For a ten year period from the late 80s to somewhere in the 90s, Geena Davis followed a peculiar arc. Incredible in David Cronenbergs The Fly, not the least for the chemistry of a real-life romance with Jeff Goldblum that flamed out after a passionate conflagration, she found herself a curious kind of star. Too pretty to be the nerd, too nerdy to be an idol, she was a kind of dreamgirl for the very smart and the kind of lonesome. She anchored pop-cultural touchstones like Thelma & Louise where she introduced the world to the particular pleasures of objectifying an on-the-cusp Brad Pitt; and A League of Their Own which has in the decades since accumulated almost as many laurels as a feminist rallying point. My fondest impressions of her, though, are from The Fly (of course), but also her turn as suburban ghost Barbara in Beetlejuice and odd, unconventional Muriel in Lawrence Kasdans underseen The Accidental Tourist where Davis matched up perfectly with the similarly unconventional William Hurt. Its those seemingly disparate qualities of capable athlete and lovable dork that people like Zooey Deschanel would later parlay into careers. In details of her personal life that found currency during this same period, I find evidence of both of those things in Davis foray into Olympic archery, and simultaneous-in-my-memory revelation that the Boston University grad was a member of Mensa. Though there are obvious explanations for Davis elevation as a feminist icon (and lets not forget Earth Girls are Easy), I think often of her, some would call it bizarre, two-film run with then-husband Renny Harlin where she made a play for action hero before settling in to play mom roles in animated mouse movies.
Cutthroat Island landed first, earning immediate scorn as arguably the worst film of 1995 and a financial boondoggle to boot. In it, she plays the dread pirate Morgan who, in the first ten minutes of the film, makes two dick jokes and skins her fathers head for the treasure map tattooed there. It has its pleasures, in other words. Theres a lovely stunt where Davis herself seems to time a fall from a window into the shotgun seat of a racing carriage, but the picture is vile and loud, obnoxiously over-written, has numerous monkey reaction shots, and fails I think to capture the thing about Davis that is the most arresting: that is, her ability to play characters that are in the process of discovering something about themselves. Davis is like Matt Damon in that way: they are too smart to be likable unless what were watching is a process of them figuring out just how special they actually are. I dont think its a mistake that career highlights for both involve characters who are special agents with amnesia, fishes literally pulled from the water and into normal, domestic situations before circumstance calls them to action. Harlin, I dont think, entirely understood what it is about Davis that made her a star, not entirely, but he got a lot closer the second time out with the exuberantly bonkers The Long Kiss Goodnight. Perhaps unfortunately for The Long Kiss Goodnight, it landed just one year after Cutthroat Island.
Working from a script by Shane Black, The Long Kiss Goodnight was dismissed at the time as just another loud, obnoxious, ultra-violent piffle that further degraded Davis momentum and was popularly speculated to have been at least part of the reason Davis and Harlin ended their marriage soon after. Stripped of its tabloid interest, The Long Kiss Goodnight is exactly the kind of movie that filmmakers have been chasing recently, in this newly diverse-aspiring climate: the unapologetic action movie heroine grounding a potential franchise. This is the movie I think of when I watch things now like Atomic Blonde, movies that know the notes but, without the particular, difficult-to-replicate complexities that Davis brings to the party, dont quite hear the music. In this, Davis plays Charly Baltimore, a government-bred assassin whos lost her memory and so begun a new life as a housewife. Her past catches up with her, of course, and as pieces of her old skills start returning, she partners with good samaritan Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to protect her new family and, why not, save the world from evil in the process. I love this movie I love in particular the scenes where Charly plays the wife because there is something always fascinating about someone like Geena Davis in a role that is so completely familiar. She makes a comfortable thing uncomfortable with the volume of combustible potential energy she brings to it. A sequence where, while cooking dinner, she discovers she has unearthly knife skills (Maybe I was a chef!) is absolutely a delight for how Davis plays it as not a superhero origin story, but a woman coming into power.
Geena Davis is like Matt Damon: they are both too smart to be likable unless what were watching is a process of them figuring out just how special they actually are.
