The Onion Field

Harold Becker's The Onion Field (1979) is another solid crime film. This adapatation of Joseph Wambaugh's non-fiction book, depicting a pointless murder and its nasty fallout, is a really sour, affecting drama.

In 1963, Los Angeles Detectives Karl Hettinger (John Savage) and Ian Campbell (Ted Danson) make a routine traffic stop that goes badly awry. Their targets are petty crooks Greg Powell (James Woods) and Jimmy Smith (Franklyn Searles), who get the drop on the cops, kidnap them and murder Campbell, with Hettinger narrowly escpaing. Powell and Smith are quickly apprehended, but Hettinger is forced to relive the incident time and again - through trial testimony, interviews and nightmares - causing him to mentally unravel. The two criminals find ways to manipulate the courts, trying to worm their way off death row.

The Onion Field draws comparison with In Cold Blood, not the least in its duo of perfectly-matched accidental killers, but is even more bleak and angry. Karl's slip into kleptomania and near-suicide makes for disturbing viewing; only his very patient wife (Dianne Hull) keeps him from a complete collapse. More disturbing still, however, is his colleagues' eagerness to judge him. While an older cop initially sticks up for Karl, his superiors coldly denounce him a coward, exacerbating his fragile mental state. The question of what he could (or should) have done is ignored.

Most damning of all is the depiction of Warren-era judicial liberalism. Powell reads a few law books in jail and finds it shockingly easy to bilk the criminal justice system. He rigs the game, using technicalities to examine sympathetic witnesses and stay his execution, while manipulating the initially-reluctant Jimmy into changing his story. Greg's web of deceit reminded this viewer of 10 Rillington Place and Zodiac: one downside of a free society is that some clever criminals can escape (or at least delay) justice. After this film, a viewer wonders if Dirty Harry has a point.

Becker's direction is subdued, allowing the violent actions and seedy locales to speak for themselves. The kidnapping and murder is a horrifying scene for its lack of stylization, a tense build-up leading a tragic, stupid mistake. (Powell's misinterpretation of the Lindbergh Law leads him to believe kidnapping is a capital crime.) The film's second half drags on a big long, focusing too much on the crooks and not enough on Karl, but it remains appallingly fascinating. Eumir Duodato's subdued score is perfect, making nice use of a recurring bagpipe theme.

John Savage (The Deer Hunter) perfectly captures Karl's precipitate fall from bright-eyed cop to haunted survivor. James Woods is stellar: his portrayal of the short-tempered, crafty Powell is electrifying, in a role that sadly typecast him as a creep. Franklyn Searles's wimpy desperation is a perfect counterpoint to Woods's flamboyance. Dianne Hull does nice work as Karl's steady wife. Christopher Lloyd (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) has a tiny bit and Ted Danson makes a strong impression.

The Onion Field is another fine true crime film. Its bitterness and despair aren't easily forgotten, raising some disturbing questions about justice and personal guilt.