Following a blackout in the office building in which he works, cost accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) is startled to discover that many people he knows no longer recall him while complete strangers address him like old friends. If that wasn't bad enough, a couple of tough guys keep trying to abduct him for a shady character called The Major.
Mirage is one of those films that is initially too clever for its own good. It comes up with an intriguing idea, then finds that it has nowhere plausible to go with it and so settles for a botched resolution that pretty much ruins everything that has gone before. Peck – never one of my favourite actors – is almost good in this one, presumably because for much of the time the script calls upon him to wear an expression of stunned bewilderment. He's supported by a pretty solid cast though: George Kennedy makes the biggest impression as Willard, a frighteningly buttoned-down heavy with a taste in sadistic violence that he delivers with a cold efficiency that is truly unnerving. His clinical ruthlessness is balanced by the cocky inefficiency of his accomplice, played by Jack Weston. Walter Matthau, immediately before he finally found stardom, plays the novice detective who helps Peck unravel the mystery before coming to a nasty end at the hands of Willard, and TV actress Diane Baker plays the love interest.
Director Edward Dmytryk chose to shoot the film in black-and-white. It was a good decision – the shades of grey constantly remind us of the state of Stillwell's near-blank and tormented mind while giving the location shots of Manhattan a brilliant immediacy that's still effective today. It's just a shame that the entire film is fatally damaged by that rubbish ending.
Mirage is one of those films that is initially too clever for its own good. It comes up with an intriguing idea, then finds that it has nowhere plausible to go with it and so settles for a botched resolution that pretty much ruins everything that has gone before. Peck – never one of my favourite actors – is almost good in this one, presumably because for much of the time the script calls upon him to wear an expression of stunned bewilderment. He's supported by a pretty solid cast though: George Kennedy makes the biggest impression as Willard, a frighteningly buttoned-down heavy with a taste in sadistic violence that he delivers with a cold efficiency that is truly unnerving. His clinical ruthlessness is balanced by the cocky inefficiency of his accomplice, played by Jack Weston. Walter Matthau, immediately before he finally found stardom, plays the novice detective who helps Peck unravel the mystery before coming to a nasty end at the hands of Willard, and TV actress Diane Baker plays the love interest.
Director Edward Dmytryk chose to shoot the film in black-and-white. It was a good decision – the shades of grey constantly remind us of the state of Stillwell's near-blank and tormented mind while giving the location shots of Manhattan a brilliant immediacy that's still effective today. It's just a shame that the entire film is fatally damaged by that rubbish ending.