Oxygen (1999)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writer:

Richard Shepard (writer)

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A masochistic cop, who hides her predilection from her cop husband, gets involved in pursuing a kidnapper nicknamed Harry for Harry Houdini...

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapper | Nail | Husband Wife Relationship | Underwear | Bald

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Maura Tierney	...	Det. Madeline Foster
Adrien Brody	...	Harry
James Naughton	...	Clark Hannon
Laila Robins	...	Frances Hannon
Terry Kinney	...	Capt. Tim Foster
Paul Calderon	...	Det. Jesse
Dylan Baker	...	FBI Agent Jackson Lantham
Olek Krupa	...	Madeline's Lover
Frankie Faison	...	FBI Agent Phil Kline
Slavko Stimac	...	Det. Jerome Jerzy
Michael Henderson	...	Greg 'Handsome' Evans
Robert Shepard	...	Sal the Bartender
Eddie Perez	...	Scary Guy
Gene Canfield	...	Joe the Cop
Christopher J. Quinn	...	Chris the Cop (as Christopher James Quinn)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | South Korea:12 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Mexico:C | Peru:18 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Abandon Pictures

Trivia:

Both Maura Tierney and Adrien Brody had to rush to finish this movie because both had other, bigger movies to film; Forces of Nature (1999) and Summer of Sam (1999), respectively.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Harry and Det. Foster are about to drive out of the tunnel two people can be seen in the crosswalk as well as a mail truck pulling into the street. In the next shot both the people and the truck are gone.

Quotes:

Harry: We could put a little show on for the feds. Right here on the table. I got cigarettes.
Madeline Foster: F*ck you.

Movie Connections:

References "Let's Make a Deal" (1963)

I liked it

I think this is a pretty good movie. Basically, Maura Tierney plays a detective who has some very big personal problems to deal with and gets sucked into a kidnapping case only to become the last hope the victim has.

I especially like the way Maura is cast as the leading role. Refreshingly, she is a real woman with very real problems. Most people probably cannot relate with the specific issues she has to deal with, but the one thing I was left with when the movie was over was that she was 100% believable. She's not some kind of "super" human like every other star in a good-guy vs. bad-guy movie. She's just a smart detective who manages to stay alive.