Anaconda and Money Train. It was made by an artsy director, whose last film was Gray’s Anatomy (not the TV series, an experimental movie). For all three, Out of Sight changed their careers for the better. For the two leads, it proved they could be movie stars and had charisma in spades. For Steven Soderbergh, it showed that he could use his unique vision for fun and mainstream films. Without Out of Sight, there’s no Ocean’s trilogy for him, that’s for sure. Why was this film so important for their careers, and why is this movie is better than you remember? Glad you asked:
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George Clooney + Jennifer Lopez = Gold
Universal Pictures
Jack Foley (Clooney) is a career bank robber escaping from prison at the exact moment that U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (Lopez) is there. They meet, literally, in the trunk of a car. From there, sparks fly. If you looked up the word chemistry in the dictionary, there would be a photo of the two in this movie. From the moment they meet, you can see this is just the beginning. Jack might be the movie’s homme fatale, tempting the Marshal into a life of bad deeds. But, he has some integrity for a robber, and things go differently. The scene in the trunk, and the later scene in the Detroit hotel, show the lust they have for one another. They both know it’s not a good idea, but they can’t help themselves.
They both did great work on this film. This was the first collaboration of many between Soderbergh and Clooney, and the latter has never been better. He’s sexy, he’s a scoundrel; he knows we know all this, and we still fall for him. Jennifer Lopez proved here that the camera loved her, and it was the first step to becoming one of the most important rom-com actresses we have had in the last twenty years.
Incredible Cast
Clooney, Lopez, Don Cheadle (in one of his best performances ever), Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Luis Guzman, Albert Brooks, Dennis Farina, Catherine Keener, Michael Keaton, Viola Davis, and Samuel L. Jackson all appear in this movie. Some have small roles full of personality. Soderbergh always surrounded himself with great casts, and this time, it was no different. He told Dennis Lim: “If you look at the cast, these are people who know what they’re doing.” Understatement of the year. All of those actors ended up headlining their own movies.
Michael Keaton deserves special mention, as he appears as Ray Nicolette, the same character he plays in Jackie Brown. In the DVD commentary, Soderbergh explains that this cameo was possible thanks to Tarantino, who mediated between both studios as the character appears in both books. It also has the nice wrinkle that this cameo makes the movie part of the Tarantino universe. Maybe Foley and Sisco could have a date at a Big Kahuna Burger? Or does Sisco investigate the murder of Vernita Green by The Bride in Kill Bill? So many possibilities!
Sexy Noir Done Right
As we said before, the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is pure fire. Their two scenes together (the trunk, and the Detroit hotel) are two of the sexiest scenes you’ve seen in movies, where there’s no nudity. The movie was even voted the sexiest film ever by Entertainment Weekly.
Why do we talk so much about the hotel scene? Well, it’s nighttime in Detroit in the hotel lounge (Detroit has never looked so dreamy as in this scene), and our two leads meet. Soderbergh alternates images from the flirtation and the consummation (he admits he stole the idea from Don’t Look Now), and that editing trick gives the moment (both moments) a lot more rhythm. We go back-and-forth, the words going before the images, from bar to bed and back, as if they are too eager to do what’s next, not said, but desired by both. They both know and want what’s coming next. But, they both know it will complicate things so much more. The movie might be called Out of Sight, but this scene is about stolen moments in plain sight.
Great Book Adaptation
Out of Sight is one of Soderbergh’s best movies, but it’s also one of the best movie adaptations of an Elmore Leonard book. This was at a time when Hollywood had finally learned how to adapt his books, as they had successes with both Get Shorty and Jackie Brown. Scott Frank had already written the script for Get Shorty, and also wrote Out of Sight. He knew that the secret to adapting his books was to let them breathe, and use as much as they could, because, as Leonard himself once said: “I’ve always seen my books as movies.”. That’s why the dialogue and rhythm are already pretty cinematic.
This story has many of Leonard’s staples: Miami, unique thieves treated with love, incredible dialogue, and pop culture references. All that is a great recipe for a movie, but what gives this one the edge, is that Soderbergh uses all this incredible scenery and infuses his vision and style, creating a once-in-a-lifetime adaptation. This vision changed the careers of himself, George Cloony, and Jennifer Lopez. Not bad for a “regular” movie about an unlucky thief and a competent US Marshall.
