Conspiracy Theory (1997)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer (WGA):

Brian Helgeland (written by)

Release Date:

8 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

What you know could kill you.

Plot:

Jerry Fletcher is a man who sees conspiracies everywhere. But if you keep doing that long enough, sooner or later you're going to get one right...

Plot Keywords:

Conspiracy | Political | Newsletter | New York | FBI

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 11

2:00 PM

Telemundo

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Jerry Fletcher
Julia Roberts	...	Alice Sutton
Patrick Stewart	...	Dr. Jonas
Cylk Cozart	...	Agent Lowry
Steve Kahan	...	Mr. Wilson (as Stephen Kahan)
Terry Alexander	...	Flip
Alex McArthur	...	Cynic
Rod McLachlan	...	Justice Guard
Michael Potts	...	Justice Guard
Jim Sterling	...	Justice Guard
Rich Hebert	...	Public Works Man
Brian J. Williams	...	Clarke
G.A. Aguilar	...	Piper
Cece Neber Labao	...	Henry Finch's Secretary
Saxon Trainor	...	Alice's Secretary
Claudia Stedelin	...	Claudia
Leonard Jackson	...	Old Man in Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Donal Gibson	...	Doctor in Roosevelt Hospital
Joanna Sanchez	...	Nurse in Roosevelt Hospital
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Cop in Roosevelt Hospital
Mik Scriba	...	Cop in Roosevelt Hospital
Patrick Wild	...	Intern in Jerry's Room
Mushond Lee	...	Intern (Carl)
Kevin Kindlin	...	Intern
Troy Garity	...	Intern
J. Mills Goodloe	...	Jonas' Aide
Michael Kurtz	...	Well Dressed Man
Peter Koch	...	Fire Captain
Kevin Jackson	...	CIA Agent
Nicholas Kusenko	...	CIA Agent (as Nick Kusenko)
Karl Makinen	...	CIA Agent
Darren Peel	...	Geronimo Cleet
Marian Collier	...	Geronimo Cook
John Harms	...	Agent Murphy
Christine Toy Johnson	...	Barnes & Noble Bookstore Clerk
David Koch	...	Tech
Danny Smith	...	Tech
Juan A. Riojas	...	Tech (as Juan Riojas)
Paul Tuerpe	...	Cleet
Dean Winters	...	Cleet
José Ramón Rosario	...	Angry Vendor
Louis Cantarini	...	Angry Vendor
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Surveillance Operator
Peter Jacobson	...	Surveillance Operator
Edita Brychta	...	Henry Finch's Receptionist
Sage Allen	...	Grouchy Nurse
Thomas McCarthy	...	Helicopter Spotter
K.T. Vogt	...	Woman in Mental Hospital
Joshua Fardon	...	Hospital Guard
Joan Lunden	...	TV Announcer
Charles McDaniel	...	Bureaucrat
Matte Osian	...	Operative
Dave Simonds	...	Operative (as David Hamilton Simonds)
Rick Hoffman	...	Night Security
Edward J. Rosen	...	Old Man in Diner
Bert Remsen	...	Judge Sutton
Lincoln Simonds	...	Cop
Bill Henderson	...	Hospital Security
Jay Della	...	Patient (as Jay Fiondella)
James Oliver	...	Man in Justice Department (as James Louis Oliver)
Kerry McCullen Palmisano	...	Nurses' Aide (as Kerry Palmisano)
Victory Palmisano	...	Nurses' Aide (as Victory Grace Palmisano)
Kate Bayley	...	Nurses' Aide
Irene Hilleary	...	Justice Department Receptionist
Stephen Liska	...	Hospital Orderly
Don Stanley	...	Justice Department Guard
Lorna R. Millen	...	Charge Nurse
Brad Rea	...	Spotter
Jim Van Wyck	...	Spotter
Jayson Merrill	...	Spotter
Dan Cracchiolo	...	Spotter
John Schwartzman	...	Sniper
Raymond King	...	Bucket Drummer
Jared Crawford	...	Bucket Drummer
Jeremy A. Graham	...	Rapper
Chad Santiago	...	Rapper
Christo Morse	...	Taxi Patron
H. Clay Dear	...	Traffic Cop
Daniel Nugent	...	Traffic Cop
Andrew Lauren	...	Lawyer
Tom Schanley	...	Lawyer
Kenneth Tigar	...	Lawyer
Maureen Lauder	...	Lady with Dog
Judith Woodbury	...	Woman Lawyer (as Judy Woodbury)
James W. Gavin	...	Helicopter Pilot
Al Cerullo	...	Helicopter Pilot
Charles W. Robinson	...	Helicopter Pilot
Robert Chaves	...	Helicopter Pilot
Cliff Fleming	...	Helicopter Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Donner	...	Cab Passenger (uncredited)
Steve Lee	...	Radio Talk Show Voice (uncredited)
Beau Lotterman	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Erik L. Nelson	...	Loading Dock Man (uncredited)
Judy Prianti	...	Nun (uncredited)
George Simpson	...	Radio Talk Show Voice (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Donner

