No Way Out



No Way Out (1987) is a thriller starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman and Sean Young, about a U.S. Naval officer who is falsely accused of murder. The supporting cast includes Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Fred Thompson, Iman and Brad Pitt in his first film role.

Lt. Cmdr Tom Farrell (Costner) is on a Pentagon tour after some at-sea heroics bring him to the attention of Defense Secretary David Brice (Hackman), who shows an interest in grooming the up-and-coming officer for things political. His mistress, Susan Atwell (Young), is attracted to Farrell in other ways. When Brice discovers that she is cheating --but not with whom -- he flies into a rage and accidentally murders her.

Brice's aide, Scott Pritchard (Patton), decides that the best way to cover up the affair is to blame Atwell's death on a Soviet mole, stirring up a hornet's nest in the Pentagon as they try to discover his identity. Their best clue is a damaged Polaroid photograph that is given to the image processing team to enhance. Naturally, Farrell knows the photo is of him, which is ironic considering he's been appointed the investigator of the murder. He thus sets out in a desperate race against time and Pritchard's growing suspicions to prove that Brice is the real killer so that he'll call off the investigation. But what if there really is a mole?

No Way Out is an updated remake of the 1948 film The Big Clock, starring Ray Milland, which in turn was based on the novel of the same name by poet and novelist Kenneth Fearing. The Big Clock is set in the New York publishing world rather than the Pentagon, and thus does not include the Soviet mole part of the plot, but the rest of the plot points are basically the same.


 * Artistic License Geography: At one point, Farrell eludes his pursuers by taking the Metro as it goes through Georgetown. Very exciting and dramatic, except that the Metrorail system doesn't go anywhere near Georgetown. The Metro station pictured in the movie looks nothing like the actual Metro stations, either.
 * Auto Erotica: Farrell and Atwell have sex in the back of a limo.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Zig Zagged Trope.
 * Bury Your Gays: See Depraved Homosexual, below.
 * Depraved Homosexual: Pritchard, who has apparently been harboring an Unrequited Love for Brice.
 * Deep-Cover Agent: The Soviets are suspected to have a deep cover mole in the Pentagon, and this is what helps set off the Witch Hunt. As it turns out, the suspicions are correct.
 * Detective Mole: It turns out that all three main characters involved in the investigation are guilty of a crime.
 * Detective Patsy: Subverted -- Farrell knows that he is a patsy because he knows who really killed Atwell.
 * Enhance Button: One of the more Egregious examples, with the Race Against the Clock based on the time it will take to produce a useful image.
 * Framing the Guilty Party: Used twice, with multiple layers each.
 * Have You Told Anyone Else?: When the Enhance Button technician reveals Farrell's secret to Pritchard, this exact exchange takes place, followed immediately by You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.
 * Hired to Hunt Yourself: Farrell
 * The Killer in Me: Farrell isn't guilty of the murder, but he is guilty of something else.
 * The Mole: Zig Zagged Trope, see Red Herring Mole.
 * Only a Flesh Wound: Averted - Farrell takes a knife wound to the forearm courtesy of some thugs and is noticeably impaired by it.
 * Opera Gloves: Atwell in the party scene where she meets Farrell and falls for him.
 * Naked in Mink: Pulled off by a drunken Atwell in an apartment hallway.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Farrell, in an attempt to buy time, tells the Enhance Button technician that he's the one in the photo. Said tech gets a conscience attack and tells Pritchard, blowing Farrell's cover and getting himself shot for his trouble.
 * Pretty in Mink: Notably in the limo sex scene.
 * Race Against the Clock: Thanks to the agonizingly slow Enhance Button, Farrell knows almost to the second how long he has before he's implicated. He manages to buy himself some extra time by convincing the guy running it to mess with the parameters.
 * Red Herring: The hunt for the Soviet mole.
 * Red Herring Mole: Also played with; see Twist Ending.
 * Red Scare: The 80's Pentagon is of course ripe for this; Pritchard specifically discusses how they've long suspected that there is a mole, so it'll be conveniently believable as a cover story.
 * Smithical Marriage: Parodied and lampshaded -- Farrell and Atwell go by "Smyth" during their romantic getaway.
 * Stairwell Chase: Farrell vs. Pritchard's goons. One goon gets a fire extinguisher in the face, while Farrell gets a knife wound.
 * Stocking Filler: Atwell in the limo sex scene, with her black stockings being peeled off by Farrell.
 * Twist Ending:
 * Viewer-Friendly Interface: Tied to the Enhance Button, of course.
 * Witch Hunt: How do you get the entire Pentagon turned upside down in the hunt for a nonexistent killer? Call it a Red Scare!
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Pritchard executes the Enhance Button technician in cold blood once he reveals the identity of the supposed "killer". Since this also leads him to realize Farrell's role and likely intent, he next sends his goons after the latter.