Catch `The Saint' If You Can / Kilmer proves a master of disguises
Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 19, 1997
THE SAINT: Action thriller. Starring Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue. Directed by Phillip Noyce. (PG-13. 117 minutes.)
There isn't a contemporary film actor more crafty than Val Kilmer -- or one who reveals less of his true self. That's why Kilmer is so perfectly cast as Simon Templar, the master thief and elusive disguise artist of "The Saint," out on video.
"The Saint" places Templar in contemporary Russia, where a billionaire industrialist, played by Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija ("Before the Rain") is plotting to overthrow the democratic government and crown himself the first post-Soviet czar.
Templar's genius, like Kilmer's, involves slipping in and out of skins rapidly and offering only the slightest hint at the person who hides beneath the charade. One minute he's a South African poet, the next a poofy German homosexual; say hello to a bucktoothed balding nerd, make way for an upbeat Aussie. It's Kilmer's juiciest role to date.
Kilmer's co-star, Elisabeth Shue of "Leaving Las Vegas," plays a brainy but naive scientist whose formula for cold fusion has made her a target of Serbedzija and his thugs.
Determined to steal her secrets, Kilmer falls in love, predictably enough, and finds himself torn between physical attraction and professional duty. "The Saint" has its share of red herrings and tends to introduce details without developing them. One of the more clever tricks is the flashback that begins the film: a look at Simon Templar as a boy, imprisoned in a nasty Catholic orphanage where he engineers his first escape. That's where Simon adopts his lifelong habit of naming his aliases after Catholic saints.