The accepted explanation for the long suppression of this film from domestic distribution runs as follows: Jack Nicholson, who stars as the film's protagonist, international political journalist David Locke, bought the distribution rights long ago and chose not to authorize screenings until recently. I think I can see why. It's not a very good film.
Near the beginning, Nicholson's character decides, for reasons that are never clearly articulated, that he wants to drop out of his present life: ditch his job, which takes him on the road much of the time to obscure places like the African desert where we first encounter him; ditch his attractive wife Rachel (Jenny Runacre), back home in London; terminate his very identity.
The opportunity to do this arises fortuitously, when Locke discovers the body of a fellow Brit named Robertson who was checked into the same humble hotel in a small settlement on the unnamed African desert. (Actually Locke is an American who immigrated to Britain.) They had chatted a little over drinks but were not friends. Locke eyes his dead compatriot's passport, notes the vague similarities in facial features and body size, and decides on the spot to switch Robertson's photo with his own passport headshot, expropriate Robertson's gear in place of his own, then move on as the other guy, leaving the world to think Locke himself was the dead man.
For the rest of the movie Locke wanders around somewhat aimlessly, in the way that characters are wont to do in Antonioni's films. Along the way he picks up a comely young woman who is never named (she's called "the girl" in the movie's credits). "The girl" is played by Maria Schneider, who just three years earlier had become widely noticed as Marlon Brando's object of carnal desire in "Last Tango in Paris."
Locke's attraction to The girl is understandable enough. What seems odd is that , having discovered that the decedent man's business was international arms smuggling, Locke decides to live out this role, buying and selling weaponry. Even more odd is that, when Locke decides he'd better drop this risky business and really drop out, it is The girl who urges him to continue, to follow through with his rendezvous to make a final big sale, to finish something he starts for once. Since The girl is herself an aimless, vaguely defined vagabond, why should she care?
Well, it is more than a little plausible that The girl could be a plant, an operative working for one or another of the people who are after Robertson. That would explain her urging Locke to complete his rendezvous, thus steering him to his doom. It would also explain Locke's having glimpsed The girl earlier in London. Perhaps the contact was arranged so she would recognize the right man to stalk later, back on the Continent. In this sense the English title for the film, placing an emphasis on The Girl's role as pivotal, is more apt than the original Italian title, one that placed the emphasis on Locke himself.
It's a dangerous business. As the film shuffles along, more and more people develop a keen interest in Locke ne Robertson, several of whom would like to see him dead. Rachel wants a better accounting for what became of her husband and comes over to do some fact finding. The most pesky follower is Martin Knight (Ian Hendry). Eventually everybody converges in another bleak settlement, this time in Spain. The outcome satisfies some of Locke's pursuers more than others.
What's gone missing in this narrative is Locke's interior: his motives for changing his identity and fulfillment of the dead man's nefarious business. What we need here is a novel about Locke by Graham Greene, upon which to base a better screenplay, for Greene was so brilliant in fleshing out the character of jaded men gone to seed in remote parts of the world. It is more than a little compensation, however, that the film is shot beautifully, capturing rich details of the desert and the tiny outposts of civilization there and in rural Spain.
At the time this film was ready for screening, Nicholson's career had skyrocketed into full bloom. Among other films in the few preceding years, he had made "Easy Rider" (1969), "Five Easy Pieces" (1970), "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), "The King of Marvin Gardens" (1972), "Chinatown" (1974) and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975, the same year that "The Passenger" was released). He may well have felt that the desultory role of David Locke was a poor showcase for his talents and might hurt his star appeal. If so, I would agree with him. My rating: 6/10 (B-). (Seen on 12/11/05). To read more of my film reviews, e-mail me for directions to my websites.
Near the beginning, Nicholson's character decides, for reasons that are never clearly articulated, that he wants to drop out of his present life: ditch his job, which takes him on the road much of the time to obscure places like the African desert where we first encounter him; ditch his attractive wife Rachel (Jenny Runacre), back home in London; terminate his very identity.
The opportunity to do this arises fortuitously, when Locke discovers the body of a fellow Brit named Robertson who was checked into the same humble hotel in a small settlement on the unnamed African desert. (Actually Locke is an American who immigrated to Britain.) They had chatted a little over drinks but were not friends. Locke eyes his dead compatriot's passport, notes the vague similarities in facial features and body size, and decides on the spot to switch Robertson's photo with his own passport headshot, expropriate Robertson's gear in place of his own, then move on as the other guy, leaving the world to think Locke himself was the dead man.
For the rest of the movie Locke wanders around somewhat aimlessly, in the way that characters are wont to do in Antonioni's films. Along the way he picks up a comely young woman who is never named (she's called "the girl" in the movie's credits). "The girl" is played by Maria Schneider, who just three years earlier had become widely noticed as Marlon Brando's object of carnal desire in "Last Tango in Paris."
Locke's attraction to The girl is understandable enough. What seems odd is that , having discovered that the decedent man's business was international arms smuggling, Locke decides to live out this role, buying and selling weaponry. Even more odd is that, when Locke decides he'd better drop this risky business and really drop out, it is The girl who urges him to continue, to follow through with his rendezvous to make a final big sale, to finish something he starts for once. Since The girl is herself an aimless, vaguely defined vagabond, why should she care?
Well, it is more than a little plausible that The girl could be a plant, an operative working for one or another of the people who are after Robertson. That would explain her urging Locke to complete his rendezvous, thus steering him to his doom. It would also explain Locke's having glimpsed The girl earlier in London. Perhaps the contact was arranged so she would recognize the right man to stalk later, back on the Continent. In this sense the English title for the film, placing an emphasis on The Girl's role as pivotal, is more apt than the original Italian title, one that placed the emphasis on Locke himself.
It's a dangerous business. As the film shuffles along, more and more people develop a keen interest in Locke ne Robertson, several of whom would like to see him dead. Rachel wants a better accounting for what became of her husband and comes over to do some fact finding. The most pesky follower is Martin Knight (Ian Hendry). Eventually everybody converges in another bleak settlement, this time in Spain. The outcome satisfies some of Locke's pursuers more than others.
What's gone missing in this narrative is Locke's interior: his motives for changing his identity and fulfillment of the dead man's nefarious business. What we need here is a novel about Locke by Graham Greene, upon which to base a better screenplay, for Greene was so brilliant in fleshing out the character of jaded men gone to seed in remote parts of the world. It is more than a little compensation, however, that the film is shot beautifully, capturing rich details of the desert and the tiny outposts of civilization there and in rural Spain.
At the time this film was ready for screening, Nicholson's career had skyrocketed into full bloom. Among other films in the few preceding years, he had made "Easy Rider" (1969), "Five Easy Pieces" (1970), "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), "The King of Marvin Gardens" (1972), "Chinatown" (1974) and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975, the same year that "The Passenger" was released). He may well have felt that the desultory role of David Locke was a poor showcase for his talents and might hurt his star appeal. If so, I would agree with him. My rating: 6/10 (B-). (Seen on 12/11/05). To read more of my film reviews, e-mail me for directions to my websites.