Director Report Card: Tony Scott (1998)

10. Enemy of the State

Supposedly, at some point in the early nineties, Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpsons conceived of a thriller based around the National Security Agency. They tried to recruit Tony Scott but he was unimpressed with the script. After partnering again on “Crimson Tide,” they manage to interest the director in the project once more. In fact, Scott was apparently already in development on “Enemy of the State” when he made “The Fan,” testing some of the visual techniques he hoped to use on his next film on that project. When the film would actually roll into production later in the decade, it would see Scott re-teaming with Gene Hackman and another performer well on his way to superstar status: Will Smith. “Enemy of the State” arrived in theaters in 1998.

Corrupt NSA official Thomas Brian Reynolds is determined to push a new security bill through congress, which will allow the organization to spy on any American citizen. When a congressman opposes the bill, Reynolds simply has him killed. The murder is caught on film by a nature photographer. After agents begin to pursue him, the photographer passes the footage to Robert Clayton Dean, a family man and labor rights lawyer. The NSA goes about discrediting Dean and he's soon on the run from the omniscient organization. Shortly afterwards, he encounters Brill, a former security expert, and they team-up to expose the entire conspiracy.

In 1998, "Enemy of the State" seemed much more like fiction than it does now. In the late nineties, the idea of the U.S. government spying on its own citizens under the guise of "protecting us from terrorism" was strictly the arena of paranoid conspiracy thrillers. (Amusingly, the NSA tried to collaborate with the filmmakers and we're disappointed the script portrayed them as the bad guys!) Now, in our post-Patriot Act, Edward Snowden world, we all just take it for granted that everything we say and do is monitored by the government. We're all so numb to the idea of our personal privacy being completely violated that we tell jokes about it. This certainly makes "Enemy of the State" one of the more prescient films of its time.

"Enemy of the State" might have been ahead of the curve over the U.S. government's willingness to spy on its own people but this doesn't mean the movie isn't ridiculous at times. The film was made during that era when many people didn't understand what computers could actually do. There's a moment where someone actually tells a computer technician to zoom-in and enhance. Now only does that work but he's then able to show angles the camera couldn't have possibly have gotten. This meant the film's technology bumps up against science-fiction at times.

No matter how realistic or ridiculous "Enemy of the State" may be the film is most effective as a thriller about a man's life being ruined. Dean seems to have a great life. He has a beautiful wife who loves him, a smart son, a huge house, and a prestigious job where he makes a difference. Yet it doesn't take a lot for it to fall apart once the NSA goes about discrediting him. His credit cards are cut off. His bank account is emptied. His name is run through the mud in the newspaper. His wife becomes convinced he's cheating on her with an old girlfriend. It's a nightmare situation anyone can relate to, everything good in someone's life turning on them. Much like "The Game," "Enemy of the State" shows us how fickle success, no matter how great, can be.

Of course, the movie mines a rich vein of paranoia to some success. After becoming a target for the NSA, Dean is discovering listening devices in his shoes and walls. He meets people that he thinks are allies, only to discover that they are spies. Once Bril – the epitome of "you're not paranoid if they're really after you" – enters the story, "Enemy of the State" exploits this idea for all its worth. He makes it seem like, no matter how much privacy we think we have, someone is always listening. You can't do anything in public and the thoughts in your head are the only truly secret information you have. Presenting this level of paranoia as totally justified is certainly a distressing idea. 

No matter how many high-minded ideas the film may have about privacy, government abuse of power, and the fragility of happiness... This is still a Jerry Bruckheimer production, directed by Tony Scott. The movie seeks to entertain more than it seeks to unnerve. As the story goes on, it bends in increasingly action-packed directions. Dean leads pursuing agents on a foot chase through a hotel, which eventually ends with him running through a crowded traffic tunnel on foot. There's a massive explosion, after Bril's base is located, that's then followed up with a elaborately choreographed car chase. Shoot-outs appear soon enough after that. All of this stuff is certainly entertaining, even if the film is perhaps more effective when focusing on the paranoid side of its premise.

