Kevin Costner Stars in This Steamy, Underrated Political Thriller That’s Now Free to Stream! [The Overlooked Motel]
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Today on The Overlooked Motel, we are reflecting on the Kevin Costner-fronted political thriller No Way Out. The film, which bowed in 1987, is a loose adaptation of the Kenneth Fearing novel The Big Clock. The tome was previously adapted for the screen under the same name as its literary counterpart in 1948 and again as Police Python 357 in 1976. All three adaptations are well worth experiencing, but for today’s purposes, we’ll be focusing on this most recent rendering. And what a rendering it is. No Way Out is a fast-paced effort that is engaging from start to finish. It features a memorable turn from Costner in the lead role and delivers a twist ending that is sure to surprise viewers in all of the right ways.
A Slow Burn To Start
The picture starts as something of a slow-burning affair. The first act is paced pretty deliberately, but it nonetheless delivers a mounting sense of unease thanks to the relationship dynamic between star-crossed lovers Tom (Costner) and Susan (Sean Young). Tom is a Navy man, and Susan is a complicated woman with her fair share of admirers. Their steamy union must remain clandestine because Susan is already entangled in an extramarital tryst with Secretary of Defense David Brice (Gene Hackman), to whom Tom has recently begun reporting as an intelligence liaison. We quickly learn that Brice doesn’t much like to share, even though he, himself, is stepping out on his spouse with Susan.
Matters ultimately heat up when Brice’s hot temper and deep-seated insecurities push him to his breaking point. When he begins to suspect that there’s another man in Susan’s life, Brice snaps and kills her in a fit of rage. He then sets out to frame her unknown lover as her killer, implicating her paramour as a potential threat to national security in the process. In a shocking twist of fate, Brice tasks Tom with heading up the investigation into Susan’s death, giving him a unique opportunity to protect his identity by flying under the radar, but simultaneously placing himself under a different kind of scrutiny.
Tom’s biggest challenge ultimately comes in the form of an undeveloped Polaroid negative found in Susan’s home. That important piece of evidence eventually plays a crucial role in the narrative and ultimately helps foster a series of intense and harrowing exchanges for old Tom.
Kevin Costner Shines
Costner brings Tom to life as a man who chooses his words carefully. His outer stoicism masks an unspoken inner turmoil that only grows more intense when he’s caught between protecting his own interests and bringing the powerful man who killed Susan to justice. Costner handles the nuance of the role with aplomb, ultimately delivering a relatable performance likely to keep the viewer invested for the duration.
The unenviable situation Tom finds himself in helps to exponentially ratchet up the tension throughout the second and third acts. The audience knows that Tom didn’t kill Susan, but we also know that he’s in deep enough that coming clean would likely only make him look more suspicious. Not to mention, he has a few secrets of his own that he’d probably like to keep close to the vest. What follows is a race against time that unfolds as Tom attempts to piece together the evidence before the appropriate parties at the Department of Defense realize that he’s the mystery man in the Polaroid negative.
Incredible Tension
Director Roger Donaldson uses the imminent revelation that Tom is the man in the photo to escalate the tension to the point of being almost unbearable. The viewer is left to lie in wait as cutting-edge (circa 1987) computer technology attempts to reconstitute the image. As the picture starts to come into focus, Tom can feel the walls closing in on him, and so can the audience. Donaldson uses intense editing and suspenseful musical stings to amplify the tautness of the situation and pull the viewer into the ordeal alongside Tom.
The buildup to the inevitable realization leads to a series of harrowing chase sequences, bouts of fisticuffs, and a satisfying number of close calls and near misses. The entire third act is rife with tension, following Tom as he’s forced to color outside the lines to maintain his innocence and hold Brice accountable for his considerable misdeeds by any means necessary.
A Shocking Conclusion
The film steadily builds to a shocking last-minute twist likely to leave viewers questioning how they feel about one key player in particular. The big reveal is likely to inspire first-time viewers to pay an eventual return visit to the flick down the road. Rewatching the film with the benefit of added context gives new meaning to certain pivotal story elements and offers up a completely different interpretation regarding many of the key details surrounding the investigation.
As for why No Way Out remains underrated after all these years, that’s anyone’s guess. The film returned a reasonable showing at the box office, pulling down more than $35 million against an estimated budget of $15 million. Even still, it has been all but forgotten by most in the decades since its release. Of course, that’s no reflection of the picture’s quality. No Way Out is an intense political thriller that features a strong showing from a capable leading man and serves up a twist likely to shock in all the right ways.
If you’re intent to track this one down, you don’t have to look very far. No Way Out is presently streaming on Tubi, Pluto, Sling, The Roku Channel, and Prime Video.
That’s all we’ve got for you on this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you would like to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram.
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