In the Line of Fire (1993) * * *

Directed by:  Wolfgang Petersen

Starring:  Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, John Mahoney, Dylan McDermott, Fred Dalton Thompson

Clint Eastwood has an uncanny ability to suggest a multitude of deep hurts, wounds, and emotions with minimal expression.    He may twitch his eye or purse his lips or his voice may turn into a low growl, but we understand fully when he is pissed.     In the Line of Fire is a superior example of the Eastwood persona, which also translated to a multiple Oscar-winning career as a director also.    There is rarely a wasted motion or emotion in Clint Eastwood's world.   

Eastwood's Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is perfectly matched up against a dangerous adversary in Mitch Leary (Malkovich), who calls Frank one night and informs him of his intent to assassinate the President.     Why did Mitch contact Horrigan?     Because thirty years prior, Horrigan was on car detail in Dallas when JFK was shot.    Frank blames himself for the death.    Mitch knows this and plays straight to it.    He taunts Frank with threats and reminders of his failures.    He may even sympathize with Frank somewhat for reasons made clearer later on.    

This puts Frank on Mitch's trail, but Mitch is much more clever than anyone Frank has encountered before.    Using the latest telephone signal scrambling technology, disguises, and phony social security numbers, Mitch keeps his identity concealed as he plans the assassination of the President, who is campaigning for re-election.     Part of Frank's issue is the Chief of Staff (Thompson), who wants the President to be as visible as possible while Frank recommends the President cancel events and limit his exposure.    Mitch plays mind games with Frank, forever working over his guilty psyche which in turn springboards Frank attempts at professional and personal redemption.

The cat-and-mouse game between Eastwood and Malkovich is at the heart of In the Line of Fire, which also stars Rene Russo as Lily Raines, Frank's sometime partner and love interest, who is capable at being both.    The love interest angle is unnecessary in my estimation.     I enjoyed the film better without the obligatory detours into romance.     We witness Frank's home life, which is a barely lived in DC apartment where Frank has a drink and is held hostage by his doubts.     Mitch's intervention into his life can go one of three ways for Frank:   He stops the assassination, he fails to stop the assassination which would add a second intolerable professional failure to his resume, or he could die himself.   

Eastwood is gruff and no-nonsense, while Mitch is verbal, eloquent, and emotionally cold.    Most of their scenes are over the phone and we watch the tense games of verbal volleyball unfold.    Malkovich received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work and it was well-deserved.    It set the stage for later portrayals of subdued, calculating, yet no less insane villains he would undertake in films such as Con Air (1997).    Eastwood is always Eastwood, so we know where we stand with him and thus a built-in empathy for Frank.    The thriller unfolds convincingly, owing as much to detective work as it does to chases and gunfights.    I prefer seeing Frank solve the unsolvable mystery of Mitch than chasing him all around the country.    In the Line of Fire is not a by-the-numbers thriller.   It is intelligent and has considerable depth.