Review – The Onion Field

Every once in awhile I get hit by the desire to watch a really depressing true crime story. Because there’s only so many times I can sit through In Cold Blood, this picture makes a nice back-up. A couple of small-time criminals (James Woods and Franklyn Seales) enter the big time when they kidnap a couple of cops. Though they shoot one (Ted Danson in his feature film debut) in the title location, the other (John Savage) escapes and later identifies the criminals. The rest of the movie is devoted to the sad outcomes for all involved, particularly the ineffective operation of the justice system and the psychological problems faced by the surviving cop. Though this isn’t a watershed moment in crime movie history, it does a good job of telling the story it sets out to tell. Mildly amusing