Proximity
Rob Lowe and James Coburn star in this interesting near miss of a thriller with a good idea behind it. Lowe plays William Conroy, who is in prison for killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident. We know he is an intellectual prisoner because we see him reading1984and thinking a whole bunch. One night when he's up thinking, Conroy hears a disturbance in a nearby cell. He has, of course, heard too much and soon he's out of prison and running for his life. James Coburn ostensibly plays a victim's rights advocate, but you don't really think he's just going to sit around doing that, do you? The crux of the plot is an interesting idea, but the movie as a whole doesn't quite come off--it keeps lurching into the world of ridiculous hunches and providential timing. There are a few good chase scenes, and some surprisingly lush cinematography; Cleveland looks absolutely gorgeous.--Ali Davis