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It’s quite possible that no other director working today
appreciates the effect music has on film more than Doug
Liman (although I guess you could make a case for Cameron
Crowe if you felt the need, but that’s so obvious).
In Swingers and Go, the music serves to heighten the whole
pose of each film, becoming a character in itself as it brings
to life an L.A. and a Las Vegas mired in their own excess.
In The Bourne Identity (based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980
novel), lounge-lizard croons groove-funk standards are replaced
by a synth-pop version of spy music, a kind of digital-age
“Mission: Impossible” soundtrack. The music beats and bumps
its way through the story of Jason Bourne (Damon),
found floating miles offshore with two bullets in his back
and a bank account number implanted beneath the skin of his
hip. Suffering from amnesia, Bourne uses the account number
to track down a safety deposit box, in which he discovers
his name, a few million bucks in cash, several fake passports,
a gun, and a few incendiary devices. He also discovers, in
a couple of terrifically choreographed scenes, some amazing
abilities at hand-to-hand combat and escape tactics, and finds
that he can speak several languages fluently. Eventually,
he finds himself on the run as he tries to figure out who
he is and why he’s, in fact, running, accompanied by Marie
(Potente), a young woman he’s paid to drive him to
Paris, where he believes he lives.
The Bourne Identity is one of those instances of the
Hollywood machine firing on all cylinders. It takes a very
simple formula and does everything exactly right, without
breaking any new ground. The chases, the fights, everything,
are composed for two purposes: to entertain, and to waste
no time in doing so. Screenwriters Gilroy and Herron
string together the scenes to make the theme and details fit
together in a very accessible way, but keep from hitting you
over the head with the plot. Matt Damon proves to be a viable
action hero, and there’s actually a quiet performance behind
the heroics. You can see how the actions take control of Bourne,
and Damon allows for these great little moments of subtle
bemusement as Bourne finds himself taking two armed policemen
to the ground without breaking a sweat, or scaling down a
wall with the grace and balance of a cat.
As Marie, Franka Potente makes the film even more of a pleasure
to watch, with her dryly humorous way of talking to Bourne
and her ability to make both him and the audience aware of
the human side of fugitive life. She is a very likeable actress,
and also extremely talented (as fans of Run, Lola, Run
can attest). This is her highest-profile American role to
date, after several years of making movies in her native Germany,
and the fact that she has only a slight accent gives me hope
that she will soon find more opportunities in Hollywood.
The supporting cast is only marginally defined, although
Chris Cooper (American Beauty) and Brian Cox
(Manhunter, L.I.E.) do lend gravity as government heavyweights
searching for Bourne. Julia Stiles’ meager and, sadly, meaningless
screen time leads me to believe that the bulk of her performance
ended up on the cutting-room floor.
But it’s a minor flaw. The Bourne Identity is a more
accessible, less exploitative kid brother to 007’s library
of espionage kicks. Jason Bourne (note the initials) is James
Bond without the attitude or the finesse, which makes him
more easily relatable. In a way, the throwaway high I got
from The Bourne Identity was actually better than anything
James Bond has brought my way. And I think that’s the best
thing about The Bourne Identity. You’ll watch it, you’ll
enjoy it, and then you’ll leave, and you won’t think about
it again. Nothing wrong with that.
—Cole Sowell
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out
of 5
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