THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408040027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines
IN THE MIDST of what is perhaps the most controversial senatorial race in Virginia's history, will a movie present a clear and present danger to the Oliver North campaign?
``Clear and Present Danger,'' the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's best-selling novel about shady doings between Washington and South America, includes an American covert-action team that takes illegal action to carry out what it considers to be a good cause.
The film, which has just arrived in the nation's theaters, presents the very real question of maintaining honor, loyalty and trust in the context of an intricate, multinational puzzle. The title itself derives from the section of U.S. law that prohibits the commitment of American military power except in situations where there exists ``a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.''
The plot has nothing to do, directly, with the anti-Communist Nicaraguan rebels or with the so-called Iran-contra dealings, but it does bring up what well may be the dreaded C word to the North campaign - covert action.
The Republican nominee, who is making a nationally publicized effort to unseat Democratic incumbent Charles S. Robb, was a White House national security aide during the Reagan administration. He arranged covert arms sales to Iran and diverted millions in profits to the anti-Communist Nicaraguan rebels.
In ``Clear and Present Danger,'' the 1989 novel that has sold 6 million copies, the covert actions are taken to fight the Colombian drug cartel, but the debate over moral ambiguity is again opened - and at a time when the North camp would seemingly prefer to put this subject to rest.
``This is a film for the new political era,'' said Phillip Noyce, director of ``Clear and Present Danger.'' ``In the post-Cold War world, the influence of the president has become even greater as the United States is increasingly called upon to act as a police force to the world. This is a film that asks the question: `When is it appropriate for this powerful nation to act and what form should that action take?' ''
But did the filmmakers have North in mind as the cameras turned?
They deny it enthusiastically. But at the same time, they are making the same comparisons.
And parallels can be drawn between ``Clear and Present Danger'' and recent history. The fictional national security adviser, Vice Admiral James Cutter (played by Harris Yulin), looks like former national security adviser John Poindexter, whose convictions in connection with the real-life covert actions were overturned.
Not as clear is the role of the president, played by Donald Moffat. Moffat actually resembles George Bush. But are those jelly beans on the desk in the movie's Oval Office? Producer Mace Neufeld is quick to deny it.
``What are they, then?''
``Mixed candies,'' he answers, wryly.
``The actor was allowed to embellish the role of the president as he chose,'' Neufeld added. ``Surely, he is not playing any known president.The audience can see what they choose.''
If there is a North character in ``Clear and Present Danger,'' it is the mysterious Mr. Clark, a CIA field contractor enlisted by politicians to go into Colombia. Mr. Clark is played by the thin and wiry actor Willem Dafoe. He recruits a team of American soldiers to go into Colombia and strike the drug lords where it hurts.
The casting of Dafoe, in itself, lends a sinister air to the role - even if shades of gray abound. Dafoe has often played lowlife sleazeballs and received an Oscar nomination for playing a gung-ho sergeant in Oliver Stone's ``Platoon.'' But he also played Jesus Christ in Martin Scorsese's ``The Last Temptation of Christ.''
But is he now playing Oliver North?
``I attempted to block him out of my mind,'' Dafoe said. ``There are some elements of him, but not in a direct way. I just made Mr. Clark up on the basis of the script. He is a very mysterious man, and I like that in a character. He is a man with a very rich history, yet a history that's not explained at all.
``Oliver North is not nearly as interesting as Mr. Clark. North never made me curious. It was a pretty open and shut case. I think the newspapers kept him in the news far longer than he was interesting.''
Joaquim de Almeida, who plays a shifty lawyer for the drug cartel, puts it most succinctly: ``It is a movie about morals, not politics. Who is to say there is a connection? In real life, I saw Oliver North as a bad guy, so what happens? He's running for the Senate. Yes, the debate is brought up by the film, but who is to say what was right and wrong?''
The film features Henry Czerny as CIA hard-liner Robert Ritter who, with the knowledge of the president, sends a paramilitary force against the drug lords. When he is detected, he deserts them. Czerny, who is emerging as a new star with rave reviews for ``The Boys of St. Vincent,'' said: ``I tend to gravitate toward playing people who are caught in two different worlds. There is a villain in all of us. Biologically, we are all still hunters. The character I play thinks he is doing the right thing. He thinks he is doing what he has to do to survive.'' Mace Neufeld, the film's producer, claims that the political types in the film are not villains. ``There is no outright villain in the film, other than Ernesto Escobedo, the Colombian drug warlord. It may make you think of recent history, but it's actually just an adaptation of a novel. It's up to the audience what they take away from it. What I want them to take away is the Harrison Ford character. He's the moral center. He's the person who makes a choice - and eventually faces up to the president himself.''
Traditionally, movies come after the political fact rather than early enough to stir opinion. ``All the President's Men,'' Hollywood's 1976 depiction of the Watergate developments, was a box office hit and probably did more than all the analysts to help the public understand the probe. Noticeably, though, it came well after the events themselves. Hollywood also stayed clear of Vietnam (with the exception of John Wayne's patriotic ``The Green Berets'') until well after the ``police action'' was over.
``Clear and Present Danger'' is the third film adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel and the second time Harrison Ford has played hero Jack Ryan, a character generally thought of as the thinking person's James Bond. Alec Baldwin played the part in ``The Hunt for Red October.'' Ford took over in the terrorist drama ``Patriot's Game.''
It is Clancy, who virtually invented the techno-thriller genre, who could clear all this up for us, but he isn't talking. When last heard from, he was residing at an eight-bedroom mansion overlooking the Chesapeake Bay in Huntington, Md. He reportedly hated Hollywood's adaptation of ``Patriot Games'' and is not granting any interviews on ``Clear and Present Danger.''
Ford visited the CIA and also had access to members of the FBI and State Department. The military lent a willing hand: The movie was filmed at Andrews Air Force Base and the U.S. Coast Guard station at San Pedro, aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and in the skies above Nellis Air Force Base. Three Army Blackhawk helicopters were used.
In the book, the character of Jack Ryan doesn't even enter the narrative until about the last 100 pages. If a film is going to star Ford, clearly the character is going to be involved more than that.
``Tom (Clancy) sees all the differences between the book and the film,'' Ford said the morning after the premiere. ``I don't notice them. The novel is all over the place. I was at the CIA mainly to study how they worked, not why they worked. I wasn't there to make any political assessment. I'm aware of recent history, but I'm playing a role, not making a statement. A character who has to make moral decisions is interesting to play. I've never been interested in what goes on inside the mind of a serial killer. I wouldn't have wanted to play Hannibal Lecter. I'm more interested in good men who have to make choices.'' ILLUSTRATION: PARAMOUNT color photos
For the second time, Harrison Ford plays hero Jack Ryan, a character
thought of as the thinking person's James Bond.
Below: Willem Dafoe plays Mr. Clark, a character reminiscent of
Oliver North.
PARAMOUNT Photo
Harrison Ford, left, and Willem Dafoe star in ``Clear and Present
Danger.''
by CNB