Writing credits (WGA)
Brian Helgeland		(written by)

Produced by
Dan Cracchiolo	....	co-producer
Richard Donner	....	producer
Julie Durk	....	associate producer
J. Mills Goodloe	....	co-producer
Ilyse A. Reutlinger	....	associate producer (as Ilyse Reutlinger)
Joel Silver	....	producer
Richard Solomon	....	co-producer (as Rick Solomon)
Jim Van Wyck	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Carter Burwell

Cinematography by
John Schwartzman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Kevin Stitt
Frank J. Urioste

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
Paul Sylbert

Art Direction by
Gregory Bolton		(as Gregory Wm. Bolton)

Set Decoration by
Casey Hallenbeck

Costume Design by
Ha Nguyen

Makeup Department
Thomas Floutz	....	special makeup effects artist
Lee Harman	....	makeup artist
Stephen Robinette	....	hair stylist
Shaun Smith	....	special makeup effects supervisor: KYP Inc.
Kevin Yagher	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Nan L. Bernstein	....	unit production manager (as Nan Bernstein Freed)
Helen Pollak	....	unit production manager
Ilyse A. Reutlinger	....	post-production supervisor (as Ilyse Reutlinger)
Lucille Smith	....	production supervisor: title sequence: New York

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
J. Tom Archuleta	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Tom Archuleta)
Jennifer D'Angelo Kircher	....	second second assistant director: New York
Steve Day	....	second assistant director: second unit
Samantha Lavin	....	dga trainee
Sean McCarron	....	second second assistant director
Jose Gilberto Molinari-Rosaly	....	DGA trainee: New York
Christo Morse	....	second second assistant director: New York
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	second unit director (as Conrad Palmisano)
John G. Scotti	....	second assistant director
Jim Van Wyck	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Joseph Alfieri	....	construction coordinator: New York
Fred Apolito	....	propmaker
David L. Bell	....	leadman: reshoots
Thomas Betts	....	set designer
Leslie Bloom	....	set decorator: New York
Stacey Byers	....	art department coordinator
Marshall Carbee	....	scenic artist
Don Cinderella	....	set dresser
Lauren Cory	....	set designer
Jill S. Coverdale	....	art department assistant
Jill S. Coverdale	....	set dressing
Ann Edgeworth	....	local assistant property master
Steven Curtis Husch	....	leadperson
Bill Iiams	....	construction coordinator
Lee J. Jashinsky	....	painter
Elizabeth Meyerson	....	art department coordinator
Erik L. Nelson	....	property master (as Erik Nelson)
Joseph G. Pacelli Jr.	....	set designer
Jefferson Sage	....	assistant art director: New York
Mark Sakamoto	....	gangboss
Michael Scarola	....	construction grip
Chris Shriver	....	art director: New York
Dick Tice	....	lead man
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer
Patricia Woodbridge	....	assistant art director: New York
Timothy Main	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Kenny Minster	....	props (uncredited)
D.A. Zingelewicz	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard L. Anderson	....	sound effects editor
Todd Bassman	....	sound mixer: second unit
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer (as David Campbell)
Kevin E. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
William C. Carruth	....	adr editor
Mike Chock	....	sound editor (as Michael Chock)
Tim Cooney	....	production sound mixer
John Dunn	....	sound editor
Julia Evershade	....	sound editor
Michael Geisler	....	sound designer
Aaron Glascock	....	foley editor
Eric Gotthelf	....	foley mixer
Jeffrey J. Haboush	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jeffrey J. Habousch)
Dan Hiland	....	sound re-recording mixer
Denise Horta	....	adr editor (as Denise M. Horta)
Eric Lindemann	....	sound editor (as Eric Warren Lindemann)
Mark A. Mangini	....	supervising sound editor (as Mark Mangini)
Oscar Mitt	....	assistant sound editor
Sonny Pettijohn	....	assistant sound editor
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John Reitz)
Gary D. Rogers	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gary Rogers)
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound editor (as Geoff Rubay)
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Sabat	....	sound: New York
Mike Schmidt	....	cable person: New York
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	foley editor
James Simcik	....	supervising adr editor
George Simpson	....	supervising sound editor
Mark Johnston	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Elijah Schkeiban	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Wilfred Caban	....	special effects: New York
Robert S. Henderson	....	special effects foreman (as Robert Henderson)
Greg C. Jensen	....	on set special effects
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects: New York
Michael Meinardus	....	special effects coordinator (as Mike Meinardus)
Ron Petruccione	....	special effects
Parry Willard	....	special effects technician
Kevin Yagher	....	makeup special effects