Beyond Blacks typically-snappy and world weary banter, thats what sings about The Long Kiss Goodnight 25 years after its initial release seeing Davis joy as not just the best wife and schoolteacher there ever has been, but eventually, the best killer the world has ever seen. I recall vividly the Siskel & Ebert pan where they talked derisively about the physics of outrunning a fireball, missing entirely that Davis when shes on fire with the right material to suit her many facets. The film is trenchant in its pessimism about government agencies with the baddies actually being the CIA in the process of planting a false-flag operation in order to better persecute Muslims at home and abroad. I dont think I understood exactly how opportunistic our government was, nor how easily our racism is weaponized against the minority bogey-du-jour, when I first saw this film. Its nihilism struck me back then as unsettling and The Long Kiss Goodnight was easier to dismiss as a particularly bleak fantasy. Watching it now, after everything weve been through the last quarter century, its maybe not nihilistic enough?
Whats constant, though, is how effortlessly Davis moves back and forth from warmth and nurturing, to calculating and deadly. Theres something archetypal about Davis towering over most of her co-stars, gangly in one moment and lissome in the next, as at home in a leather trench coat as she is in a gingham dress. She is the very image of unpinnable and as a being of complete liminal possibility, she becomes like Hitchcocks Roger Thornhill; Cary Grant in a light blue suit who is everything to everyone but truly knowable only by the person he chooses.
The action in The Long Kiss Goodnight remains memorable. Harlin, of all the things he is and is not, is a master of muscular motion. During this his period of greatest production, he began the decade crashing an passenger deck full of people in Die Hard 2 and ended it with a super-smart shark interrupting Samuel Jackson mid-diatribe. In between, the better-than-it-should-be Sylvester Stallone vehicle Cliffhanger (and Stallone was floated as one possible star of The Long Kiss Goodnight should Davis not work out) and a game adaptation of Daniel Waters The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. But for me, hes the director of these two attempts to find a franchise for Geena Davis who has been good in everything shes been in, but has never had her unique skill set entirely honored by any single project. The Long Kiss Goodnight came the closest and its influence on filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Doug Liman, even Chad Stahelskis John Wick epic, continue to cast long shadows. If you havent seen it, you owe it to yourself. Its brutally violent and surprisingly tender; hilarious and somber; absurd and all too familiar. Its all the contradictions inherent in Davis, too, this complicated star for a complicated decade whose greatest gift of polar ambiguity might be coming into focus only now, when were similarly fractured and looking for a way all those pieces fit into one possible whole.
Walter Chaw is the Senior Film Critic for filmfreakcentral.net. His book on the films of Walter Hill, with introduction by James Ellroy, is due in 2021. His monograph for the 1988 film MIRACLE MILE is available now.
Where to stream The Long Kiss Goodnight
Originally posted here:
'The Long Kiss Goodnight' At 25: Geena Davis Was The Matt Damon Of Her Time - Decider
- Voices: Working-class men like Steve Wright don't go to the doctor and that's exactly the problem... - Yahoo News UK - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- "Superman Defeats Nihilism": Grant Morrison Loved an Obscure Alan Moore Story So Much They Almost Remixed It - Screen Rant - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The rise of stay-at-home girlfriends - UnHerd - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 'Fargo' Recap, Season 5, Episode 2: Trials and Tribulations - Vulture - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- What's the matter with Russia? - The Hub - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Killer: The unintentional comedy of the year? - EL PAS USA - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Eli Roth's Thanksgiving Keeps A Disappointing 2023 Slasher Trend ... - Screen Rant - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Bobby McDonagh: The Rule of Law matters more than ever when ... - TheJournal.ie - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- A 2023 gift guide: 10 ideas for the music lover in your life - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Ten Great Sci-fi TV Shows that Promote Reason and Individualism - The Objective Standard - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Jonathan Sacks: Are Science and Religion Enemies? - The Collector - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- An open letter to all of my progressive friends - New York Daily News - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Two Tragedies of November 22nd - The American Conservative - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Speculating on the ceasefire moment in Gaza - rabble.ca - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- In Defense of Stigma - The Stream - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Pro-lockdown obsessives still long to be told what to do - Yahoo Eurosport UK - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 8 signs you're a mentally strong person (even if you don't think so) - Hack Spirit - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Trump Gets Fined in Court but Wins in the House - The New Yorker - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- The challenges to democracy [letter] | Letters To The Editor ... - LNP | LancasterOnline - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Standing against the insidious spread of euthanasia | News, Sports ... - The Daily Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- A large chunk of Republicans are quite set on voting for the face ... - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Israel's civic strength in response to the Hamas attacks should stiffen ... - The Hub - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- No Time to Go Wobbly on Russia - Center for European Policy Analysis - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Blinken to Security Council: Where's the revulsion over Hamas attacks - The Times of Israel - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Opinion | In Israel and Gaza, Searching for Humanity - The New York Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Donald Trump to testify in NY AG Case - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Thom Nickels: Demonic