FilmJudge - Capricorn One

REVIEW

Capricorn One
1978
Certificate: PG | Runtime: 121 | Director: Peter Hyams
Starring: Elliott Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, James Brolin

Astronauts Brubaker (Brolin), Willis (Sam Waterston) and Walker (O.J. Simpson) are plucked from the launch pad, moments before their ship is due to head for Mars. Taken by jet to a secret location, they are informed the spacecraft was unsafe for travel and that for the sake of the mission they should go along with a faked Mars landing. Meanwhile, journalist Robert Caulfield (Gould) is suspicious about the apparent success of the mission and delves into the mystery.

The premise of Capricorn One is an interesting one, but despite some pleasing elements the film comes across as distant and touch bland, and it certainly hasn't aged well. Many of the performances are lethargic and the film lacks that crucial sense of urgency, which means it largely fails to thrill. Much of the dialogue seems unnatural and Hyams's direction is uninspired.

Hyams wastes no time in getting to the crux of the plot, with the astronauts being whisked away within minutes of the film beginning. Indeed, the first half hour of the film is very well constructed, and highly tense. However, this early segment hints at a problem which is going to hamper the film from then on, mainly that characters frequently deliver unnatural and forced monologues which alienate the other characters and the audience. As the film develops, a twist is delivered which changes the tone, but it fails to bring any more excitement or tension. In fact, turning the film into a rather by-the-numbers chase through the desert renders it even more languid, and interest soon begins to wane. It's only really in the last 20 minutes or so when the film delivers the amount of excitement and intensity that it should do, and even then the sequences go on to long, and the ending is careless and predictable.

Directing from his own screenplay, Hyams seems rather unclear on the tone of the film. His two interlocking plots don't really work because the astronauts are not particularly interesting, and the other one involving Gould's journalist is essentially a character trying solve a mystery the audience already knows about. An over-reliance on stock footage and dated looking special effects saps the sense realism and excitement, and adds to the problem of the film coming across as distant. The dialogue also fluctuates unevenly between the aforementioned monologues and fast paced banter and witticisms, which also seem unnatural.

Of the performers, it's only Gould who stimulates any real interest for his character, and he's the only one you believe could be genuine. All three of the astronauts come across as flaccid and dull, and as Mrs. Brubaker, Vaccaro seems remarkably distant and uninterested. Hal Holbrook's Dr. Kelloway is decent, but too many of the other characters come across as over-the-top (notably David Doyle's journalist and Telly Savalas's pilot), especially when compared to the rather dull leading roles.

When Capricorn One thrills it does it very well, and when the wit seems natural it also delights. However, these occasions are rare and the film as a whole seems a confused affair, not sure whether it's making a serious point or just skimming the surface of an interesting idea.

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