Framed (1990)
(In French, On Cable TV, October 2021) There’s an amiable nature to Framed that makes it hard to dislike even if it’s not that great a thriller. A made-for-HBO comic suspense set against the underworld of art forgery, it’s a film that has Jeff Goldblum as a master forger, but one who ends up in prison after possibly being betrayed by his girlfriend, and who gets sucked back into the racket upon being released from prison. Kristin Scott Thomas is often cute as the potentially traitorous girlfriend (a rather rare comic role), while some colourful supporting characters quickly make the protagonist understand that he’s stuck between mobsters, businessmen, police officers and other shady characters. The ex-girlfriend has another score in mind, the FBI wants evidence to lock up the girlfriend and the mobster wants to marry the girlfriend. Anyone would walk away, but there are, naturally, a few complications. Framed decides to go soft on the laughs—there are a few funny sequences (specifically during the wedding), but the film generally underplays the comedy. The result is a more subtle tone than usual, but one where it’s easy to miss the chuckles if you’re not paying attention. The effect of such a soft-pedalled approach is that the film often feels as if it’s not reaching its full potential. The eccentric characters seem held back from being truly funny, and even the comic situations are handled with restraint. It’s not necessarily a bad choice, as the result does often feel more respectable than a broader film would have been. But it does make Framed a rather discreet film—fit to fill an evening’s entertainment, but not necessarily convince viewers to tell others.