Patty Hearst

Writer/director Paul Schrader's obsession with violence, sex, and religion has resulted in some good movies as a writer (Taxi Driver, The Yakuza), and some poor films as a director (Cat People, American Gigolo). Written by Nicholas Kazan, and directed by Schrader, Patty Hearst falls somewhere in between these earlier efforts. Natasha Richardson delivers a compelling performance as heiress Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. In an eerily surrealistic montage, Patty's two-month ordeal in a closet is delivered in such a way as to strongly suggest that she was, indeed, brainwashed. Taking the name of Tania, Hearst joins the SLA. Schrader convincingly re-enacts the infamous bank robbery, the grueling shootout at the SLA stronghold (which Patty and her cohorts watch in horror on a motel room TV set), and the eventual capture and trial--ending with a scrolling epilogue about Patty's eventual Presidential pardon, and the current status of the other key figures in the drama. Although the rhetoric of the SLA sounds incredibly trite ("Death to the fascist insect that preys on the people" is a typical refrain), the actors are frighteningly believable, as is the whole movie. Recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—June 7, 2011—MGM, 103 min., R, $19.98—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1988's Patty Hearst features a good transfer and Dolby Digital sound. DVD extras include trailers. Bottom line: a welcome DVD debut for Schrader's solid bio-pic.]