Visual Effects by
Lindsay Burnett	....	visual effects coordinator: Warner Digital
Theresa Ellis	....	visual effects supervisor
Kelly Granite	....	visual effects compositor
Dave Gregory	....	visual effects, color imaging supervisor: Warner Digital
John Kilkenny	....	visual effects producer: Digital Domain
Bill Maher	....	visual effects wrangler: Warner Bros. Digital
Jason Piccioni	....	digital artist
Kosta Saric	....	visual effects editor: CFX
Christopher Savides	....	imaging color lead
Jesse Silver	....	art department supervisor: Warner Digital Studios
David Taritero	....	visual effects producer
James D. Tittle	....	digital effects coordinator: CFX
Aristomenis Tsirbas	....	digital artist
Kieran Woo	....	production controller: Digital Domain
Glen Gustafson	....	film recorder operator: Warner Digital (uncredited)
Heather J. Morrison	....	visual effects editor: Warner Digital (uncredited)
Craig A. Mumma	....	digital effects producer: CFX (uncredited)
Kevin Andrew Smith	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Terry Whiteside	....	visual effects producer: Warner Digital Studios (uncredited)
Eric Withee	....	data manager: CFX (uncredited)

Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunts (as Bruce Barbour)
Dana D. Bertolette	....	stunts (as Dana Bertolette)
Richard L. Blackwell	....	stunts
Steve Blalock	....	stunts
Eddie Braun	....	stunts
Jill Brown	....	stunt double
John Cenatiempo	....	stunts
Bob Colletti	....	stunts
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
Ned Corrigan	....	utility stunts
Douglas Crosby	....	stunts
J. Mark Donaldson	....	stunts (as Mark Donaldson)
Norman Douglass	....	stunts
Danny Downey	....	stunts
Christopher Doyle	....	stunts
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
John R. Favre	....	stunts
Siberia M. Federico	....	stunts
Sharon Flake	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	utility stunts
Dick Hancock	....	stunts
Tabby Hanson	....	stunts
Gene Harrison	....	stunts
Donald John Hewitt	....	stunt performer
Barbara Anne Klein	....	stunts
Svetla Krasteva	....	stunts
Steven Lambert	....	stunts
Paul M. Lane	....	stunts
Jalil Jay Lynch	....	stunts
Jeffrey M. Marchetti	....	stunt double
Brad Martin	....	stunts
Eddie Matthews	....	stunt player
Bob McGovern	....	stunt driver
Bob Minor	....	stunts
Shawn O'Neil	....	stunt performer
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator (as Conrad Palmisano)
Patricia M. Peters	....	stunts (as Tricia Peters)
Jodi Michelle Pynn	....	stunts
Jeff Ramsey	....	stunts
Mic Rodgers	....	stunt double: Mel Gibson
Mic Rodgers	....	stunts
George Marshall Ruge	....	stunts
Rick Sawaya	....	stunt driver
Rick Seaman	....	stunts
David Shumbris	....	stunts
Lincoln Simonds	....	stunts
Paul Sklar	....	stunts
Mike Smith	....	stunts
Brian Smyj	....	key stunt rigger
Tony Snegoff	....	stunts
Shelby Swatek	....	stunts
Brian J. Williams	....	stunts
Harry Wowchuk	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitchell Amundsen	....	camera operator
Robert M. Andres	....	key grip
Audie Aragon	....	best boy grip
Bob Balzarini	....	video assist operator
Ben Betts	....	video engineer
