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Jennifer 8
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Wikipedia article
'Jennifer 8' is a 1992 American thriller film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Andy Garca, Uma Thurman, and John Malkovich.
Plot
Former Los Angeles policeman John Berlin is teetering toward burnout after the collapse of his marriage. At the invitation of an old friend and colleague, Freddy Ross, Berlin heads to rural northern California, for a job with the Eureka police force. Instead, Berlin rankles his new colleagues, especially John Taylor, who was passed over for promotion to make room for Berlin.
After finding a woman's severed hand in a garbage bag at the local dump, Berlin reopens the case of an unidentified murdered girl, nicknamed "Jennifer", which went unsolved despite a full-time six-month effort by the department. Berlin notes an unusually large number of scars on the hand, as well as wear on the finger-tips, which he realizes came from reading Braille, determining that the girl is blind. He begins to believe the cases are related. Berlin does his best to convince Freddy and his fellow officers of his suspicions, but Taylor and police chief Citrine refuse to believe that the hand found at the dump is in any way connected to the other cases.
After consulting his former colleagues in Los Angeles, Berlin discovers that in the previous four years, six women, most of them blind, have either been found dead or are still missing, all within a 300-mile radius of San Diego. He becomes convinced that "Jennifer" was the 7th victim and the girl whose hand was found at the dump is "Jennifer 8", or victim #8. While investigating the links between the dead and missing blind girls, he meets blind music teacher Helena Robertson, determining that her roommate Amber was the eighth victim. Berlin becomes obsessed with the case, despite an almost complete lack of hard evidence, and becomes romantically involved with Helena, who resembles his ex-wife.
After an attack on Helena, Ross accompanies Berlin on a stakeout at the institute where Helena lives in a dorm, after leaving Helena with Ross' wife Margie. When they see a flashlight shining on the same floor as Helena's apartment, Berlin investigates and is knocked unconscious by the killer, who then shoots and kills Ross with Berlin's .32 pistol. A grueling interrogation of Berlin by FBI special agent St. Anne ensues. St. Anne makes clear to Berlin that he figures him for Ross's murderer, but also inadvertently reveals information which helps Berlin realize that Sgt. Taylor is the true killer. Berlin tells St. Anne and Citrine who he believes the killer to be, but his deductions are met with disbelief. Berlin is arrested for Ross's murder, but is bailed out by Margie, who does not believe that Berlin is the killer.
Upon making bail, Berlin returns to Margie's house only to learn that Margie has taken Helena back to the institute. Fearing that Helena and Margie are in danger, Berlin rushes to the institute, but fails to arrive ahead of Taylor, who breaks in and chases Helena through the dorm. Finally catching up to her, Taylor is shocked to discover that the woman he'd been pursuing is actually Margie. She shoots Taylor dead, avenging her husband and closing the case.
Cast
* Andy Garca as Sergeant John Berlin
* Uma Thurman as Helena Robertson
* Lance Henriksen as Sergeant Freddy Ross
* Graham Beckel as Sergeant John "J.K." Taylor
* Kathy Baker as Margie Ross
* Kevin Conway as Chief Citrine
* John Malkovich as FBI Special Agent St. Anne
* Perry Lang as Travis
* Nicholas Love as Bisley
* Thomas J. Hageboeck as Max
* Bob Gunton as Director Goodridge
* Lenny Von Dohlen as Blattis
* Bryan Larkin as Bobby Ross
* Stephen Piemonte II as Trimble
Production
The film was shot in Eureka, California, and Trinidad, California, as well as in Vancouver, British Columbia at Riverview Hospital and at London Heritage Farm. The dump scene was filmed in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Scenes were also shot on the Fishing Vessel Duke. The Marine Garage in Steveston also makes a brief appearance. John Berlins Andy Garca farmhouse was shot on location at Jackson Farm in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. The film's sets were designed by the art director Richard Macdonald.
Bruce Robinson later said that the film had been hurt by studio interference: "There were four different heads of studio on that movie, they all wanted different things. The worst thing happened before we made the movie and that was having Andy (Garca), great guy that he is, on the movie. I didn't write it for a handsome young lead, I wrote it for a shagged out old cop like Gene Hackman or Al Pacino (...) The problem is the moment you see Andy Garca and Uma Thurman on screen together you think, "'That ain't bad. A couple of romantic leads, that's nice'." The whole point was that he was this fucked guy; he was Rod Steiger if you like."
Reception
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 37%, based on 19 reviews, and an average rating of 5.2/10.Produced on a $20 million budget, the film grossed $11,390,479 at the box office, making it a financial failure. Robinson, who made the film in an attempt to establish himself in Hollywood, allegedly vowed to never direct again, until he made 'The Rum Diary' in 2011, which became another critical and commercial failure.
References
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