The Fan

Released: 1996

Reviewed: 12.19.09
Star rating: 3 out of 5

Robert De Niro (Gil), Wesley Snipes (Bobby), Ellen Barkin (Jewel), John Leguizamo (Manny), Benicio Del Toro (Primo), Patti D'Arbanville (Ellen), Chris Mulkey (Tim), Andrew Ferchland (Richie), Brandon Hammond (Sean).

Gil is a knife salesman and obsessive baseball fan. After losing his job all Gil has left is baseball and will do anything to make sure his team wins. So when high-priced star Bobby goes into a slump Gil steps up to the plate to help him out. But after Gil and Bobby start to become friends it isn't long before Bobby realizes there is more than obsession with his new friend.

This one kicks off a bit slow with background work and character development before sneaking into plot movement. After the first 30 minutes I thought I was looking at an After School Special that was going to result in some fluffy moral lesson and some tears. Some baseball star doesn't care about the fans anymore, some fan tries to change his mind, they hug, they cry, happy ending for all. About that time little bells started going off around Gil's behavior and the next thing I knew, we had a complete nutball imploding on-screen. Delightfull!!

De Niro with his inherent intimidation did very well in his role as a psychotic fan genuinely giving the impression that anything could come next. Snips also performed well appearing like an arrogant star who isn't as arrogant as he appears. Barkin, Leguizamo and Del Toro all supported nicely delivering believeable performances.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were all nicely done and the film had nice quality. Special effects were minimal but well done. Dialogue, sound and soundtrack all contributed well to the film with good lines and enjoyable soundtrack.

Overall this was a very nicely done if somewhat simple psychological thriller. The film did a good job of misleading you at the beginning and gently easing you into the ensuing insanity. While enjoyable though, the film didn't feel very exciting until about the last 40 minutes. Put this about the middle of your Must See list if you enjoy the genre or actors. With plenty of foul language and some violence save this for the oldest teens and above.