One of Ray's best
Not all cops have to be corrupt, disgruntled, or suicidal. Sometimes all they want is a little love. “Unlawful Entry” finds Ray Liotta as just such a bachelor, trying to find his Mrs. Right in the big city of L.A. It would be a romance of sorts..if not for the crazy.
Another addition to the “killer in the house” genre, the film opens with a home invasion- a thief holds a knife to the throat of Karen (Madeleine Stowe) while husband Michael (Kurt Russell) can only look on powerless. The thief escapes, leaving both shaken.
The event leaves them reeling for some home security, which officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) is more than willing to provide, even getting a bathroom panic room. Before long he has insinuated himself into their lives and developed more than a little crush on Karen.
Michael, a developer opening a club in an area with a high crime rate, is also thinking about bringing Pete on for security. Everything is going well until Pete gives him an opportunity to put his talk of revenge into action.
The script works well here at disguising Pete’s brutality behind the blue and the badge. Karen can easily side with him as he beats on L.A scum, while Michael seems the bleeding heart liberal. Michael’s fear of Pete springing from his own emasculation also seems possible.
But Liotta brings a wonderful study of duality to Pete, an officer friendly who’s into community outreach but who also harbors major resentments and darker intentions. A crafty man who can ingratiate with a smile and terrify with a ruthless glare, his dangerousness is always evident.
What follows is stuff we’ve seen before- Pete tries to get closer to Karen, Michael tries to prove his paranoia about Pete is justified, Pete tries to make life hell for Michael to push him away, and Karen finally gets on to the real plot.
I still found myself riveted by this one though- the idea of a cop with power over you makes for an unnerving nightmare and director Jonathan Kaplan plumbs the possibilities and is able to explain enough of the plot away to make it all seem plausible enough.
Liotta is the juice though. A lecherous sicko with the police department at his disposable, it’s fun to watch he and Russell needle each other. Stowe is given the more thankless role of friendly but oblivious wife but does what she can with it.
In the end, while predictable and all over the place with its messaging on guns, the film’s thriller take on home security and being able to trust your neighborhood policeman can be taken just seriously enough for popcorn excitement- it’s a nightmare with a rousing climax.