' Out of Sight' The Elmore Leonard-based crime comedy that saved Steven Soderbergh's career

"Out of Sight" synopsis

Jack Foley (George Clooney), one of America's best bank robbers who robbed hundreds of banks without using a weapon, escapes from prison. That day, Jack stole something more precious than money...the heart of Karen Cisco (Jennifer Lopez). But unfortunately, she was not only beautiful and sexy, but also an intelligent federal agent. Jack and Karen live in completely opposite worlds. The two try to confirm their mutual attraction, even while putting themselves in danger...

Index

• A writer in need of attention who is loved by movie people = Elmore Leonard
• Soderbergh's ``Starting Entertainment'' challenge with Drainage Team
• Achieving stylish entertainment without forgetting the spirit of experimentation
• What ``Out of Sight'' left behind on the film industry

A writer in need of attention who is loved by movie people = Elmore Leonard

Out of Sight(1998) saved Steven Soderbergh's career. Speaking of Soderbergh, he is the youngest director in history to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and is a famous director who freely moves between commercial films and experimental challenges, but until the offer for ``Out of Sight'' came, he was literally at a loss. He was at the lowest point in his career. How did a fallen "young genius" manage to create a crime comedy masterpiece? Soderbergh himself says, ``I never thought I would be able to do something like this.'' I would like to talk about the miraculous Trading Places.

However, to talk about ``Out of Sight,'' we should first explain the original author, Elmore Leonard.

``Out of Sight'' follows Jack Foley (George Clooney), a bank robber who prides himself on not owning a gun, and Karen Cisco (Jennifer Lopez), a federal agent, who are forced into a corner. It's a story where you are drawn to each other. The intentions of a group of small-minded villains become intertwined, and they end up plotting to steal a businessman's hidden assets. This style of ``a group drama of loosely intertwined villains'' is the original author Elmore Leonard's style.

"Out of Sight" preview

Apparently, Soderbergh read the screenplay for Out of Sight and was drawn to the plot's many detours, but similarly, many filmmakers were fascinated by Leonard's unique worldview. At the top of the list is Quentin Tarantino, who has professed to be a huge fan of Leonard, and after `` Pulp Fiction '' (1994), which was heavily influenced by Leonard's crime novels, he decided to pursue Leonard's long-awaited work. His novel `` Rum Punch '' was made into a film as `` Jackie Brown '' (1997).

However, a film adaptation of Leonard's work, which has many ``detours'' in the plot and alternates between tension and humor, has a high probability of failure. If you try to trace the detours as they are, it will seem redundant, and the wide range of humor and seriousness makes it difficult to maintain a balance. Unpredictability sounds good, but it doesn't fit into a classic structure, so it's hard to get the climax going. I won't go into the trouble of naming all the failures here, but the film adaptations of Leonard's works are something to be handled with caution and can cause serious burns.

Soderbergh's ``Starting Entertainment'' challenge with Drainage Team