AaronCapenBanner
John Schlesinger directed this thriller that stars Mathew Modine & Melanie Griffith as Drake Goodman & Patty Palmer, a young couple who buy an old house in the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco. They are trying to find tenants, and at first, Carter Hayes(played by Michael Keaton) seems ideal: seemingly wealthy, well-dressed, and well-spoken. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a cunning and cold-hearted con man who moves in but pays no rent, and proceeds to drive the other tenants out and take the house away from them legally through nefarious means. Just who is Carter, and how can he be stopped? Keaton is excellent, really making Hayes a true sociopath. Trouble is, the story gives no real explanation for his increasingly bizarre behavior, and as a consequence, it just misses, though it has its moments.
seymourblack-1
It's very unusual for a conflict between a house-owning couple and a strange tenant to provide the plot for a psychological thriller but in "Pacific Heights", that's exactly what happens. This set-up is initially intriguing but soon takes on a darker complexion as it gradually becomes apparent just how sinister and dangerous the newest occupant of the house really is. The tension then builds steadily as the conflict becomes increasingly intense and the stakes get higher.Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and his girlfriend Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) are an ambitious middle-class couple who decide to buy a Victorian house in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood of San Francisco. They both know that the property is really beyond their means, but after massaging some of the figures on their mortgage application, they soon become the proud owners of the impressive house which also needs some renovation work which they decide to undertake themselves. The financial commitment they've taken on is only sustainable if they let the two downstairs apartments and so arranging for this to be done becomes a priority.A very pleasant Japanese couple soon move into one of the apartments and among the applicants for the second one is a well-dressed, smooth-talking, charmer called Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton). Drake is so impressed by Hayes (who carries a large amount of cash with him and drives a Porsche) that he doesn't insist on him completing a credit application. Hayes promises that he'll pay six months rent in advance and that he'll arrange for this to be done by wire transfer. Before any money is actually paid, Hayes moves into the apartment and after a great deal of stalling, refuses to pay any rent.Things get progressively worse when Hayes moves a friend in and starts hammering and drilling loudly at all times of the day and night. The couple get anxious about what's being done inside the apartment and the Japanese couple move out because the disturbance they suffer through the nights is intolerable, as is the plague of cockroaches which suddenly infests their apartment. Drake stops Hayes' drilling by cutting off the electricity but this action gets him into trouble with the police and later, his efforts to get Hayes evicted also fail because the law always seems to be on the tenant's side.A series of further provocations continue to pile pressure on the couple whose relationship suffers as Drake starts to drink too much and Patty suffers a miscarriage. They feel totally powerless until some action that Patty takes gives her an opportunity to get rid of Hayes but what happens later isn't necessarily what she would've hoped for or expected.Michael Keaton is a tremendous villain and utterly convincing as the psychopathic scam artist who's an expert at acquiring properties by unorthodox means and at very favourable prices. Melanie Griffith also does really well as Patty who is far more rational and intelligent than her partner and who also provides some of the most enjoyable moments of the movie when she decides to turn the tables on Hayes. Matthew Modine also gives an energetic performance as the hot-headed, impulsive and not-very-bright Drake whose actions regularly do more harm than good."Pacific Heights" is entertaining, less predictable than many thrillers and definitely not "run of the mill". It's these qualities together with the performances of Keaton and Griffith that ultimately make this such an enjoyable movie to watch.
PeterMitchell-506-564364
This is one of those 90's psychological thrillers I could watch and never get sick of. I've probably watched it twenty times through, and loved it as much as the last watch. Keaton is one main reason, in a trademark performance, probably his best, Nightshift and Clean And Sober, contenders. This is a smart sleek thriller, thanks to a different and well formulated story that will appease the hunger of thriller fans. A young couple, (Modine and Griffith-equally yery good) so much in love, become landlords, renting out this two story Victorian house, to some suitable trusting tenants, to keep money in flow. Only one, they rent it to, is Keaton, a manipulative con man/psychopath, with a secret life and history of scre..ng women over, the starting scene, sees him getting his just desserts, by two heavies, wielding baseball bats, that work him over. Tracking this house down, he obtains an apartment by lying and conning his way into in, masquerading as an applicable client, flashing notes like they were silver, smooth talking them, in that ever likable Keaton voice, we love. He has much more in store for this couple, as a sick twisted game of Keaton's begins, with some help too. His underlying intention is to literally drive them + the remaining tenants, out of this house, which as Modine drunkenly states, ending a sentence at the viewer's humorous expense, "... this SOB just think's it's business as usual". Modine, his character having violent tendencies, when under pressure, that brings on some bad cursing (he's great here, frighteningly angry in his flare ups) plays right into Keaton's hands. One scene, has Keaton call the cops, then walk up to Modine's door, with flowers in apology, for all the stress and heartbreak he caused, that led to Griffith had a miscarriage. Sure enough, he's met by a punch from Modine, that sends him tumbling down the stairs, and crashing through the front door out onto the house path where Modine just goes radge on him, and is, as Keaton beautifully planned it, arrested. Not knowing how Keaton's gonna go about his intentions, on the first view of this film, is what makes it a stylishly good thriller. This poor couple who's life is turned into a sheer nightmare of landlord hell, where they reach utter depths of despair, really gets you angry, you wanna put the knife into Keaton, as does the other tenants like Mako, a soft sided character here, who practices tai chi on his balcony, it's reminds of his kung fu movie playing days. He also doesn't like arse...es (Keaton and co) hammering at all hours of the morning, where he and his misses are forced to leave after his cupboards become inundated with cockroaches, who are the stars of another unnerving moment. One fine Keaton moment has him just sitting in his Porsche in the garage, just watching Griffith, his eyes remaining fixed on her, even after she's noticed. She went down to change the lights but Keaton saved her the trouble, by flashing a torch through his windshield. He's not just a conman of frightening i.q. He's a real psycho too. His demise too was grand, in how he bought it, a happy ending for our two, ensuing. PH was one of the hip thrillers of 91, solid, hard to fault. It's a thriller, that knows where it's going, it's building climax, quite intense, where we learn just how pi...d off this psycho gets, when he's really angry. A definite watcher.
