Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)

Tom Berenger plays police officer and family man Mike Keegen, who is assigned to protect socialite Claire Gregory, played by Mimi Rogers, who has witnessed a murder related to the organized crime, which of course puts her life in danger. Despite their class differences, they grow to like each other, much to the resentment of his wife Ellie(played by Lorraine Bracco) Will Tom fall in love with Claire, and can he stop the assassins out to kill her? Directed by Ridley Scott("Alien") this routine film seems like a waste of his talents, though he does imbue it with a glossy style, the story doesn't deserve such special treatment, being fairly obvious and predictable, despite a good cast. Not a bad film by any means, just a thoroughly mediocre one.

Fmovies: Solid thriller about a NYC detective protecting a rich socialite from the killer that she saw in the commission of a murder. Tom Berenger, Mike Keegan, is great as a NYC cop, sporting a very good New York City working-class class accent, being assigned on his first case as a NYC detective to keep eye-witness Mimi Rogers, Claire Gregory, alive and well to identify the murderer Andreas Katsulas, Joey Venza, of a nightclub owner Mark Moses, Win Hockings, who was a good friend of hers.

Det. Keegan falls in love with the beautiful, which is obvious to everyone watching the movie, Miss.Gregory which ends up almost wrecking his marriage as well as his job to no fault of his own under the circumstances that he was put in, the guy's only human!

With Mimi Rogers giving one of her best performances as a woman who's life is turned upside down by what she saw. And Andreas Katsulas is terrifyingly effective as the psycho killer who's out to stop Miss.Gregory from talking to the police. Very good interacting between Tom Berenger and his wife in the movie Ellie, Lorraine Bracco, on how the rigors of Det.Keegan being a cop in a big city can create havoc for his family as well as his professional life with a frightening and suspenseful ending that strikes home in more ways then one.

"Someone to watch over me" has a good story and great acting all around with Lorraine Bracco a real stand out in one of the best police thrillers of the 1980's.

Brooklyn Detective Tom Berenger is assigned to watch over socialite Mimi Rogers after she witnesses a brutal murder where a high profile Mafioso is involved. Berenger gets caught between two worlds; the upper class one he takes a liking to and the normal one (with a wife and kid) in the slums of Queens which he seems to be tiring of.

Highly stylish drama/thriller courtesy of Ridley Scott, who directs with his usual visual flair and examines the world of the wealthy seen through the eyes of a middle class voyeur and mixes in some solid suspense to boot. The drama aspect is well handled, pitting Berenger in a dire situation where he must ultimately choose between a life he's already made for himself and a life that can seem very tempting from his perspective.

Suspense is also plenty with some fantastic sequences, particularly one inside Mimi Rogers' apartment, not too unlike Dario Argento's Opera in some respects (and even beat it by a year, I think).

Tom Berenger does well in the lead, displaying easily the conflicts his character is facing, Rogers is a stunner and gives a subdued and convincing performance. The usually intolerable Lorraine Bracco gives a forceful performance, and one the whole her relationship with Berenger is not only well played out but wholly believable.

Recommended.

Someone to Watch Over Me fmovies. A working class, married cop is assigned to protect a rich socialite from a psychopath in Ridley Scott's 1988 film: what follows is a completely predictable thriller, with indifferent acting, forced local accents and a conclusion that advocates keeping guns at home. Just about the only interest comes from the fact that some of the characters, and by extension, the film itself, are supposed to be cool, so we get a reminder of what cool meant twenty years ago. Most obvious are the haircuts: bouffant for the men, perms for the ladies, although when a sequence is scored by a homeless man playing saxophone on the street, I couldn't help but smile. It's a bit scary to think that already two decades have passed since this film was made; but most movies of its time have not dated quite so badly.

We've seen the script a hundred times if we've seen it once; happily married cop assigned to stand guard over a beautiful woman, cop falls in love with woman, etc. The difference with this one is that it actually works, even though you know how the story is going to go. Berenger is solid in the lead and Bracco fantastic as the fiery wife, while Rogers is sultry in a very classy way as the other woman. Andreas Katsulas is menacing and scary as Venza, which was perfect for this part. The classical music scores add a perfect touch, and the ending is actually quite thrilling. Something about this one just clicks, making it one of the better films of the genre. 7.5 out of 10.

In Queens, Mike Keegan (Tom Berenger) is celebrating with his wife Ellie (Lorraine Bracco), his son Tommy and friends his recent promotion to detective in a precinct in Manhattan. Meanwhile, in a fancy club, the socialite Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers) witnesses the murder of the owner of the place by the powerful mobster Joey Venza (Andreas Katsulas). Mike is assigned to protect her in the night shift in her apartment in Manhattan. When Venza threatens Claire, the contact of Mike with Claire gets closer and conflicts him, dividing between the love for his family and the heat passion for Claire and the fascination for her world.

Today I have just watched "Someone to Watch Over Me" maybe for the sixth or seventh time, and every time I see this movie, I conclude that it is an underrated stylish masterpiece. Everything works perfectly in this film. The story may be not original, the conclusion is quite moralist, but there is an important and unusual approach regarding the difference of classes and consequently of worlds, which is the basis for the conflictive romance between Claire and Mike. The direction of Ridley Scott is tight and perfect, as usual, using different angles camera and magnificent photography and shadows in the night, to express the differences between the two worlds. There is one specific scene that I love, when Mike is sat with his face half illuminated in the hall of Claire's apartment, totally confused and with his feelings divided. The cast is very inspired, and in my opinion, this is the best role of Mimi Rogers, amazingly perfect as an elegant, wealthy and needy of love woman and wearing a beautiful hair style. Tom Berenger is outstanding as Mike, and Lorraine Bracco is also fantastic in the role of a simple woman and wounded wife. The music score is awesome, highlighting the three versions of the song of George and Ira Gershwin, which gives the title of the film, specially the last one with the interpretation of Roberta Flack. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Perigo na Noite" ("Danger in the Night")