James Boniece	....	grip
Phil Cohen	....	additional first assistant camera: second unit
Gregory Paul Collier	....	aerial assistant camera (as Greg Collier)
Xiomara Comrie	....	second assistant camera
Andrew Cooper	....	still photographer
Glenn Corbett	....	rigging gaffer
Christopher Duskin	....	assistant camera
Michael Ferris	....	camera operator: second unit
Scott Fieldsteel	....	best boy electric
Daniel Galiardi	....	assistant camera
Peter Girolami	....	best boy: NY
Jim Grce	....	gaffer: second unit
Jay M. Huntoon	....	video assist operator: second unit
Charles B. Katz	....	assistant camera
Scott C. Keys	....	lighting technician
Gábor Kövér	....	camera operator: second unit
Eric Leigh	....	best boy electric: second unit
Dan Mahoney	....	rigging grip
Jacobus Marcus	....	assistant camera
Charlie Marroquin	....	grip
Rick Marroquin	....	dolly grip
Gary Martone	....	key grip: second unit
Sal Martorano	....	gaffer: second unit
William D. Moran	....	company grip: New York
Neal Norton	....	Steadicam operator
Neal Norton	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Louis Petraglia	....	electrician
Michael Pinkey	....	camera operator
Charles Quinlivan	....	grip
Brad Rea	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
Pete Romano	....	underwater photographer
Andy Ryan	....	gaffer
Gerard Sava	....	assistant camera: second unit
Lowell Schulman	....	rigging electrician
Jeffrey P. Soderberg	....	chief rigging electrician
Kurt E. Soderling	....	aerial director of photography: second unit (as Kurt Soderling)
Kurt E. Soderling	....	camera operator: second unit
John M. Stephens	....	director of photography: second unit
Eric Swanek	....	Steadicam assistant
Eric Swanek	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Les T. Tomita	....	key grip
Stefan von Bjorn	....	camera operator
Edward Barnes	....	rigging electric (uncredited)
Nathan Bishop	....	tape operator: Warner Digital (uncredited)
Mark Hryma	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Paul J. Morra	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert Shepherd	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Douglas Wright	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cathie Filian	....	costumer (as Catherine Bush Cain)
Kimberly Guenther	....	costume supervisor
Christopher J. Kristoff	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Kris Cole	....	first assistant editor: New York
Mark Eggenweiler	....	assistant editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Edward Malone	....	assistant editor
Peter McNulty	....	assistant editor
David Orr	....	color timer
Marianne Urioste	....	assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Music Department
Emily Bernstein	....	musician: clarinet
Carter Burwell	....	conductor
Marc Caruso	....	assistant music editor
Sonny Kompanek	....	orchestrator
Ken Kugler	....	musician: trombone
Maria Newman	....	musician: viola
Brad Segal	....	additional music editor
Adam Milo Smalley	....	music editor (as Adam Smalley)
Zigmund Gron	....	music editor (uncredited)
Brad Segal	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Timothy Paustian	....	driver

Other crew
Ted Alvarez	....	set production assistant
Gavin J. Behrman	....	assistant accountant: New York
Mitchell Bell	....	production coordinator
Tyson Bidner	....	location assistant
Jason Bogard	....	production accountant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
David Cervantes	....	production assistant
Robert E. Chavez	....	helicopter pilot (as Robert Chaves)
Glen L. Chin	....	additional production assistant
Alexandra Ducocq	....	assistant: richard donner
Cliff Fleming	....	helicopter pilot
Jill Footlick	....	production coordinator: New York
Susan Freel	....	production assistant
James W. Gavin	....	aerial coordinator: second unit
James W. Gavin	....	helicopter pilot
John D. Genovese	....	production assistant
Peter Geraghty	....	production assistant
Theresa Giardino Finnerty	....	first assistant accountant
Lynn Goldman	....	location supervisor: New York
Robbie Goldstein	....	location manager
Lisa Greenspan	....	assistant: Mr. Van Wyck
Bill Hansard Jr.	....	process projectionist (as William G. Hansard)
Heather Harris	....	script supervisor: second unit
Krista Helgeson	....	production assistant
Andrea Isaacs	....	production accountant: New York
Geoff Johns	....	assistant to director
David Kaufman	....	location manager
Amanda Ladd	....	payroll accountant
Neil Lewis	....	production assistant: New York
Abbie Ludwig	....	assistant production secretary
Ian MacGregor	....	location assistant: title sequence
Colin MacLellan	....	production assistant
M.J. Magbanua	....	assistant production coordinator: New York
Jonathan Manzo	....	location assistant
Bill McCamey	....	technical advisor
Kellie Morrison	....	location assistant
Michael Phelan	....	assistant: Mr. Silver
Michael Phelan	....	production assistant
Martha Pinson	....	script supervisor: New York
Brian Read	....	production assistant
Brian Reingold	....	location assistant
Demian Resnick	....	location scout
Sioux Richards	....	script supervisor
Charles W. Robinson	....	helicopter pilot
Gregory Routt	....	assistant location manager: New York
Lin Saunders	....	assistant location manager: New York
Christopher Savage	....	production assistant (as Chris Savage)
Bryan Thomas	....	location manager: New York
Judi Townsend	....	script supervisor: second unit
Frank Venegas	....	set production assistant
Oliver Wolf Wehner	....	production assistant
Suzanne Weinert	....	assistant: Julia Roberts
Matthew Woody	....	assistant location manager
Tamsin Anstey	....	assistant accountant (uncredited)
Tim Ballou	....	script clearance analyst (uncredited)
Jay M. Huntoon	....	video: second unit (uncredited)
Joseph Keideth	....	security: Mr. Gibson (uncredited)
Nelson Pereyra	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Ben Pezzillo	....	production assistant: second unit (uncredited)
Kenny Rivenbark	....	remote head technician (uncredited)
Ron Rogers	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Woody Schultz	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Silver Pictures
• Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (1997) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1997) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Sandrews (1998) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (2001) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Argentina Video Home (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates
• Warner Digital Studios

Other Companies

• Behind the Scenes Freight  shipping by
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies
• Electronics & Computers Surplus City  background computers
• Greenberg/Schluter  title design
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Statflight Helicopter  aircraft
• TVT Records  soundtrack published by
• Technicolor  color
• Wescam USA  wescam
• Westchest County Medical Center, The  aircraft
• Worldwide Photos  photographs provided by (as AP/Wide World Photos)

Also Known As:

Fletchers Visionen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Теория заговора (Russia) [ru]
Complot mortel (Canada: French title) [fr]
Complots (France) [fr]
Conspiración (Conspiracy Theory) (Spain) [es]
El complot (Argentina) [es]
Farlige teorier (Denmark) (video title) [da]
Ipotesi di complotto (Italy) [it]
Komplo teorisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Salaliittoteoria (Finland) [fi]
Sammansvärjningen (Sweden) [sv]
Teoria conspiratiei (Romania) [ro]
Teoria da Conspiração (Portugal) [pt]
Teoria spisku (Poland) [pl]
Teorija zarote (Slovenia) [sl]
Teorija zavere (Serbia) [sr]
Theories synomosias (Greece) [el]
Vandenõuteooria (Estonia) [et]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #35450) | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

All of the scenes at the horse farm were shot at Lionshare Farm in Greenwich, CT, which is owned by United States Equestrian Team member Peter Leone. Leone coached Julia Roberts through the scene at the end where she rides her horse across a field at a gallop.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jerry and Alice leave the Queensboro Bridge towards Connecticut in broad daylight; a few minutes later when they cross under an interstate highway intersection in the Bronx it is pitch black dark. The two points are only about 20 min apart.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jerry Fletcher: July eighth, 1979, all the fathers of Nobel Prize winners were rounded up by United Nations military units, all right, and actually forced at gunpoint to give semen samples in little plastic jars, which are now stored below Rockefeller Center underneath the ice skating rink...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Conspiracy Theory (#4.6)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

'Conspiracy Theory' is another near miss for Richard Donner, but it's worth cracking even so, all thanks to Gibson and Roberts...

Conspiracy Theory

Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a lonely New York City taxi driver who lives a very organised, but paranoid, existence. He spends his spare time pouring over newspapers in his high security apartment, looking for suspicious coincidences between the pages, and forming wild conspiracy theories based on them (which he recounts to his unwilling passengers the next day). He is also infatuated with Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), a woman who works for the government, whose father has recently been killed under mysterious circumstances, and whom Jerry once saved the life of. One day, Jerry is kidnapped and interrogated by a mysterious man (a good Patrick Stewart). Jerry escapes, but soon realises that one of his conspiracy theories may have come true. But he has trouble convincing Alice of this, who has listened to Jerry's musings far too many times to believe any of them.

While his creative output over the years hasn't been specifically worth mentioning, Richard Donner is hardly a filmmaker deserving of much criticism; his movies supply solid, if forgettable, entertainment that is worth the price of admission. And yet, at the same time, it's fairly disappointing to watch him try, and fail, to replicate the artistic success of his 1978 hit 'Superman'. 'Conspiracy Theory' tries to coax Donner away from his traditional formula of flying bullets and jokes (seen badly, minus the jokes, in the 1995 dud 'Assassins'), and is ultimately a more highbrow outing for the director than you might expect. But intricate plotting aside, 'Theory' just doesn't know what to do with itself, and it only half accomplishes what it does know how to do.

Despite this all, the film does starts off on the right foot, with a first act that determinedly invites the audience into Jerry's specific, unreal world. At this time, one may think perhaps Donner teaming up again with 'Assassins' scribe Brian Helgeland wasn't a bad idea, as 'Theory' offers truly entertaining moments when it lets the audience see how Jerry's eccentric lifestyle brushes against the people of the city, and inhibits his own daily activities. It's not classic Donner, but it's pleasurable in an unchallenging way.

Easily identifiable as the moment where 'Theory' stops holding water is when the film tumbles into a cat-and-mouse thriller, which sees our misunderstood protagonist finding it increasingly hard to stay ahead of his pursuers, or keep an easy grip on his sanity. Jerry's journey into his past alone could have been enough to maintain audience interest, but Helgeland can't decide whether his film is more of a romance or a mystery, and he ends up writing in too much of both, including a slightly too happy denouement, and plot twists and turns that, rather than emerging smoothly as the film progresses, seem to be thrown in interstitially and without proper notice. Surprisingly (or not?), Donner is partly to blame as well, as the film sags badly in the mid-section, all too soon falling back on Helgeland's ineffective comic moments, moments that the film really did not need.

Thankfully, Richard Donner has star Mel Gibson (in their sixth collaboration) to fall back on. A veteran of Donner's overrated 'Lethal Weapon' franchise, Gibson doesn't fully succeed in keeping the oddities of the character from overwhelming his performance, but he manages to display Jerry's instability with little trouble. Gibson delivers solid work here, as does Julia Roberts, in perhaps her most intelligent role to date. I had a hard time swallowing the actress's lazy "smile"-acting in the annoying 'My Best Friend's Wedding' last June, but 'Theory' reveals once again her under-appreciated dramatic skills. Together, the two leads muster up an adequately engaging screen spark, and help make the film rousing where Donner and Helgeland couldn't have allowed it to. 'Theory' is another near miss for Donner, but it's worth cracking even so, all thanks to Gibson and Roberts.

~ 6/10 ~