Naturally, Tony Scott knows how to direct explosive action sequences like this. "Enemy of the States" doesn't feature too many of the director's sunset shots, as he prefers a gloomier, chillier visual design here. (Befitting the paranoid tone.) Yet there's still plenty of the classic Scott visuals here, mostly in the form of people in dark rooms squatting before glowing monitors. The over-the-top editing seen in "The Fan" reappears here as well. Shots of helicopters flying over the city or scenes sling-shotting between spy satellites put in appearances. The action scenes are still tightly, frantically edited, so much that a degree of shakiness is starting to work its way in. Yet the film mostly looks as stylish as you'd expect from the director at this point.

Ultimately, the push-and-pull between "Enemy of the State's" desire to be an unsettling thriller about paranoia and a crowd-pleasing action movie is its undoing. In the last act, Dean and Bril successfully turn the tables on the NSA, exposing them to the same spying techniques they use. Ultimately, the bad guys are defeated and peace is restored. For a movie with such a downbeat thesis – that the government doesn't give a shit about people's privacy – a hopeful ending like this feels inappropriate. It's also too neat from a narrative perspective, as a subplot about the mobsters Dean was trying to expose in his day job turns out to exist solely to help resolve the A-plot. A more downbeat denouncement, that continues to suggest nobody is really safe, would've been more fitting.

You can also see this divide in the movie's leading man. Will Smith is certainly believable as a family man with a loving relationship with his wife and kid. He has good chemistry with Regina King, as his outspoken missus. Yet this was Smith during the "Men in Black" era of his career, where he was still expected to toss sarcastic one-liners around during any situation. This is not such a good fit for a movie like "Enemy of the State." His frequent comedic rebuttals to Bril's extreme behavior come off as overly glib. Jokes revolving around lingerie feel especially out-of-place. Smith would eventually evolve pass his smart-ass routine but, at this point, he ends up undermining the film's darker impulses.

Tony Scott supposedly had to really talk Gene Hackman into appearing in the film. It's not hard to figure out why he'd be reluctant, since Hackman's presence makes "Enemy of the State" a stealth sequel to "The Conversation." (Which is still probably Hackman's best performance.) When showing a vintage photograph of Bril, they even use a photo from that 1974 classic. Whether Bril is literally meant to be Harry Caul or not may belong to the realm of fan theories. "Enemy of the State" certainly isn't in the same league as "The Conversation" but it's still entertaining to see Hackman return to such paranoid material. He makes Bril's eccentricities endearing and has good chemistry with Smith, even if their styles sometimes seem at odds with each other.

As much as flashy visuals, eclectic supporting casts are now a trademark of Tony Scott's films. Jon Voight underplays it as Reynolds, making the film's corrupt voice of authority as stately and official-seeming as possible. The film does an interesting thing, by casting actors best known for comedy in small supporting roles. Jason Lee brings a nice, panicky energy to his brief role as the nature photographer. Jack Black and Seth Green, right on the verge of becoming bigger stars, appear as two especially colorful NSA computer experts. Jamie Kennedy is in a similar role. I guess everyone was eager to say they worked with Gene Hackman because a lot of familiar faces are in fairly thin roles. Gabriel Bryne shows up literally for one single scene. Jake Busey and Barry Pepper are in parts that could've been played by any heavy. The movie at least makes good use of Lisa Bonet, as Will's ex-girlfriend/current partner. In just their few scenes together, you can already see some sparks between them. Which is almost certainly because Bonet can have sparks with anyone. 

“Enemy of the State” would open to strong box office and largely positive reviews. It seems to me the chase scenes and explosions pleases summer movie audiences while critics responded to the conspiracy thriller aspects. In the years afterwards, retrospective reviews have been especially kind to the film, noticing how ahead of the curve it was on not trusting the NSA and probing into themes of surveillance and paranoid. More recently, there was even an attempt by Bruckheimer to develop the premise into television series, which didn't get very far. Looking back at it, “Enemy of the State” is not quite as smart or bleak as it should be, falling short of being a truly gripping thriller. Yet, thanks to some energetic direction and a strong cast, it still proves to be a satisfying watch. [Grade: B]