Nowhere to Run Reviews

Convict-on-the-run Jean-Claude Van Damme comes to the aid of widow-in-peril Rosanna Arquette in this well-crafted but undistinguished action showcase directed by Robert Harmon (THE HITCHER). Van Damme plays Sam, a convict who gets sprung from Federal custody somewhere in the Midwest by his bank-robbing partner. (In their last heist, his partner killed a bank guard and Sam took the rap for it.) The partner gets killed in the break, forcing Sam to go it alone in search of the loot, which is buried on the property of a young farm widow, Clydie (Arquette). Attempting to sneak into her house and "borrow" some salt for a campfire-broiled steak, Sam catches sight of Clydie taking a shower through a conveniently exposed window. He is in turn spotted by her young son Mookie (Kieran Culkin). After saving Clydie and her two children from a trio of intruding thugs, Sam finds out that the widow is holding out from selling her place to property developer Franklin Hale (Joss Ackland). Sam decides to hang around, sleeping first in Clydie's barn and then in her bed, while repairing her late husband's Triumph motorcycle. Meanwhile, Hale hires an intimidation expert, Dunston (Ted Levine), to force Clydie into selling her land. Also, though secretly, on Hale's payroll is local sheriff Lonnie (Edward Blatchford), a sometime lover of Clydie; jealous of Sam, he discovers his true identity and threatens to expose him if he doesn't absent himself. Not wanting to place Clydie in additional danger for helping a fugitive, Sam decides to leave, only to find that Hale has already blown the whistle on him. After evading police chasing him in cars, land rovers, helicopters and on motorcycles and horseback, Sam returns and saves Clydie from Dunston and Hale, who are attempting to burn down her house. He kills Dunston, and Hale is caught manhandling Clydie by cops closing in to capture Sam. Sam vows to serve his sentence and return for Clydie, who will presumably wait for him. NOWHERE TO RUN is mainly an attempt to broaden the appeal of martial arts/action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, by injecting romantic and domestic elements into what would otherwise be a straightforward chase-and-fight saga. It's unfortunate that, rather than making Rosanna Arquette a believable independent character, the filmmakers view her mainly as ornamentation--whether glimpsed in the shower or sporting tight dungarees. Even Sally Field in PLACES IN THE HEART seemed more credible as a frontier widow working the farm all by herself while raising cantankerous kids. (Admittedly, in the interests of political correctness, Van Damme has his own gratuitous nude scene, with specifics of his physique being knowingly commented upon both by Clydie and her precocious young daughter.) Van Damme, a veteran of the action genre, has yet to establish a distinct movie persona. His tight-lipped bad-guy-with-a-heart recalls characters played by everyone from Eastwood to Schwarzenegger, without ever adding his own individual mark. Indeed, the actor's most significant distinguishing trait remains his Belgian accent, accounted for here with the explanation that he's from Quebec. Director Harmon suffers from a similar identity crisis. Stylistically, NOWHERE echoes films by everyone from Walter Hill to John Boorman and even Quentin Tarantino, without ever settling into its own groove. Still, Arquette and Van Damme are easy enough on the eyes to forgive lapses in style and logic, and Harmon's direction comfortably accommodates some moments of humor and warmth amidst the testosterone-charged action. (Nudity, adult situations, violence.)