In the Line of Fire

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In the Line of Fire
original film poster
Directed by	Wolfgang Petersen
Produced by	Jeff Apple
Written by	Jeff Maguire
Starring	Clint Eastwood John Malkovich Rene Russo Dylan McDermott
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Cinematography	John Bailey
Editing by	Anne V. Coates
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	July 9, 1993
Running time	128 min
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
IMDb profile

In the Line of Fire is a 1993 film about a psychopath who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the U.S. Secret Service agent who tracks him.

The film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and stars Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President, and John Malkovich as the assassin.

Eastwood's character is the sole active-duty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guarding John F. Kennedy in Dallas at the time of his murder. Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, John Mahoney, and Fred Dalton Thompson also star. The movie was co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment, with Columbia handling distribution.

The film earned three Academy Award nominations: Malkovich for best supporting actor, Jeff Maguire for best original screenplay, and Anne Coates for best editing.

A sub-plot of the film is the re-election campaign of the President. For the scenes of campaign rallies the film makers used scenes from Bill Clinton's campaign events.

[edit] Plot Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story begins in Washington D.C., where Frank Horrigan, an aging Secret Service Agent, joins his new partner, Al D’Andrea, on assignment. They travel to a boating marina to meet with members of a counterfeiting ring. While Frank inspects a phony bill, the group’s leader, Mendoza (Tobin Bell), tells Frank that he has identified Al as a Secret Service Agent. (The Secret Service’s original mission, when founded in the late 19th Century, was to track down counterfeiters and they continue in this capacity to this day.) Frank joins Mendoza on his boat where they have bound Al to a chair. Frank is forced to show his loyalty by putting a gun to Al’s head and pulling the trigger. The gun is empty (a fact that Frank was able to determine while hefting the weapon) and one of Mendoza’s thugs slips a plastic bag over Al’s head. Frank shoots both men, frees Al, and shows his badge, telling Mendoza he’s under arrest.

Frank investigates a complaint from an elderly landlady (Elsa Raven) about one of her tenants. Frank finds a shrine of sorts to famous assassinations. Later, when Frank and Al acquire a search warrant and enter the man’s apartment they discover that the pictures in the shrine have vanished and only one remains: a much younger Frank standing behind John F. Kennedy.

Frank receives a phone call the next evening from a man who insists Frank call him “Booth” after Abraham Lincoln’s assassin. The caller admires Booth because he had “flair, panache.” He tells Frank that he plans to kill the current president. The man also seems to know a great deal of Frank’s history as a Secret Service agent. Frank reports the call to his superiors and an investigation is opened.

In a side story, Frank starts a relationship with another agent, Lily Raines. She helps him get on protection detail for the president, a duty Frank hasn’t had for years and, because of his age, is out of shape for.

Frank’s sleuthing reveals that Booth is actually a man named Mitch Leary, a former CIA operative (a “wetboy”) who has suffered a mental breakdown and is now a psychotic killer. Leary turns out to be incredibly resourceful; he opens a phony bank account in Los Angeles and is a master of disguise. He is also proficient at gunsmithing and builds a gun from epoxy plastic, so as not to set off any alarms at security gates.

Leary taunts Frank with several more phone calls throughout the film. At one point the tracing of his call leads Frank and his fellow agents to a payphone at Lafayette Park, one block from the White House. As Leary flees the scene, he is nearly run over by a passing motorist. (Frank impounds the car for fingerprints.) Leary also shows up at several public events the current president attends, knowing that Frank will be there on protection detail. At one event, Leary pops several balloons and an ill Frank causes an embarrassing scene, thinking they are gunshots.

Another call from Leary leads Frank and Al to an apartment building where the two spot him sneaking away. A chase ensues along the roofs of several buildings. The chase ends when Leary shoots Al and kills him (though in an ironic twist, Leary saves Frank from falling from the building's ledge). Frank is devastated and becomes even more determined to find Leary.

Frank believes that Leary will attempt the assassination in Los Angeles, at a huge fundraising event. The event is to be held at the uniquely-architected Westin Bonaventure Hotel, where many of the movie's scenes were filmed. Frank unnecessarily roughs up a hotel employee who has lost his identification card. The incident is filmed by a local news channel and Frank is thrown off protection duty.

While he travels to the airport, another clue, a coded phone number, is discovered by Frank. He finds out that Leary had opened a bank account under a false name and had sent a large donation check to the local office of the president’s party, thereby securing an invitation to the fundraiser.

Frank returns to the hotel with the phony name and demands to see the guest seating list at the banquet taking place. He recognizes Leary in disguise at a table near the stage and rushes to stop him. Leary draws his gun and fires at the president just as Frank blocks the shot (he is wearing his bulletproof vest). The president is rushed immediately from the scene in his motorcade.

Leary grabs Frank as a hostage and forces him out of the banquet hall and into the hotel's external elevator. They travel upwards several stories and Leary breaks all the interior lights so nearby snipers can’t target him. Leary threatens to kill Frank and himself and also tells Frank that he saved the aging agent’s career. Frank still has his earpiece and microphone and is able to talk to Lily and reveal Leary’s position in the elevator for the snipers. They shoot into the elevator, missing both men, but give Frank the opportunity to overpower Leary. The scuffle ends with Leary clinging to the outside of the elevator. Frank offers Leary his help but Leary lets go and plummets to his death.

Frank decides to retire and he and Lily return to Washington. At his apartment, he finds a voicemail message from Leary. The two of them leave before the message is finished.