(Nice to know that even in cow country a woman still has to carry mace around all the time. Especially if she‘s blind. )
CAST: Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, John Malkovich, Lance Henricksen, Kathy Baker, Graham Beckel, Nicholas Love, Perry Lang, Lenny Von Dohlen.
DIRECTOR: Bruce Robinson
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and a forbidden romance between a cop and a blind murder witness - straight ahead…
With the release and smash success of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS in 1991, it was only logical that all the other studios would trot out their own Serial Killer extravaganzas. JENNIFER EIGHT was one of the first to roll down the pike. It didn’t make much of a splash at the box-office, despite a gripping trailer and a very intriguing poster (see above). The main reason for JENNIFER EIGHT’s box-office misfire is easy to posit: people were expecting another SILENCE, and they didn’t get it.
This isn’t to say that JENNIFER EIGHT is a bad film; far from it, in fact. This film is both old-fashioned and ahead of its time. Old-fashioned, in the sense that it takes its time to develop its characters and their relationships with one another, and refuses to place second the central relationship between its leads. And ahead of its time, in terms of building a dark, rainy, brooding atmosphere filled with gloomy interiors and ominous exteriors - which would be recycled in future films like SEVEN and THE BONE COLLECTOR.
Bottom line: JENNIFER EIGHT is an underrated and overlooked gem that influenced the genre more than most people realize. It’s not a perfect film, although it comes very close until it reaches its third act. But more on that later….
The film starts with a shot of our hero, John Berlin (Andy Garcia), driving through the majestic redwoods of Northern California. Soon, he arrives at his destination: the sleepy town of Eureka. Seems John is a burnt-out L.A. cop who has finally decided to check out of life in the fast lane and join buddy and fellow ex-LAPD cop Freddie Ross (Lance Henricksen) up in the boonies where it’s quieter.
Freddie and his wife Margie (Kathy Baker) are overjoyed that John has moved to Eureka. They help him get his new farmhouse into decent shape. By the way, the farmhouse has a great view of… cows in the nearby pasture. Well, it beats seeing traffic on the 405 Freeway right outside your window, right? Anyhow, it looks like John’s going to finally be able to enjoy a slower pace both at work and at home.
Or maybe not.
See, the very first day that John arrives in town, one of the local cops discovers a severed hand in a local garbage dump. This leads to an all-night search of the dump to see if there any other body parts mixed in with the leftover Chinese food and old tires. With the exception of the body of a dead dog, there doesn’t appear to be any more unpleasant surprises. Not at the garbage dump anyway.
If you were hoping that John would downshift and get used to the slower pace of Eureka, well, let me just say the discovery of the severed hand - which appears to be from a woman - pretty much puts the kibosh on that possibility. John Berlin is one of those driven types that doesn’t stop until he gets to the bottom of a mystery. Must be a Scorpio. In this particular case, it’s The Mystery of the Severed Hand at the Dump Site that John wants to unravel.
Furthermore, John learns of a grisly murder from a couple of years ago in which the female victim was left headless and handless. Her identity was never confirmed - and therefore was coded “Jennifer.” And to make matters more interesting, John does a database search and discovers six other blind women who have gone missing across California in the last several years. In other words, there’s possibly a serial killer on the loose who targets blind women - and the hand found at the dump site just might be “Jennifer Eight.”
After examining the hand’s fingertips, John notices the heavy calluses and soon after deduces that the victim got them from reading Braille. In other words, she was blind. Scouring a list of blind people in the area who have not been heard from, John and Freddy zero in on one Amber Stone, a blind girl who has not been heard from in six weeks. No one thinks that she’d dead, though - just relocated to San Diego (and who can blame her) and hasn’t written yet. John, however, strongly suspects that Amber has become “Jennifer Eight.”
John questions Amber’s roommate who is also blind: Helena Robertson (Uma Thurman). Seems Helena was there when Amber’s boyfriend came to pick her up. John thinks that this “boyfriend” just might be the killer he’s looking for. Despite her blindness, Helena is still able to tell him some helpful things: (1) this mysterious guy who picked up Amber was a smoker; (2) drove a car that sounded “fat”; and (3) his name is also “John.”
Given that “John” is the most common name in the English language, and is also the moniker of our hero, how many of you want to guess that this is a significant plot twist? Ahem.
At any rate, John’s investigation into the “Jennifer” cases gets him in hot water with his new co-workers, who see him as some flashy big-city dude who’s cooking up a serial-killer investigation out of nothing. Needless to say, none of them believe that there’s a mad psycho on the loose preying on blind women. Not even Freddie, apparently. Which is very disappointing to John because it means he has absolutely no supporters on the police force.
He does, however, have at least one in Helena, with whom he has gotten close to. As you can imagine, a detective carrying on an affair with a woman who is essentially an eyewitness (despite being blind) in one of his cases is not exactly the least controversial of relationships. Helena’s belief in the existence of a serial killer might also have something to do with the fact that, I don’t know, he actually broke into her house and threatened her to shut up… or else. Of course, no one believes her either.
