Incognito (1998 film)

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Incognito

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Badham
Produced by James G. Robinson
Screenplay by Jordan Katz
Starring
Music by John Ottman
Cinematography Denis Crossan
Editing by Frank Morriss
Studio Morgan Creek Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • March 13, 1998 (1998-03-13) (USA)
Running time 108 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Incognito is a 1998 American crime thriller directed by John Badham and starring Jason Patric and Irene Jacob.[1] Written by Jordan Katz, the film is about a talented art forger who paints a fake Rembrandt despite pressure from his dying father who urges him to use his talent on his own original paintings. The film is notable for a sequence that reveals the specific details involved in forgery, including canvas aging, precise paints, and other deceptions.[2]

Plot

Talented New York artist Harry Donovan (Jason Patric) is an expert forger of famous artists' paintings, but is struggling to become a legitimate artist in his own right. Until now, he has avoided detection by forging third and fourth tier masters, but that is about to change. Frustrated by the cancellation of an exhibition of his paintings, Harry accepts a job forging a long lost Rembrandt for $500,000 from three art dealer clients—Alistair Davies (Thomas Lockyer), Ian Hill (Simon Chandler), and Agachi (Togo Igawa)—against the wishes of his artist father (Rod Steiger) who wants his son to give up forgery and concentrate on his own work.

Despite his father's wishes, Harry takes the job and travels to Amsterdam to study Rembrandt. He decides to forge a never-discovered portrait of the master's blind father lost supposedly off the coast of Spain over 350 years ago. Harry continues his research in Paris, where he meets a beautiful Rembrandt scholar, Professor Marieke van den Broeck (Irene Jacob), who tells him she is a "student". Harry does not know that one of his main source books was written by Marieke. With her unwitting help, he gains access to an actual Rembrandt being restored at the Louvre from which he obtains scrapings of the original varnish. Soon Harry and Marieke become involved romantically.

Harry travels back to Amsterdam, where he paints his "Rembrandt" in an attic studio using period materials and a photograph of his own father as a model.[Note 1] He then journeys to Spain where he shows his three clients his forged masterpiece. After they find a local farmer who is paid to claim to have "found" the painting, the three clients invite two art experts to examine the painting, and they "confirm" it to be a Rembrandt. They return to London with the painting for a final authentication by a group of experts, which includes Marieke, to Harry's surprise. Several experts agree it is genuine, but Marieke does not. Angered to learn that his clients plan to hold a public auction, Harry tries to take back his painting, is threatened at gunpoint, and defends himself. After Harry makes his escape with the painting, Davies shoots and kills Agachi, and then frames Harry for the murder and the theft of the painting.

After eluding arrest, Harry finds Marieke, handcuffs her to his wrist, and together they escape on the Orient Express. Forced to flee the train by the pursuing police, they make their way through the English countryside, eventually splitting up before Harry is finally arrested while attempting to destroy his forgery at Mentmore Towers.

During his trial Harry tries to prove his innocence by duplicating the painting in open court to show that the painting is fake. His feelings, however, over his father's recent death and his wish for him to give up forgery prevent him from completing the painting. "Only Rembrandt can paint a Rembrandt," he concludes. Harry is saved when Hill, fearing his partner's homicidal intentions, testifies that Davies was actually the one who murdered Agachi.

After his release, Harry discovers that Hill plans to auction the painting himself and reap all the financial benefits. Having anticipated such an outcome, Harry had written a letter to the farmer in Spain notifying him of the deception. Spanish law allows the government first right of purchase from the discoverer of all treasures found on Spanish soil. The painting ends up in the Museo del Prado and the farmer ends up with all the money. In gratitude, the farmer invites Harry to Spain where he gives the artist half the money—$5 million. Harry then travels back to Paris to meet Marieke. He gives her an original portrait that he painted of her in his own style. After signing the painting, the couple kiss and embrace on the romantic banks of the Seine.

Cast
  • Dudley Sutton as Halifax/Offul
  • Adam Fogerty as Ugo
  • Ricardo Montez as Juan Del Campo
  • Antonio Elliott as Grandson
  • Jonathan Newth as Judge
  • Bryan Matheson as Concierge
  • Lex van Delden as Dehoog
  • Hugo Bower as Smit
  • Walter van Dyk as Thoolen
  • Frank Nendels as Anton/Chemist
  • John Tordoff as Bartender
  • Jean-Luc Caron as Cafe intellectual
  • Maja Ottesen as Nude model
  • Danielle Allan as Museum attendant[3]

Production

Filming locations

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ American artist James Gemmill painted the Rembrandt forgery for the film.[1]
Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Incognito". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  2. ↑ Stewart, Bhob. "Incognito". All Movie. Retrieved February 17, 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Full cast and crew for Incognito". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Filming locations for Incognito". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 

External links

Films directed by John Badham
1970s
1980s
1990s
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