In the Line of Fire
US (1993): Thriller
This smart, tautly directed thriller from Wolfgang Petersen is about the cat-and-mouse games between a Secret Service agent named Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) and the brilliant, psychopathic assassin (John Malkovich) who's itching to get the President in his cross hairs. The back-story -- Horrigan is haunted by his inability to prevent John Kennedy's assassination (Eastwood is computer-generated into archival footage) -- is more than a little hokey, but the plotting itself is smartly, even ingeniously, constructed. Petersen manages a viselike grip on the tension and Eastwood even gets to deliver an ever-more-timely lecture on the diminished nature of the office of President. Eastwood's as gruff and as infuriating to the by-the-book Powers That Be as ever, and Malkovich oozes delightful menace. Renee Russo capably costars as a colleague with whom Horrigan gets friendly. (Amazon.com)
3 nominations
· Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1993: John Malkovich
· Achievement in Writing - Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen 1993: Jeff Maguire
· Achievement in Film Editing 1993: Anne V. Coates