Nina's alibi

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Movie
German title Nina's alibi
Original title Her alibi
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Bruce Beresford
script Charlie Peters
production Keith Barish
music Georges Delerue
camera Freddie Francis
cut Anne Goursaud
occupation

Nina's Alibi (Original title: Her Alibi ) is an American crime comedy from 1989 with Tom Selleck in the lead role. Directed by Bruce Beresford , the screenplay was written by Charlie Peters .

action

Phil Blackwood is a successful crime novelist who has been in a creative crisis for two years, so that his publisher and best friend Sam is restless and is slowly demanding another bestseller from him. He often observes court cases that are supposed to inspire him to write thrilling detective novels. Blackwood gets to know the Romanian circus artist Nina Ionescu, who is accused of murdering one of her compatriots. The author finds her attractive and is convinced that she could be his new inspiration and that her case is the subject of a new detective novel. In order to get in contact with Nina, he visits her in custody and pretends to be a priest so that he can be allowed to see her. He has a dictionary with him so that he can communicate with her in Romanian, but it turns out that she speaks his language very well. She only pretends to the police that she doesn't understand anything. She makes it clear to him that she comes from a communist country and has no religion . So she would have nothing to confess , since she also did nothing. Blackwood for his part now makes a confession and reveals that he is not a priest at all , but just wanted to get to know her and help her.

Convinced of her innocence, he gave her an alibi through his statements : she was his secret lover and had spent the night of the murder with him. The police are skeptical, but Nina is allowed to leave the custody. So both have to play lovers in front of the police and Nina live with Blackwood. Little does he know that his new girlfriend is being threatened by Romanian secret agents who are monitoring her.

Blackwood shows Nina his little villa, which is outside the city, whereupon she realizes that he must be very rich - since she inevitably compares with the circumstances from which she comes. In the evening Lieutenant Frank Polito comes by to talk to Blackwood, he leaves no doubt that he does not believe him and that Nina is a cold-blooded murderer. He tells Blackwood that he is also in danger. This argument makes sense to Blackwood, of course, but he definitely cannot admit it.

Nina wants to secretly leave his house at night, but when she notices that she is being monitored, she changes her mind. The next day she wants to go to town with Blackwood. When she nearly runs him over with his car, it occurs to him that Lieutenant Polito might be right. He observes everything she does with suspicion. Meanwhile, the Romanian secret service is secretly searching Blackwood's house.

Phil Blackwood feels very comfortable around Nina and writes his new story every evening, which makes his publisher very happy. Nina also feels safe in Phil's presence and falls in love with him, although she keeps some secrets to herself. In particular, he is not aware of her circus past and he considers it a murder when she accidentally hits him with an arrow. When she then drives him to the hospital himself, he has the impression that he has to make his will, the journey is so fast and risky. Back home, he talks to his publisher Sam, who, however, has concerns that he could be the next victim after his friend. He finally speaks to Nina too: who she is, where she comes from and whether she had committed the murder, but she doesn't answer and just walks away. She returns with a rose as a present and they both admit their affection and spend the night together.

Shortly afterwards there is an explosion in Phil's house , in which he is fortunately only slightly injured. It is not certain whether it was a bomb or just a leaking gas pipe. Both find diversion at a family party where Phil introduces his new girlfriend. Unexpectedly, she gives a demonstration of her circus talent and saves Phil's nephew, who climbed onto the roof of the barn and did not dare go down.

But Phil keeps asking himself the anxious question: Is the shady beauty a cold-blooded murderer and he her next victim? This is how she prepares dinner for the family, but does not eat any of it herself. When the cat suddenly dies, everyone thinks the food was poisoned and they have their stomachs pumped out in the hospital. Meanwhile, Nina finds Phil's book and reads it. She discovers that she seems to be just a character in his story. Even though he says he is serious, she leaves him.

Phil tries to shed light on Nina's past with the help of friends. He finds out that her parents are in America too, but they've been in hiding since last week. Both are well-known circus artists and do not want to return to Romania, so the Romanian secret service is hunting them down. Phil tries to find Nina and goes to a meeting of circus clowns. He hopes that she will be there and can actually find her, but the secret service is there too and is following them. While Phil is fighting one of the men, Lieutenant Polito arrives with his men and arrests the Romanian secret agents.

Nina can now reassure Phil, because it wasn't she who killed the student, but one of the people from the secret service. They did not shy away from murder because this was the way they wanted to get Nina and her parents to return to Romania. As a Romanian citizen, America would have sent her back to her country if she had committed a criminal offense. Nina happily drives back to his house with Phil.

background

The film was shot in Baltimore . It grossed approximately $ 18.7 million in US cinemas . Nina's Alibi premiered in the USA on February 3, 1989, while it was first shown in German cinemas on August 24, 1989.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times of February 3, 1989 that the film was so bad that the viewer looked at the watch and shook it - worried that it might stop. He is a "desperate bankruptcy of the imagination and the mind" in which Tom Selleck seems lost. The plot is filled with "groaning bad" moments; the resolution of the story is arbitrary and pointless.

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film was a “mixture of crime comedy and love story, which only occasionally offered entertainment with a parody touch”. He mainly uses "flat, bold gags".

Cinema magazine wrote that the film offered some laughs, but that the " screwball comedy attempt" remained "tame and unimaginative" for long periods.

At Kino.de the critics judge: “Funny crime comedy with subtle sex appeal by supermodel Paulina Porizkova and Tom" Magnum "Selleck. Director Bruce Beresford ("Criminal Hearts") amusingly plays with the storyline of the novel by the crime writer and superimposes it on what is happening on the screen. The resulting comic situation and the charming game of the stars [...] inspire. "

Awards

Paulina Porizkova was nominated for the worst actress for the Golden Raspberry in 1990.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Filming locations on Internet Movie Database , accessed February 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Box office / business for Her Alibi, accessed December 11, 2007
  3. ↑ Release dates on Internet Movie Database , accessed February 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ Roger Ebert Review by Roger Ebert on suntimes.com, accessed December 11, 2007
  5. ↑ Nina's alibi in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed on December 11, 2007.
  6. ↑ Film review on cinema.de, accessed on December 11, 2007.
  7. ↑ Film review on kino.de, accessed on February 22, 2014.