Phenomenon *** (1996, John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall) – Classic Movie Review 3742

Director Jon Turteltaub’s emotional 1996 fantasy romantic drama proved one of John Travolta’s least successful but more intriguing Nineties movies, in which he plays a small-town garage mechanic who develops amazing mental powers.

If the movie’s ideas seem off the planet, Travolta’s acting is out of this world. Fortunately, everyone involved seems to believe every minute of it, which is its saving grace. Unfortunately, there is not much in the way of sci-fi action or special effects, though, which would have helped to jolly things up.

Travolta’s extreme reaction to Gerald Di Pego’s screenplay of Phenomenon was what eventually convinced him to make the film.‘When I read the script, I cried very hard. I threw it across the room because I was so moved by it.’

He plays car mechanic George Malley, who literally receives a bolt from the blue as a bright light descends from the sky, which transforms him into a genius with paranormal powers overnight. Yet his new-found abilities of super-intelligence and telekinesis serve only to alienate him from the rest of the community and attract the attentions of a sinister government agency.

The film’s bitter-sweet nature also attracted director Turteltaub, who had just previously helmed the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping (1995).

For the film’s more emotional scenes, Travolta drew on his own experiences, notably the death of his lover Diana Hyland in 1977. ‘You’ve got to understand that the whole script was riddled with emotion. You couldn’t get on the set without laughing or crying. The movie was so beautifully written that the emotion was one of the most effortless accesses for me.’

Also in the cast are Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall, Jeffrey DeMunn, Richard Kiley, Brent Spiner, Bruce A Young, Vyto Ruginis, Michael Milhoan, Sean O’Brien, David Gallagher, Ashley Buccille, Tony Genaro and Troy Evans.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3742

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