Fear X

Fear X is a 2003 psychological thriller film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The first film to be produced from one of Hubert Selby Jr.'s original screenplays, its eventual box-office failure would force Refn's film company Jang Go Star into bankruptcy. Refn's financial recovery was documented in the 2006 documentary The Gambler.

Plot
Harry Caine obsessively investigates the murder of his pregnant wife, Claire, who was killed alongside a DEA agent at the mall where he works as a mall cop. Caine's co-workers support him but express concern when he becomes aggressive with customers. He is kept up at night by visions of his wife walking toward an empty house in his neighborhood. The police question Caine before showing him an extremely blurry photo of the man they claim is his wife's killer.

While combing through security footage given to him by a co-worker, Caine witnesses her murder and becomes convinced that the empty house contains answers. He sneaks in and finds only a couple of boxes, from which he steals a roll of film. Developing the photos, he is shocked to realize that they were taken in a town in Montana he visited with Claire called Morristown. He drives there and checks into the hotel where he and Claire stayed, then visits the locations he spotted in the photos. This leads him to a diner, where he asks a waitress about one of the women in the pictures, claiming that they have a mutual friend. He is confronted by a police officer, who takes his information and asks why he is trying to find the woman.

The cop notifies a fellow officer named Peter of Caine's presence, and Peter rushes home to check on the safety of his child. Concerned by his behavior, Peter's wife – the woman from the photo – asks what is going on; he tells her that Caine is someone who was involved in an old case and asks her to visit her sister with their child. He then calls his superiors together and tells them that Caine is in town.

It is revealed that Peter is part of a secret organization within the police force that assassinates corrupt officers across the United States. While on a mission to kill a corrupt DEA agent, Peter accidentally shot Claire, which has haunted him ever since. Peter's bosses offer to kill Caine for him, but he insists on doing it himself. Caine receives a call from Peter, who claims to be able to help him find the woman in the picture. Peter lures him to another room in the hotel and questions him. Both men on edge, they leave the room just as Caine realizes that Peter is his wife's killer.

Peter shoots and wounds Caine. Wracked with guilt, he hesitates before firing again, which allows Caine to run to the elevator, mirroring a vision he had earlier that day. Caine takes the elevator down and has the opportunity to get off on a lower floor, but upon seeing his own blood, flies into a rage and returns to Peter's floor, stumbling out of the elevator into complete darkness.

Caine wakes up on a hospital bed in the police station, confessing to Peter's murder. One of the officers taking his statement is called out of the room by the cop from the diner, who tells him something that visibly frightens him. He returns to the room and informs Caine that the police found no body or evidence of any kind, then cryptically tells him that he cannot change what has already happened and must focus on the future. Caine is released, and the cop from the diner drives him to a crossroads, providing him with a new car and all of his luggage. Caine dumps all of the photos and clues about his wife's murder on the side of the road, driving away.

During the end credits, a number of security camera perspectives are shown, dividing the screen into six evenly placed rectangles. During the credits, some of them switch places, other times spots where a camera's vantage point was shown stays black. The camera views are shown in the background during the entire end credit session, with two perspectives briefly showing the scene of the crime, as watched by Harry during the film. In the very last install of the movie, and with the disclaimer presented, only one camera perspective is shown in the top left corner of the screen. It is the actual killing of Caine's wife. Except, it is decisively different from the perspective shown in the movie. Here, the killing happens not accidentally, but after an obvious moment of situational evaluation by the killer.

Cast

 * John Turturro as Harry
 * Deborah Kara Unger as Kate
 * Stephen McIntyre as Phil
 * William Allen Young as Agent Lawrence
 * Gene Davis as Ed (as Eugene M. Davis)
 * Mark Houghton as Diner Cop
 * Jacqueline Ramel as Claire
 * James Remar as Peter
 * Amanda Ooms as Prostitute

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on reviews from 36 critics. The site's consensus states: "As hazy, unsettling, and fleetingly insubstantial as a dream, Fear X will lose many viewers in its ambiguities, but is partly propped up by strong work from John Turturro." On Metacritic, the film earned a score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Though the film itself has received mixed reviews, the majority praise John Turturro's performance. LA Weekly says "Turturro ... never wavers in his commitment to a role that deprives him of nearly all his actorly tools. (He) keeps Fear X fascinating." The New York Daily News says "Turturro's subtle turn keeps our emotional connection solid" and Compuserve adds "Turturro gets under your skin."

Film ending
Director Nicolas Winding Refn commented on the ending within several interviews: In an interview with BBC: In an interview with IndieWire: "You can view it in many different ways... it's so up to your own interpretation."'
 * "Harry's impossible quest raises questions, but it all adds to the brave elliptical nature of this film. So did Refn ever get to the bottom of those questions in his own mind? "I can't answer that," he says bluntly. "It depends on how I feel that day. And of course that pisses off a lot of people because they're not used to a film without an ending. But what the f**k is an ending, you know?"
 * "Fear X" is about idealists and when they're confronted with reality, a lot of the time their ideals are tested and turned and they're no longer what they thought they would be..."
 * "How were we going to end this, without giving anything away, without making it too obvious, because the minute the audience's mind begins to work, you're on very dangerous ground. Because if you tell them too much, they're disappointed and if you don't give them any clues, they get confused. So it's that fine line of giving the audience as they walk out, okay, I believe it's this or I believe it's that. We never gave more in the script."

Actor John Turturro also commented on the ending within an interview with Channel 4: "I liked it because the idea of the story was about a simple man thrust into this overwhelming, debilitating circumstance, and he never really finds out what happens... Nicholas doesn't have all the answers to what he's trying to do. A lot of times these guys, their biggest problem is solving the script, but Nicholas seems to be a filmmaker who likes to throw the script away."

Festivals
(Listed chronologically)
 * Sundance Film Festival
 * International Film Festival Rotterdam
 * Gothenburg Film Festival
 * NatFilm Festival
 * Cognac Film Festival
 * Cannes Film Market
 * Sochi International Film Festival
 * Karlovy Vary Film Festival
 * Melbourne International Film Festival
 * L'Étrange Festival
 * Filmfest Hamburg
 * Sitges Film Festival
 * Fantasporto Film Festival

Awards

 * 2003 - Sochi International Film Festival - Nominated - Golden Rose
 * 2003 - Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival - Nominated - Best Film
 * 2004 - Bodil Awards - Nominated - Best Actor
 * 2004 - Fantasporto - Nominated - Best Film
 * 2004 - Fantasporto - Won - Best Screenplay

Production
The film was shot in sequence (chronological order).

Film Locations

 * Polo Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
 * Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada