REVIEW (TV/Film): The Bodyguard
READING TIME: 5 minutes
By 1991 it seemed Whitney Houston had already done it all: she established herself as a globally commercial superstar, a supreme vocalist and an important symbol of African American entertainers finally receiving their dues. However, she rebranded herself in the 90s by adding movie blockbuster star and producer to her already long list of accomplishments. Upon the almost 30 year anniversary since her movie debut ’The Bodyguard’'s release, it seems an appropriate time to review how the film has held up.
From the get go viewers can sense how natural the characters' interactions are with one another, which seems almost absent in hit movies of today’s time where they feel forced and melodramatic. Perhaps this succeeded because the scenes were shot without the need for complex technical filming whilst being accompanied by an uncomplicated dialogue. And despite viewing a project co-starring two entertainment megastars, the viewer may feel they can sit and watch the film in comfort as if it’s a home video, all well knowing they must await the thrills the movie is must provide too.
The film revolves around the ‘real' life of a female superstar and frequent discussions between Rachel and Kevin (the main characters) detail the struggles Rachel not being able to establish a private life, where she claims that she doesn’t have that luxury and the ability to date and always requires the security of a Bodyguard for protection from both stalkers and potential suitors. This plot helps serves a great tool in breaking the fourth wall for Houston and her female superstar peers, to showcase the unique yet constraining experience they endure. Even against their male counterparts, females did and still receive more criticism in their dating patterns which can result in obtaining a bad public image. So despite all the riches and fame that come with stardom, the well placed ‘I Have Nothing’ signifying the lack of safety, balance and unconditional love, which human beings require, is the sacrificial trade off.
“despite all the riches and fame that come with stardom ,… the lack of safety, balance and unconditional love, which human beings require, is the sacrificial trade off”
In the first scenes the main characters are immediately stand offish. Whilst this is a traditional movie plot device to provide a storyline arc, it actually performs a key role in setting up the movie’s main theme: compare and contrast. Rachel’s stubbornness has led to being surrounded by Yes Men and developing a diva attitude. Meanwhile Frank’s stubbornness means he takes the route he wants regardless of anyone’s views around him. The pairing of the two feels so natural where the movie doesn’t setup the relationship to be destiny, but instead a series of events leads to a natural cause of emotions to stir leading to romance. Furthermore, the lack of background music and flashy cinematography and allowing the dialogue to take centre stage allows the romance to play as if it would in real life, and not in a romanticised Hollywood fashion, which would otherwise not be able to heighten the realness of the situation.
As mentioned above, the director has made sure that differences and barriers is a central theme. As an example, the director successfully masters contrasting the colour, shadows and lighting in Kevin’s home whilst Rachel’s family make a getaway vacation there. During the scene where Rachel’s sister aims to make advances with Frank (as a result of her own issues of sibling rivalry and jealousy), all well knowing Rachel and Frank’s brief relationship, the director successfully contrasts their scene using cool blue and black to highlight stirring emotions of sadness and desperation from Rachel’s sister against the loyalty, power and integrity from Frank, respectively. The director also seems to intertwine a fascination of Japanese culture in the film which also ties in with the theme of difference. For example, when Rachel and Frank find themselves in the basement together and alone, and Frank’s katana (a Japanese sword symbolising a status of class, generally possessed by Samurais) is toyed around between the two, once the weapon severs Rachel's neck tie it almost symbolises the severing of class between the two characters. This could be on a surface level between colleagues but also on a deeper level between races, of which would have still stirred some controversy at the time of release since interracial dating still had a stigma in the early 1990s. Other noticeable moments of contrast, which constantly pop up to keep the movie plot moving along, is the contrast of soft sounds for long periods of time (such as those that come from rain or wildlife) to suddenly being interrupted by drills and vacuums. It does aid in helping the movie live up to its thriller theme, but it helps nail the point that this is not a purely romantic film, but also one that deals with a thriller. It's so simple yet so unfamiliar in movies of today without feeling over the top.
Overall, the film has all the necessary ingredients for a blockbuster romantic thriller/drama. But the real take away from the film is its simplistic filming and straight forward dialogue in order to showcase the reality of falling in love from an otherwise unlikely pair for more reasons than one. Also Houston’s casting is perfect in that her cookie-cutter image in real life is able to channel through her character how fame really feels. Whilst some may see the movie plot to be so seemingly similar to Houston’s actual personal life and thus not a challenge for her acting abilities, it seems this move was required for someone of her stature in order to inform the world the challenges a star faces mentally and physically, from the press, to their own love, sanity and security.
