Clifford (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are on the Hawaiian island of Kaui to enjoy their honeymoon. It turns out there has been a double murder of two newlyweds in Honolulu, however, and this casts a dark shadow over their romantic getaway. They meet up with two strangers, Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez) as well as two mysterious hitchhikers. Things take a number of turns for the worse, as violence and murder explode along the path to Kalalau beach. Exploring the depths of what is inside people while constantly ratcheting up the tension and bringing matters to a brute contest of wills A Perfect Getaway is a thriller that delivers in all areas.
A Perfect Getaway in Hawaii
The cinematography of Mark Plummer plunges us into the untamed, beautiful landscape of Hawaii’s fifth island of Kaui, panning along stretches of beach and cliffs towering over the aquamarine ocean. The film begins with a wedding tape showing friends of the happy couple well-wishing and providing sometimes unneeded commentary on the future of the newlyweds. The visceral pace and adrenaline-filled cinematography is then established as we cut from Cydney and Cliff taping themselves straight to reality. Pleasant tropical tunes about nothing bad happening in paradise play on the radio. The theme of paradise lost figures strongly in A Perfect Getaway.
Happy Honeymooners and Adventurers
Milla Jovovich is particularly memorable in this film as Cydney, with her wide-eyed gaze and sometimes severe appearance establishing a tense atmosphere. Roving adventurer and ex-Special Forces soldier Nick (Olyphant) also steals the show with his jocular character underpinned by a will of steel.
Happy honeymooners Cliff and Cydney, roving adventurers Nick and Gina, and hitchhikers with a past, Kale and Cleo, are all examined under the bright light of this expertly-written, produced and directed movie. The tense story creeps up slowly and inexorably without feeling gauche, and is carried by excellent acting. The film relies on stereotypes of happy honeymooners and adventurous 30-somethings merely as a platform to delve deeply into what makes people tick and what is behind their personae.
Not relying on stupid CGI effects or trigger-happy violence, A Perfect Getaway chooses instead to rely on time-honored and audience-captivating strategies of true suspense, adventure and psychological tension. Indeed, the film approaches the point of physical conflict only after some time, and is so much the better for how suspenseful this makes the interactions of its characters.
Situational Awareness and Survival
Nick criticizes Clifford’s character at a mid-point through the film, for his shoddy “situational awareness.” It is a theme which comes up again, and weaves through the action of the narrative. In the end the film will get down to the absolute fusion point between talk and action, where all the ideas are tested in the realm of actual conflict, and chance as well as strategy will emerge as deciding factors in survival.
Throughout, A Perfect Getaway self-reflexively brings up questions relating to plot, character, and believability in movies through the dialogues of its characters. It takes film school style exploration to the next level, in engaging the audience itself to think about their own situational awareness as the wrenching plot twists of the story start revealing themselves, and reminds us that a great movie and a great story applies to real life as much as fiction.
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