It seems postal workers are not the only government employees likely to go on a vengeful rampage as a response to being fired. IN THE LINE OF FIRE pits Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) against Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), a top CIA hit man until the agency cancelled
his contract. Leary plans to get even by undertaking a suicide-mission assassination of the President. The twist is that Horrigan was present at J.F.K.'s assassination 30 years ago, and is ridden with guilt at having failed to take the fatal bullet. Leary is ready to trade his life for that of the
Prez; if the situation requires it, is Horrigan equally willing to give up his life to save the Chief Executive?
IN THE LINE OF FIRE explores this intriguing premise with subtlety and suspense, particularly during several phone conversations between a gloating, you-can't-stop-me Leary and a visibly shaken Horrigan. Eastwood plays the agent in a style you could call "Unforgiven Lite," as a physical and
emotional burnout who seems no match for his criminal mastermind adversary. (His age, though, doesn't stop Horrigan from romancing an initially disdainful fellow agent, played by Rene Russo.) As Leary, Malkovich has fun donning a wide array of disguises and dispatching human obstacles with
Hannibal Lecter-like precision. The result is a finely tuned suspense thriller, though executives who have recently laid off trained killers may experience some discomfort.
