Pacific Heights (film)
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| Pacific Heights | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Schlesinger |
| Produced by | Scott Rudin William Sackheim |
| Written by | Daniel Pyne |
| Starring | Melanie Griffith Matthew Modine Michael Keaton |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Amir M. Mokri |
| Editing by | Steven Ramirez Mark Warner |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | September 28, 1990 |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Pacific Heights is a 1990 thriller film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton. Griffith's real-life mother Tippi Hedren has a cameo as a rich older woman who is conned by Keaton's character. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer. The film's tagline is: "It seemed like the perfect house. He seemed like the perfect tenant. Until they asked him to leave."
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The film begins with Carter Hayes (Keaton) lying in bed with a woman, only to be quickly jostled out of bed and beaten up by some hired thugs who tell him to leave town or face worse consequences.
The story then moves to an unmarried couple, Patty Palmer (Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Modine) buying a large $750,000+ polychrome house in the exclusive San Francisco neighborhood of Pacific Heights, where they renovate it and plan to rent the two apartments on the first floor to cover most of the monthly mortgage.
Things seem rosy until they meet Carter Hayes who has all the trappings of being a good tenent. In reality, Hayes is a con artist who does not pay either the rent or the security deposit, and changes the locks on all the doors. In short order, Hayes causes the Goodmans all sorts of trouble through scare tactics, verbal baiting and turning his own apartment into a dark cockroach-infested den. It is all part of Hayes' elaborate scheme to use the California tenant laws against the Goodmans to obtain the property cheaply. The constant stress causes Patty to have a miscarriage. Drake assaults Hayes, who then vanishes almost without a trace.
While Goodman lies in bed recovering from gun shot wounds inflicted by Hayes (who was not incriminated due to Drake disobeying a restraining order), Patty becomes determined to have her revenge. She searches what remains of the apartment and is able to track Hayes down to his new con game involving a wealthy widow (Hedren).
Patty poses as Hayes' wife in order to get into his hotel room and charge expensive room service on his credit cards and then call in to have them declared stolen. When Hayes returns, he is arrested and forced to charm his way out of jail. Hayes quickly makes it back to the apartment and a fight erupts between Patty and him, resulting in Hayes' demise.
[edit] Criticism
Roger Ebert called the film "a horror film for yuppies", and said the script relied on horror clichés, such as the dark basement or murder of a family pet.[1] However, Chris Hicks of the Salt Lake City Deseret News was among the critics who praised the acting, especially of Keaton, and found enjoyment in having Patty getting her revenge on a man who had manipulated the law to wreck her dreams and hurt the man she loved.[2]
This film was #94 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
[edit] Location
Pacific Heights is set in Pacific Heights in San Francisco. However, the location of the house in the film is on Potrero Hill in San Francisco at the corner of 19th Street and Texas Street.
[edit] DVD
The DVD edition of the film was released in 1999 and included a trailer for the film, but no other special features such as a director's audio commentary, deleted or extended scenes or subtitles.
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Melanie Griffith | Patty Palmer |
| Matthew Modine | Drake Goodman |
| Michael Keaton | Carter Hayes |
| Laurie Metcalf | Stephanie MacDonald |
| Mako | Toshio Watanabe |
| Nobu McCarthy | Mira Watanabe |
| Dorian Harewood | Dennis Reed |
| Tippi Hedren | Florence Peters |
| Beverly D'Angelo (uncredited) | Ann Miller |
| Carl Lumbly | Lou Baker |
