Enemy of the State (1998)

What would happen if satellites, wiretaps, and the cameras all over the streets looked into one person’s entire daily life? Enemy of the State, released in 1998, works that question out in the form of a chase thriller, and seen today it is a film that foresaw the future to a chilling degree. It is the story of an ordinary lawyer who by chance gets dangerous evidence into his hands, becomes the target of state power, and is hunted. With both a fast pace and a weighty thematic consciousness, this work gave me no reason to withhold a ★4.0.

What it’s about — A lawyer hunted by the state while carrying evidence

Robert Dean, a successful lawyer, runs into an old acquaintance one day and, without his own knowledge, is handed material containing evidence of a politician’s murder. A high-ranking figure in the National Security Agency who learns of this mobilizes every surveillance resource to recover the evidence and eliminate Dean. As everything from credit card records to satellite tracking and wiretapping is brought to bear, Dean’s peaceful life collapses in an instant. Driven out of his job and home and reduced to a fugitive, he strikes back with the help of an enigmatic surveillance specialist named Brill. The structure of an ordinary citizen standing against an enormous system pulls the entire film taut.

Direction — A sense of speed that visualizes surveillance technology

Tony Scott’s characteristic fast-paced direction is the drive of this film. Mobilizing rapid editing and a variety of screen effects, he engraves the anxiety and urgency of the hunted into every corner of the screen. Most striking is the way it visualizes surveillance technology. The direction, busily moving among satellite imagery, tracking screens, and wiretapping devices, vividly conveys how an unseen power ensnares a single human. The somewhat dizzying screen transitions may divide opinion, but in transferring the confusion of the hunted directly to the audience, they are effective. The skill of rapidly weaving action and information together remains valid.

Performance — The pairing of an ordinary man and a reclusive specialist

Will Smith persuasively renders the fear and anger of an ordinary man driven steadily into a corner. As a once-relaxed lawyer loses everything and runs through the streets, he creates a figure the audience can easily empathize with. But what anchors the film’s weight is Brill, played by Gene Hackman. This figure, cut off from the world and a master of surveillance technology, is full of cynicism and wariness yet reveals a human side at the decisive moment. Hackman’s restrained performance raises the tension of the back half a notch higher. Jon Voight effectively expresses the chill of a figure who wields power for private ends.

What the film says — The fear of being unable to hide anywhere

The real fear of Enemy of the State lies not in gunfire or chases but in the fact that an individual cannot hide anywhere. The film warns how easily power can invade private life under the banner of security. What is interesting is that this work was released long before surveillance became as everyday as it is now. To that extent, the question the film raises grows sharper rather than fainter as time passes. It wears the shell of an entertainment film, but the problem consciousness held within it is by no means light.

Ratings & reception

By OMDb, the IMDb rating is 7.3. The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer is 71 percent and Metacritic is 67, earning decent praise. On release it won favor as a fast-paced entertainment thriller, but over time its insight in foreseeing a surveillance society was reappraised. The pairing of Will Smith and Gene Hackman, and the tense direction, were all well received.

Verdict

Enemy of the State is a well-made chase thriller and a film carrying a warning message ahead of its time. Tony Scott’s characteristic fast direction may divide opinion, but in conveying the desperation of the hunted it is utterly effective. The most impressive thing is that, long after its release, the question this film poses remains valid. It is a fine work that seizes entertainment value and thematic consciousness in balance.

Recommended for

• Those who love thrillers dealing with tense pursuit and conspiracy
• Anyone interested in the themes of surveillance and the invasion of privacy
• Those who want to see the acting rapport of Will Smith and Gene Hackman