Death Watch

Harvey Keitel and Romy Schneider in the batty Death Watch

Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch, from 1980, is a different kettle of fish. The scenario has Harvey Keitel as a character implanted with television cameras in his eyes. Harry Dean Stanton plays a sleazy producer, a role that squanders his talents. Stanton's character enlists Keitel in a reality TV series where they exploit the plight of Romy Schneider, a woman who thinks she is dying. The script is bonkers, but there is a conviction in the direction and, particularly, Keitel's performance that somewhat redeems this opus shot in Glasgow.

Tavernier's tracking shots of a pursuit through a seedy carnival are particularly interesting, evoking a sense of menace and entrapment. However, Schneider is out of her comfort zone (Sissi, La Piscine, What's New Pussycat) playing a woman on the edge and the narrative fails to cohere around her plight. Max von Sydow shows up in the last fifteen minutes as Schneider's ex-husband and the film's deus ex machina. The ending is awkward and clunky. It is obvious that they had von Sydow for a day or two on one set and they had to tie everything up and slap 'the end' on it. 

I have always been a Keitel fan, in fact I prefer the overall arc of his career to DeNiro's, but was astounded by the conviction and intensity of his performance. Scenes that could have been laughable, like Keitel screaming in terror at being kept in a dark cell or pounding his head in frustration against some seashore rocks, have an undeniable power and fierceness. As in Bad Lieutenant and The Piano, Keitel's willingness to go all the way skirts absurdity, but ultimately pays off in terms of emotional impact. The late Robbie Coltrane makes the most of his first film appearance as a thuggish limo driver.