For Harrison Ford, the question is not what lies beneath but what lies ahead. The craggy-faced actor is at a crossroads, and the public's response to his new thriller What Lies Beneath should provide a compass. He and Michelle Pfeiffer play happily marrieds haunted by ghostly occurrences in their beautiful New England home. Although the role relies on movie-star charisma for the film's amorous marital scenes, it also requires more psychological shadings than the actor usually shows. Ms. Pfeiffer has far more footage, but Mr. Ford's role guides him in the direction of multilayered character acting.
All figures are domestic totals in millions.
As the ad campaign hammers home, his character has serious lapses. It's symbolic of his movie persona that in the two films where his character commits serious transgressions What Lies Beneath and Presumed Innocent his actions have fatal repercussions. The Ford mystique is one of reliability, respectability and trustworthiness. He's almost like Charlton Heston happily minus the granite-jawed pomposity. The new film's physical action stops short of the daredevilish stunts of his Indiana Jones adventures.