A New York psychopath has eyes for Jamie Lee Curtis in this underrated cop thriller
The classics never die; at least that’s the theory according to the box-office response to the new version of Halloween, which has exceeded every expectation in the book and smashed records in its opening weekend. The reunion of silent killer Michael Meyers and his favorite victim Laurie Strode gave horror fans everything they wanted and more staying true to the flavor of the original while mixing in some modern flair.
The film represents Jamie Lee Curtis’s biggest opening weekend and shows just how underrated of a lead actress the two-time Golden Globe winner is. Curtis has never hid the fact that she’s received no formal acting training, which is why her work contains such an air of remarkable instinct and empathy. She’s easily the most dynamic factor of some of her more favorite titles, including Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda and True Lies, doing genuine, Oscar-caliber work in each one of them by the way. Yet none of those compare to what is arguably her finest hour as an actress; her stirring work in the little-seen action/thriller Blue Steel.
Co-written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the main character in Blue Steel is rookie police officer Megan Turner (Curtis) who is fresh from the academy and determined to earn her stripes as part of the NYPD. When an attempted grocery store robbery ends with her shooting the gunman dead, Megan finds herself in hot water as the weapon he used cannot be found. Unbeknownst to Megan, the gun in question has been stolen by witness Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver), a wall street broker who also happens to be a homicidal maniac. Soon, Eugene begins to romance Megan as bodies start to pile up that have been shot to death with bullets bearing her initials.
Anyone familiar with the director’s work will recognize Megan as true Bigelow heroine and just the right kind of figure the filmmaker likes to populate her films with. As a character, Megan represents so much in terms of strength. One gets the sacrifices she has made on her mission to succeed in a male-dominated profession. It’s because of this that she maintains a steely reserve in the face of disapproval from her father (Philip Bosco) and a lack of respect from her superiors (Kevin Dunn and Clancy Brown.) Yet what’s so beautiful is the shakiness and vulnerability Megan exudes as she fights to prove her worth as a police officer which comes from both the alien aspects of the world she finds herself in and her own humanity. When she meets Eugene, Megan believes she’s found her dream man as his enamouring of her briefly satisfies her needs as a woman. For a brief moment, Megan feels like she will be able to have it all. The audience feels it to, yet knows it cannot be. This temporarily gives Blue Steel a tragic feel (mainly owing to the audiences love felt towards its endearing protagonist) before the film rebounds as a worthwhile thriller with Megan’s hunter instincts operating on all cylinders and posing her as a precursor of sorts to Clarice Starling in her fight to bring down the boogeyman.
Much in the way of it’s heroine, Blue Steel also greatly benefits from an incredibly rich villain, who is more than menacing and just as cunning as the woman he’s stalking. Eugene shows up everywhere Megan thinks she’s safe, from her childhood home to her own apartment, taunting his prey while easily sliding out of grap each time. Blue Steel is generous with the amount of time it gives it’s chilling villain, showing sequences featuring Eugene in a sort of surreal daze as he revels in madness within him. Eugene signifies so much about New York in the late 80s through his twisted existence. In the character, Bigelow has included elements of anger within classicism, entitlement and the underlying homicidal tendencies some have always cited as being imbedded within members of the wall street community. Societal rage also plays a key role in Eugene’s make-up as well as his obsession with Megan and his dark after-hours hobby. Critic Amy Taubin once commented that rage against society was somewhat of a tricky concept to define, thus it typically being illustrated in the form of a serial killer. In that sense, Eugene proves to be the pitch perfect example of it. Above all else though, Eugene represents Megan’s ultimate threat; the patriarchal society which she has spent her life trying to rise above and now must be faced head on.
Watching Curtis in Blue Steel is truly joyous since so rarely has she ever been given a role more worthy of her capabilities as an actress. Curtis embraces Megan’s femininity as well as the masculine quality she uses as armor, devoting equal attention to both. The times when Curtis really shines are often the moments when she says nothing at all. Watching the actress embody her character’s fears, desires and overall determination without having to say a word is so incredibly powerful, particularly in the film’s opening scene in which we see Megan standing strongly while tearing up as she and her new fellow officers are sworn in. Silver is likewise just as powerful when not reciting dialogue. The actor gives a deeply committed performance that radiates maniacal instability to such palpable levels, becoming only more attractive of a character as Blue Steel goes on.
Although Curtis was starring in a hit TV series at the time, her popularity still wasn’t enough to propel Blue Steel to box office gold when it was released in early 1990. Although reviewers were kind to the film, mainstream America still found it difficult to embrace an A-list actress taking on what was a traditionally male role in the era of Pretty Woman. Still, Curtis remained universally praised and even collected a small handful of festival prizes for what remains one of her most compelling performances.
Throughout her career, Bigelow has maintained an invaluable knack for taking male-centric stories and giving them a definite style while at the same time offering up an honest exploration that deftly asks questions throughout. However, there is something so entrancing about a Bigelow film, especially one with a woman at its center and the fire inside which drives her. Whether it’s The Weight of Water’s haunted historian or Zero Dark Thirty’s avenger-like CIA operative, the women in Bigelow’s films have always been able to assert themselves as women on a mission who were also able to hold onto both femininity and humanity. The result is always a fleshed out character rich in complexity that is able to show a universal quality relatable to both the women AND men watching her. Megan, with her ability to be ambitious while never coming off as self-serving, and a willingness to acknowledge the maze of conflicting emotions swirling inside her, is not only a quintessential Bigelow creation, but quite possibly her best.