nihilism? It's not just on the streets. - Broad + Liberty - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Reflections on the Revolution in America | Pavlos Leonidas ... - First Things - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why It's Always Raining In The Movie Se7en: David Fincher's ... - Screen Rant - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Poetic Time In The Age Of Acceleration - Noema Magazine - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: Zilched releases her best work yet in 'Earthly Delights' - WDET - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Phoebe Bridgers thinks we confuse sadness with intelligence: Listen ... - Audacy - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Called to be a man in Christ, not a Nietzschean superman - Catholic World Report - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why The Last Voyage of the Demeter Sank at the Box Office - MovieWeb - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Forget GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption, I want Manhunt 3 - PCGamesN - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Gabriel Krauze: raw writing from the streets of London - RNZ - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- The Ideal Man According to 7 Different Philosophers - Art of Manliness - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: In How to Blow Up a Pipeline, nihilism is optimism - Detroit Metro Times - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Beaten To Death Review: Disturbing Australian Horror Lives Up To Its Title [Panic Fest 2023] - Dread Central - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- David Brooks: Joe Biden and the 'battle for the soul of America' l - Baltimore Sun - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Ram Jams: Fall Out Boy, New Album and Era - Fordham Observer - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson Is the Emblem of GOP Cynicism - The Atlantic - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- One Night in Washington, D.C., With George Santos - The Intercept - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Reddit study finds interesting facts about typical Blue Jays fans - Jays Journal - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Yale Professor Breaks Down Years of Violent Conflict Between ... - The Greyhound - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Nietzsche, Friedrich | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- 30 Religious Terms You Should Know - Daily Writing Tips - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Difference Between Existentialism, Nihilism, and Absurdism - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Philosophical skepticism - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Simon Critchley - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- 'World is Crumbling. An Email Doesn't Matter': 2022 Was the Year of Nihilism. How Do We Move On? - News18 - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Moscow accuses West of legal nihilism RT Russia & Former Soviet Union - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Wordsworths Challenge to Darwinian Nihilism | Evolution News - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie LaCava review numb nihilism ... - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Editorial: In the Face of Climate Nihilism, What Can One Do to Not Lose All Hope? | Opinions - The Link - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Cardinal Mller Reasserts the Dangers of Nihilism The European Conservative - The European Conservative - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Midnight Club Is a Teen Horror Show Thats Actually Scary: TV Review - Yahoo Entertainment - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Hiltzik: GOP cruelty counts on the humanity of others - Los Angeles Times - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Screen Grabs: A revisionist Western that still shines bright - 48 hills - 48 Hills - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Russian Roulette: How Ukraine Can Win the Game (Part 1) - Kyiv Post - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- What 20 Years of Putin's Own Words Tell Us About Russia's Subversion of International Law - JURIST - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- 'Triangle of Sadness' Review: Hazardous Levels of Smug - Vulture - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- In China, Only the Party Tells History - Foreign Policy - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Yahoo Entertainment - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- No Laughing Matter: Bodies Bodies Bodies Is Too Cynical to Be Much Fun - Erie Reader - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Oliver Jeffers Gets Perspective With Meanwhile Back on Earth - TIME - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Talkin' About My Generation: How Boomers Became Deaf, Dumb, and Blind To The Inspiration and Innovation of Rock and Roll - MetalTalk - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- 'Cult of the Lamb' and the bleating heart of nihilism - Catholic News Service - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Spin - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- This cosmic horror game will force you to trust characters to survive - Polygon - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Belief in God can help us find a purpose in life that we are currently lacking - David J Nixon - The Scotsman - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Date Night" by White Lung - Northern Transmissions - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Lyrically Speaking: What is Bob Dylans All Along the Watchtower actually about? - Far Out Magazine - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Pinocchio (2022): Disney wished on another wrong star - Campus Times - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Complicated Legacy Of 'Rick And Morty' - The Federalist - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Soul and Things" - Baltimore Beat - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Ukraine Holds the Future: The War Between Democracy and Nihilism - Foreign Affairs Magazine - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Hedgerow Theatre Company Dives Into The Darkness With Martin McDonagh's THE PILLOWMAN, October 5-31 - Broadway World - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- The skate punk brats of the '90s are back to ruin our lives again - Cult MTL - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Kurt Russell's Best Movie Was A Critical And Box Office Disaster - Giant Freakin Robot - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]