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The Mean Season

1985, Movie, R, 106 mins

The Mean Season: Review

Kurt Russell stars in this uneven and somewhat predictable thriller as Malcolm Anderson, a Miami journalist who becomes the sole contact with a serial killer. After being pleased by the article Anderson has written about the victim of his first murder, the "Numbers Killer" (Jordan) begins communicating regularly with the newspaperman, giving him the exclusive story after each of his subsequent murders. Anderson eventually becomes something of a celebrity--appearing on the cover of Time, being interviewed on the "Today" show--and the jealous, psychotic murderer kidnaps Anderson's live-in girl friend (Hemingway). While carefully constructing the relationship between the reporter and the killer, THE MEAN SEASON (which takes its title from the approaching hurricane season) also raises poignant issues about journalistic ethics. Russell, though clearly the Hollywood version of a big city reporter, gives an intelligent portrait of a man motivated by both a love for his profession and his own driving ambition. Masur, as Russell's editor, once again proves why he is such a respected character actor. Borsos' direction is something of a letdown. After carefully building up the tension between Russell and Jordan and posing some intriguing questions about their respective roles within the extraordinary situation, Borsos drops everything for simplistic chases and action sequences. By so doing, he fails to deliver on the film's promise.