User reviews

No pun intended - this is so 90s .. I mean it oozes that sentiment from all over the place. If you have seen thrillers from that time, you will feel them - this of course is being as predictable as anything. A lot of cliches assembled too. And a main character that seems unable to control herself. Who can refuse a bad guy, right? Well hopefully that sentiment is seen as a relict too.

But if you like your thriller to show a bit of skin, to get sexy and Down and dirty (sorry, I know she can't change her name) ... well this will be one you may enjoy. Just do not expect too much from it. Mayhem will come - and go - and you'll forget about it shortly after you watch it.

Is it a coincidence that this thriller has 2 directors - Oliver Hellman and Robert Barrett - and the narrative is schizophrenic? We begin in Zalman King territory with Lesley-Anne Down a college literary professor who teaches at a prison inhabited by the gorgeous John Enos. Since both of them are beautiful specimens of humanity we take pleasure in the anticipation of their union, and the progress is teasingly slow, helped along by the Bernard Herrrmann-ish music. However things go wrong in the second half, with Down inexplicably rejecting Enos, and the romance turns into a stalking thriller. Even if we are meant to see that Down is repressing her sexual freedom (she's given the requisite scene of solo frustration), admittedly with someone who is a murderer which can sometimes bring up trust issues in a relationship, we lose all empathy with her. I mean, she has to be much crazier than Enos to not want a man who looks like him. That may sound shallow, but a hunk is a hunk. And he sensitive. He cries, he uses a little boy voice, and has an irresistible opening line to Down in "I can see your pain". Enos has baggage in the form of girlfriend rap performer Lady B Pearl who is indulged in an extended music sequence, which definitely clued me into the mistep the film makers had taken. As the woman scorned, Pearl poses like Rita Moreno in West Side Story, and delivers mind numbingly awful pseudo-uplifting rap-poetry. The prison sequences have laughably variable levels of security, with conjugal quarters the size of deluxe hotelrooms, and feature a demonstration of ant-gay bashing which is odd considering the attention the camera pays to Enos' crotch and bottom. Down represents the American fascination with British ladies like Joan Collins who have a slatternly edge, but whilst Down is a more subtle performer than Collins she also lacks Collin's authority (camp or otherwise). The title refers to Enos' description of his affair with Down as a "dance to the edge", but when Down later writes "I will prevail" in the sand, our hopes are as dashed as the imprint from the incoming tide.

Channel surfing over-the-air TV the other night (boycotting cable right now) I stumble across this little number. As others have commented what starts out as well-paced and coherent becomes quite jumbled by the end; were they just rushing to end the production for some reason(?) The frequent re-appearance of cast members, esp. Mike Parks and Sofia Milos helps keep up your interest as the plot goes it's merry way..it's a little too pandering to qualify as a psycho-drama. Reasonably well produced Out of Control scores points for being filmed in a small market (Corpus Christi, TX) with interior and night shots clear and colorful. A surprise is actress - Lady B. Pearl - playing a club rapper/spurned girlfriend of Dial. It appears this has been the only movie she's starred in. Pity.

Saw the film only for my fave Lesley- Ann Down and it didnt disappoint me one bit. Her simmering chemistry with the handsome hunk John Enos reaches a crescendo in the lovemaking scene which itself is worth your time and money. Trust me, it is smouldering hot and all Down fans will certainly have a blast!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.