Face Down Reviews

FACE DOWN is an entertaining made-for-cable mystery with vibrant characterizations, flavorful Manhattan backgrounds, and snappy dialogue. On the downside, the gears of its plot grind rather loudly, wasting too much energy trying to mislead the audience. Ex-cop Bob Signorelli (Joe Mantegna) lost not only his job but the respect of his former partner Lt. Coop (Peter Riegert) when he bungled a robbery/hostage situation. Now working as a private investigator, he similarly annoys his new partner Herb Aames (J.K. Simmons) by falling for beautiful but schizophrenic Merre Lake (Kelli Maroney). A receptionist for art gallery owner Derek Fry (Adam Ant), she is a suspect in the murder of sleazy lawyer Cascio, to whom Fry owed money. Signorelli's investigation leads him to believe that Cascio could have been killed by a crooked cop hired by Fry. Replacing Signorelli on the investigation into Merre's activities, P.I. Aames meets with Merre, and is mistakenly shot to death by the same person who killed Cascio. Hounded by Coop and his ambitious new partner Curtis Lowell (Cameron Thor), Signorelli is linked by the police to the fugitive Merre who guiltily fled the Aames murder scene. Meanwhile, an internal affairs investigation targets the officers at Signorelli's old precinct. Signorelli locates Merre at a dive and forces her back on her schizophrenia medication at his apartment. After comparing her new prescription with capsules found at Merre's home, Signorelli discovers her pills had been tampered with. Fry's assistant Jacob (Kent Staines) admits handing over Merre's medicine bottle to Fry, thus suggesting that Fry has indeed been framing Merre for the murders committed by his crooked-cop assassin. After Signorelli becomes a suspect in the murder of Jacob, whose body is found in his car, Signorelli receives vital info from his detective agency secretary, whose computer links Fry to Coop's precinct through phone records. While fleeing from Signorelli, Fry is hit by a car. Teaming up with Coop, Signorelli is too late to prevent the kidnapping of Merre by Fry's accomplice - Lowell. Bent cop Lowell tries to kill Merre on the subway tracks while making it look like suicide. When Coop shoots Lowell down, gunfire short circuits the subway car before it can hit perennially victimized Merre. Strands of illogic aside, FACE DOWN is a moderately intriguing mystery. If only it didn't sweat and strain while trying not to tip its hand about Curtis Lowell's guilt. A lot of time is also wasted in setting up Merre's illness as a link in her possible crime involvement. A slicker screenwriter might have intertwined these schools of red herrings with a little more finesse. Another faux pas is the regrettable treatment of Merre, whose character is cavalierly written as a blonde bimbo who turns into a femme fatale under controlled medication. The filmmakers seem to want to have their cheesecake and eat it too, all at the expense of a vulnerable heroine. Luckily, Kelli Maroney weathers these tricky transformations with a combination of acting chutzpah and sheer beauty. As the seedy gumshoe redeemed by the love of a split personality, Joe Mantegna matches Maroney's acting bravado. With less exploitative handling of the leading lady and nimbler clue placement, FACE DOWN might have been first-rate, instead of a merely above average puzzler. (Graphic violence, extreme profanity, sexual situations, substance abuse.)