Actors: Peter Gallagher, Alison Elliott, William Fichtner, Shelley Duvall, Elisabeth Shue, Joe Don Baker
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Underneath
Michael Chambers (Gallagher) was a compulsive gambler who fled town and left his wife with the mess years ago. He returns to Austin, Texas for his mother's remarriage, and decides to try to pick up the pieces, clearing his debts and wooing his ex-wife Rachel (Elliott). While her mother's new husband gives Michael a job as an armored car driver, Rachel's new boyfriend and fiance is an insanely jealous hood and nightclub owner (Fichtner). Michael decides to challenge his rival by proposing a caper to rob an armored car. To raise the stakes, Michael's younger brother David (Adam Trese) is a cop with a chip on his shoulder, and is watching his brother for any false move. Steven Soderbergh wrote and directed this 1995 thriller based on the Don Tracy novel and 1949 Daniel Fuchs screenplay "Criss Cross." Although it has a terrific cast and some moody visuals (lots of greens and blues), it's merely a so-so movie.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
THE UNDERNEATH, based on a novel by Don Tracy, is a movie directed by Steven Soderbergh in 1995.
Austin, Texas. Peter Gallagher returns home to attend his mother's mariage with Joe Don Baker. Adam Trese, Gallagher's brother, is a policeman and he's not so happy with his brother's comeback. A few years before, Gallagher, a well-known gambler then, left the city after a $30,000 US unlucky bet, he also left his girlfriend Alison Elliott who had to face the consequences of his disappearance.
Now Alison is married to William Fichtner, the owner of a night-club. Still in love with Alison, Gallagher provokes Fichtner and asks him if he's interested in organizing an armed robbery.
With a brother who is waiting for him to make a mistake, with a jealous William Fichtner on his back and with Alison who doesnt seem to play straight, Gallagher will have a hard time if he wants to survive this mortal game.
Maybe Soderbergh's best movie.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of The Underneath
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- criminals stealing from honest people
- armed robbers!
Lover is...
- criminal/bad doer
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- gambler
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- deluded
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest and Buttocks
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Texas
Forest?
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- dangerous
Misc setting
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
- excited
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- actual description of sex
- seeing nude male butt
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Modern rock/pop
Is this movie based on a
- book