How will John track the killer down when no one believes any crimes have been committed? Will Helena end up becoming “Jennifer Nine?” Will Freddie come around and support John in his quest to prove the shadowy killer’s presence in Eureka? Or will he continue to side against John with the rest of the choads of the Eureka police department? Will Helena provide a vital clue that will lead to the discovery of the killer’s identity? Why is the killer preying on blind women? Does he have some sort of fetish? Like someone who goes gooey all over at the sight of a Roman Gladiator outfit and a hairy chest? Ahem?
See for yourselves. Just don’t be surprised if you end up asking to be blindfolded and tickled with a feather after you see this movie. Someone once told me that blind people are the best lovers. Or at least, blind-folded people. I’m just saying…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: As I wrote in the intro, JENNIFER EIGHT is old-fashioned in the sense that it puts the characters before the mystery. In fact, the mystery springs from the character’s actions and reactions. This is perhaps why the film didn’t find a wider audience when it was released in 1992. People must have wanted something as fast-paced as THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
And, as I also wrote in the intro, this movie is way ahead of its time with its dark and moody atmosphere and gradual build of tension, paving the way for the dark tones of SEVEN, THE BONE COLLECTOR, and even the TV series of THE X-FILES.
Perhaps audiences who were expecting a more fast-paced thriller in the vein of SILENCE were probably surprised by JENNIFER EIGHTS’s deliberate and ominous pace which bathed everything in a brooding aura of fear. Like SILENCE, though, this film has some very interesting characters that give the narrative significantly more weight than it might have had.
JENNIFER EIGHT reportedly had a troubled production. According to some quarters, there was conflict between writer/director Bruce Robinson and the studio concerning the script. Not sure exactly what the issues were, but I do know that there was concern about the ending. My understanding is that Robinson’s original ending didn’t fare well with the powers-that-be, and was changed to the one that exists now.
I’m not going to spoil the new ending for you, except to say that while serviceable and decent - it’s also a bit abrupt. Especially considering the mystery’s careful build-up all the way through the first, second, and much of the third-act. If Robinson would have drawn-out the ending just a bit more to fill in some holes, the film would rate almost as high as THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Like I mentioned before, the film focuses on its characters as the mystery unfolds. Which is a good thing, since they are an interesting bunch. John Berlin is an appealing hero. He’s clearly the type of guy who’s drive is both his talent and his curse, pushing him to go after his goal to the point of sometimes alienating those around him. A lesser actor might’ve toned down John’s rough edges and intensity, but Andy Garcia wisely avoids neutering the character in this way. He also ably displays John’s bruised interior and his desire for some sort of redemption by pursuing a relationship with the good-hearted Helena. Their relationship is surprisingly touching - and becomes JENNIFER EIGHT’s beating heart, acting as a ray of light through all the darkness.
Speaking of Helena, Uma Thurman creates a truly memorable character, too. Unlike a lot of heroines whose vulnerabilities are hidden under tough exteriors, Helena Robertson is the reverse: she hides her resilience and resourcefulness beneath a fragile veneer. Even when she’s sitting still and just staring off into space, she’s compelling to watch. Much of that has to do with Thurman’s innate expressiveness. Playing a blind woman, she has to deaden her eyes (usually an actor’s best weapon) and rely on the rest of her face, body language, and voice to convey Helena’s confusion, terror, courage, and love for John. The fact that she pulls this off so wonderfully and makes Helena such a strong presence in the film when a lesser actress could’ve inadvertently condemned her to the background, is a testament to Ms. Thurman’s talents.
The supporting cast is similarly assigned to vivid roles. John Malkovich enters the film as FBI Special Agent St. Anne, who also doesn’t believe that a serial killer exists. Malkovich makes the most of his small role and gives St. Anne a sardonic bite that makes his exchanges with Garcia as John a delight to watch. Lance Henricksen is funny and magnetic as John’s best friend, Freddie, who disbelieves his friend’s suspicions - but then slowly comes around and imperils his life to help John. Kathy Baker is also great as Margie, Freddie’s wife, who is a lot like Helena in the sense that her easy-going and gentle exterior conceals a core of steel that comes out when the chips are down. Her role in the film’s climax is a very pleasant surprise, making JENNIFER EIGHT a nice showcase for two complex and strong female characters.
As John’s disbelieving and disrespectful colleagues, Nicholas Love, Graham Beckel, Kevin Conaway, and Perry Lang are all strong and succeed in getting us to believe in the unfairly hostile environment that our hero suddenly finds himself in. Which makes us sympathize with him even more. This just makes John’s vindication in the end all the more satisfying and deserved.
All in all, JENNIFER EIGHT is a very good thriller that was misunderstood at its time of release. Make no mistake, though, despite exhibiting some classic storytelling elements focused on character, it was also way ahead of its time in creating an ominous and bleak atmosphere. Something that future films would emulate and pass of as their own. They all a debt of gratitude to this movie.
