Andy Garcia Movie:

Editorial Review:
A second look reveals some exit-wound-size holes in the plot, but there's nothing second-rate about the performances or the pacing of this serial-killer whodunit written and directed by Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I, The Killing Fields). Andy Garcia plays a cop whose failed marriage and recent spell with the bottle has brought him upstate from L.A to live near his half-sister (Kathy Baker) and one-time partner (Lance Henriksen). But he has barely unpacked his bags when a routine homicide call takes him to a spectacular local dump. There, amid heaps of detective-movie typewriters and colorful bags of garbage, he kicks up a severed hand. This leads him to reopen an unsolved psycho-killer file--codename "Jennifer"--that in turn reopens some old sores in the department. In the noir tradition, Garcia falls hard for his key witness, who happens to be blind (Uma Thurman, playing against the luster Pulp Fiction would Monroe-ize two years later) and in one stroke puts her life, and his career, in exquisite jeopardy. The plot weaves in and out of logic, but the dialogue track keeps you leaning in for the details. Along with the taut and suggestive work by Garcia and Henriksen (as usual, all skull beneath the skin), Jennifer 8 boasts a giddy-to-behold gargoyle performance from John Malkovich as an internal affairs cop whose head cold only sharpens the resentment he feels listening to rogue cops insult his intelligence. --Lyall Bush

Jennifer 8 [Region 2] Reviews:
Boilerplate thriller plot with brilliant dialogue
2009-09-11 - John Berlin (Garcia) has left his past behind in the big city--or so he thinks. He's gone to a smaller police department in a quiet area. Naturally, one of his first calls is to a homicide investigation at a dump and he's back with big-city crime and a case that's been haunting him.

Is a serial killer on the loose? He's the only one who thinks so. He's not just dealing with blind justice, but a blind witness as well. Helene (Thurman) can only help him with what she hears.

Can Berlin keep himself together and keep Helene safe as he tries to solve the crime? While the movie plot's weak, the dialogue could come out of a classic noir novel and some of it is brilliant. Also brilliant is John Malkovich's appearance as an Internal Affairs officer late in the film.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2009

"I remember red..." -- Uma Thurman
2009-01-17 - "I've got a bad feeling about this. And I've been doing this too long to be wrong." -- Garcia's John Berlin


There is a quiet and haunting quality to this crime mystery which begins during the opening credits and is sustained to the very end. Andy Garcia rarely gets the spotlight he deserves but his low-key yet unmistakable charisma blends perfectly with the subdued thriller elements of this engrossing whodunit. As the lonely cop who leaves L.A. for the smaller Eureka after a messy divorce almost destroys him, he really excels, and seems to completely understand that this is a mood piece more than anything. And Uma Thurman, too often the centerpiece of Tarantino's high octane and quirky films, is marvelous as a shy blind girl as vulnerable to a serial killer as she is to Garcia's attentions toward her.

John Berlin (Garcia) hasn't even clocked in when a body in the Eureka dump leads to a starling and more gruesome discovery; body parts he believes belong to one of the "Jennifers" in a serial killer's spree which has baffled law enforcement. Even his old pal, portrayed by Lance Henrikson from Chris Carter's Millenium doesn't see the connection, and the new kid on the block must battle resentment of his presence and skepticism about his investigation as he tracks a killer. Uma Thurman is wonderful as the blind Helena; the only person to have seen the serial murderer. Most of the best scenes are between she and Garcia, the score by Christopher Young and intermittent songs by artists like Lenny Welch augmenting his growing love for Helena, and fear for her life.

Kathy Baker is excellent as Berlin's big sister of sorts and old pal Erikson's wife. Garcia's cop is more like a C.S.I. that an action hero, lending a certain depth to his character. Director Bruce Robinson also wrote the screenplay for Scott Rudin's production, and while the story becomes implausible towards the conclusion, as a director, he never lets the atmosphere waver. Garcia and Thurman make a nice couple here, and the believability of their romance overcomes a few plot problems to make this a quietly terrific film. The R rating of the film stems from a couple of brief shots of Thurman topless in a bathtub to highlight her vulnerability when a killer is nearby. Today it would only be a PG-13.

The elements of snow and rain and nighttime are used to help create an atmosphere many will love. Critics had strong reactions to this film on both ends of the star rating. The chemistry between Garcia and Thurman, and a mood captured and maintained, made this one a big success as far as I was concerned. I've always had sort of an affection for it, in fact, having seen it on the big screen years ago upon its initial release. Fans of the original C.S.I. from television will recognize elements and a mood sometimes found within that show. But Jennifer Eight was filmed years before. The final shot brings the viewer back nicely to the reason they've hung around till the end. If you like to pick apart plots, you probably won't enjoy it as much as those who lean towards atmosphere. A good one for Garcia's fans to enjoy, and a refreshing chance to see Thurman at her best.

Shows Thurman's promise early.
2008-02-09 - Jennifer 8 (Widescreen Edition) This early work of Uma Thurman displays her talent. For a really early example of course there was Dangerous Liaisons. Terrific work as blind woman comfortable in familiar surroundings and helpless in unfamiliar ones.

Intelligent and Visually Gorgeous Effort
2006-11-05 - As many of my fellow reviewers have noted in their reviews, this is a very understated, and underrated, thriller in the film noir tradition. Andy Garcia's character, to me, perfectly personified a police officer who'd had too many ugly years on the job, giving him a varnish of cynicism and brusqueness that translated into impatience with his new co-workers and surprising gentleness for his new star witness. Uma Thurman was terrific as a blind student who may or may not have something to add to the possible serial killer Garcia's character has discovered. Her personification of a blind woman - the way she didn't focus her eyes, her fumbling hands - were sensitively done and, to me anyway, perfect. The scenery and camerawork are beautiful and juxtapose wonderfully with the violence and chase scenes. However, am I the only reviewer who noticed that John Malkovich plays a dual role in this movie? He is the aggressive, sarcastic IA investigator who hammers Garcia's character, but he is ALSO the mentally challenged janitor. You know, the creepy one who is in the bathroom with Uma in that scene where she thinks she's alone, undresses and gets in the tub, completely in the dark (literally and figuratively.) For sheer creepiness, that scene alone gets a 5-star rating. The rest gets 4 stars, mainly due to a couple of plot holes that are never tied up at the end. Stellar performances from Garcia, Thurman, Malkovich and the rest of them.

Double Johns
2006-02-26 - A superb thriller much maligned when first released, "Jennifer8" is first rate on all counts: acting (who plays conflicted, emotional, intelligent better than Andy Garcia? who plays sensitive yet powerful better than Uma Thurman?), directing and writing (Bruce Robinson's only directing credit...but this is the man who acted in Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet," wrote the screenplay for "The Killing Fields" and was the object of Isabelle Adjani's obsession in "The Story of Adele H").
The plot involves a serial killer, a beautiful blind woman (Uma), a Los Angeles police officer (Garcia) who, for mysterious reasons, decides to move to Eureka, California and a series of 7 murders. Director/writer Robinson keeps tight rein on all of the various plot points and also extracts truthful performances out of all.
"Jennifer8" is a must see for anyone interested in the fine art of the American thriller. It is primo entertainment: intelligent, suspenseful and adult.