(Note: When traveling through England, watch out for that crazy couple running down the street handcuffed to each other…)
CAST: Jason Patric, Irene Jacob, Thomas Lockyer, Simon Chandler, Michael Cochrane, Rod Steiger, Ian Holm.
DIRECTOR: John Badham
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and rather questionable Rembrandt usages straight ahead…
You know that saying, “Be careful that you don’t paint yourself into a corner?” Well, that’s exactly the problem that plagues the protagonist of our next review - figuratively speaking and, well, almost literally.
Our hero is Harry Donovan (Jason Patric) and in addition to being a sardonic asshole, he is also something of a master forger. And by that, I don’t mean he can fake his parents’ signatures on his report card, although that’s probably how he started down the path he’s on. No, when I say that he’s a master forger, I mean he is capable of mimicking another painter’s style to the extent that no one questions the painting’s authenticity.
It’s because of this special ability that he attracts the attention of a cabal of rich art dealers led by Alastair Davies (Thomas Lockyer) and Ian Ill (Simon Chandler). Seems these two guys want Harry to forge a Rembrandt, which they will then sell to Japanese art dealer Agachi (Togo Igawa). If you’re wondering about the legality of this plan, you’ve barking up the wrong cinematic tree with your ethics.
At any rate, after some initial hemming-and-hawwing, Harry goes for that deal like a Nouveau Riche/Bourgeoisie dweeb for a Vincent Van Gogh print. Of course, it probably doesn’t hurt that he stands to pocket some $500,000 for this act of deception. Personally, I’d ask for a little more, because it’s not like Alastair and Ian are going to be selling this thing to Agachi for chump change.
So, with the deal closed, Harry flies to Amsterdam to begin his process of creating a fake Rembrandt. He starts from a fairly plausible jumping off point: rather than create a new painting and pass if off as Rembrandt’s, Harry plans to recreate a “lost” Rembrandt - and orchestrate its “recovery.” Which is pretty brilliant, when you think about it.
With that plan in hand, Harry gets busy painting. Before you know it, he’s not only created a painting that could easily pass for one of the Master’s own, but also one that can stand carbon-testing for age. Very crafty, our Harry. Seems like Agachi is a sitting duck for these con men.
Unfortunately, at the unveiling of the painting, one out of the three Rembrandt experts asked to do an examination states the painting is not Rembrandt’s. She is Professor Marieke Van Den Broeck (Irene Jacob), and just happens to be the world’s renowned expert on Rembrandt’s life and his paintings. In other words, not the most ideal person Alastair and co. would want to be skeptical of the painting.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Harry and Marieke share a past. See, she and our master forger did some master fucking right around the time he was forging the painting, only he didn’t know she was the Rembrandt Expert To End All Rembrandt Experts whose favor he’d be courting. And she didn’t know that he was a con artist working on a painting she’d be examining in about, oh, a week. What a tangled web we do weave…
Things get even worse when Agachi turns up murdered - and Alastair and Ian tell the police that Harry killed him and stole the “Rembrandt.” This forces Harry to go on the run, taking Marieke along with him - whether she likes it or not. And just like that, the guy that forged a classic painting, and the woman who knows it’s a forgery, go on the run. Handcuffed to each other, Harry and Marieke basically try each other’s last nerve while exploring rural England by train, foot, car, and coach. Apparently, Harry intends to sell his fake painting, and is keeping Marieke close by until he can make the sale. Lest she, you know, cock-blocks it.
Will Harry succeed in pawning off his painting? Or will Marieke talk some sense into this grumpy lunkhead? Will the “bobbies” and Scotland Yard catch up to them before long? Will Harry be cleared of Agachi’s murder? Or will Alastair and Ian chortle all the way to the doorstep of another master forger for one more go at this shit? Did Harry watch Alfred Hitchcock’s THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS one too many times when he decided to handcuff Marieke to himself? Can Hitch sue?
Whatever. Seems like a lot of trouble for a painting that doesn’t look all that great to begin with.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: There’s a good movie aching to break out of the intriguing thriller INCOGNITO. Unfortunately, due to some rather preposterous plot twists, that film never really materializes. What we’re left with is a quirky, somewhat offbeat film that is entertaining and engaging enough, but never manages to make the jump from being above-the-norm, to an outright good film.
There are strong performances from Jason Patric and Irene Jacob as, respectively: (1) the cold yet also sensitive Harry Donovan, who has gotten so used to forging paintings that he never develops his own “eye”; and (2) Marieke Van Den Broeck, the Dutch Rembrandt expert who is pulled into the fray unwittingly, and ends up being Harry’s moral compass. Patric and Jacob make for a very attractive couple and strike sparks together.
Of the supporting cast, Rod Steiger as Harry’s angst-ridden father, Milton, fares the best. Together with Marieke, Milton acts as Harry’s “guardian angel” against the malefic influence of Alastair and Ian. In those roles, Thomas Lockyer and Simon Chandler are suitably oily and shifty. Lockyer, in particular, is quite hissable.
In the end, INCOGNITO had the potential to be a classic Hitchockian thriller about the world of art forgery. But the inclusion of some plot twists that are just hard to swallow undermine the elegant narrative. I was going to list them, but that would further undermine the film, and I want you folks to discover it on your own. Because even with its flaws, INCOGNITO is still a reasonably gripping thriller with two beautiful leads, an unconventional premise, and a smashingly atmospheric music score by John Ottman. In fact, this film’s music does a lot towards keeping us leaning forward and hooked into the film.
If only they’d tweaked the script just a little more…
