Oktober (British Telefilm)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Telefilm: C+
Are drug companies becoming the new villain in
movies? In the Harrison Ford version of
The Fugitive (1992), the villain and not the company is the scapegoat,
but it is much worse in The Constant Gardener (reviewed elsewhere on
this site) even though the film does not go far enough. Stephen Gallagher took his hit novel a few
years ago and turned it into a teleplay, then directed it. Oktober (1998) is about a man named Harper
(Stephen Tompkinson) who discovers his bloodstream has the main element for a
biological weapon inside it. Now, they
are after him.
Though not like The Fugitive or the underrated
Christopher George series The Immortal, his plight and pursuit is interesting,
but Gallagher gets too caught up in surreal moments that eventually throw off
the TV movie and do in everything good it has going for it. Like so many Science Fiction thrillers of
the time, it gets too bogged down in some “virtual reality” and never
recovers. That takes the edge from
anyone after him or his friends, as well as inoculating blame of what entity
poisoned him in the first place. Too
bad, because this has some interesting moments.
The 1.33 X 1 image may be soft and lacks detail here and
there, but it has its moments and that includes solid color often. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no real
surrounds, but is not bad. Extras
include text on Gallagher (Bio/Filmography) and production diary notes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
