Bitter Vengeance is a TV Movie from 1994, it’s a Thriller and, for fans of Virginia Madsen it’s actually got a bit of a twist, sort of.
Jack (Bruce Greenwood) works as a Security Guard for a bank and part of Jack’s job is to dispose of old money at the bank. But, unhappy with this lot in life he comes up with a plan to steal it instead so that he can run off with the Bank Teller he’s been having an affair with, Isabelle (Kristen Dalton (credited as Kristen Hocking)) and fake his own death to help get away with the crime.
And the twist?
Well, for once Virginia Madsen’s character, Annie, is the victim. (OK, not exactly a twist but for this kind of movie at this point in her career, it kind of is.) Jack plans on framing Annie for the theft, and his death while he runs off into the sunset and a new life.
And, for a while at least it looks like his plan might just work.
Of course, we know Annie is innocent but she has to prove it to the rest of the characters in the film.
Now. If all of this seems just a little familiar, then you’re right. But you can be excused, Bruce Greenwood did also star in Double Jeopardy, a film where his character (Nick) commits a crime so he pulls a disappearing act leaving his wife Libby (Ashley Judd) to get the blame for his murder while he goes off into a new life.
But, Bitter Vengeance did it first with Double Jeopardy coming out in 1999.
Which did it better? Well, in all honesty I’d argue Bitter Vengeance, even though it’s a lower budget TV movie without Tommy Lee Jones. And, if you do want to see Virginia Madsen and Tommy Lee Jones together on screen then you can always check out the rather excellent Gotham. Bitter Vengeance is a competent enough film, it’s obviously made for TV, it just has that vibe to it. But it throws its punches well enough and the casting of all the roles is spot on.
Virginia plays the victim well, she must have learnt well from the other actor’s on the receiving end of her normal roles. It’s actually quite fun to see, especially as I rewatched this in the middle of all her other 90’s roles.
Bitter Vengeance also reunites Virginia Madsen with Tim Russ who she starred with in the 80’s classic (?) Fire with Fire, and would also work with again in Star Trek: Voyager further down the line.
Availability:
Nope. You can find a copy on YouTube but it’s low quality (See the captures). Other than that you’re out of luck.
Fire with Fire is the film that properly propelled Virginia to the top of most people’s lists. Released in 1986 to negative reviews it would find its way into many viewers hearts and still has its fans today.
By today’s standards, it’s not that great. It’s a very eighties film. Things were different then.
Joe Fisk (Craig Sheffer) is an eighties bad boy, Lisa (our Virginia Madsen) is an artsy, shy Catholic Schoolgirl. Unlikely to cross paths under normal circumstances, the two do come across each other while Lisa is out in the woods taking a photograph of herself as Ophelia for a project she’s doing and Joe is the “Fox” in a Fox and Hound game the Prison Camp is running.Their eyes meet, tensions are raised.
There are only two problems. Joe is a bad boy and Lisa is a shy Schoolgirl. I know I’ve already mentioned that but that’s how much of a problem it is.
The crime Joe is in Prison for? Punching his Dad. The Prison? Voluntary.
Lisa’s problem? After she graduates from Catholic School she’s to be whisked away to be with her parents in Sweden and attend finishing school.
Gritty stuff. Melodrama is the flavour of the day here.
Joe’s “Prison Camp” is local to Lisa’s school, on occasion the “inmates” are allowed into town for some rest and relaxation. One night when they are allowed a night at the local Cinema they come across each other again, the tension is high.
It comes time for the Catholic School to do something nice for people to show how nice they are, ideas are bandied around but Lisa comes up with the idea / plan that they should do something nice for the inmates at the local Prison Camp in the form of a Dance they can all attend. On the night of the Dance the two steal some moments together before it all goes wrong and the inmates are all whisked away again leaving even more tension between Joe and Lisa.
The next time they get to meet up is at a graveyard where Joe is working, they steal some more moments together before they are caught by Joe’s Boss, uhm “Boss” (Joe Polito) who threatens to throw Joe in proper State Penitentiary for his misdeeds.
Back at the School Lisa is threatened with being immediately shipped off to her parents, never to return.
This is enough for the pair (and a whole bunch of other people) to organise an escape and the pair go on the run. They end up in an idyllic cabin in the woods and the pair can finally be together.
Unfortunately the pair are fugitives, and those gosh darn fugitives must be hunted down.
Cue the helicopters, dogs, guns and plenty of manpower to track the two down.I might sound like I’ve a dim view of the film, but I don’t. But I do recognise the absurdity about it all as well. The whole thing is highly improbable and could only have been made in the eighties.
That said, I was actually surprised to see how much love there is for this film when I was researching a little around it. Fair play, there are loads of dodgy eighties films I love as well, and given the popularity for the whole Stranger Things stuff it seems I’m (we’re) not on my (our) own.
Virginia is obviously young in this film. She’s trying and actually does a competent job at “Eighties Girl in Peril”. But it’s very cheesy acting, it’s not a bad thing, it fits the film perfectly and anything else would just be odd to be fair.If you’re a fan of the whole Eighties thing then you can’t do much better than this for a perfect Romance / Drama film of the time and I would wholeheartedly recommend it. If you’re not, then probably best you avoid watching this one. I guess you had to be there.
Virginia has fond memories of the film. In The AV Clubs now defunct “Random Roles” series she’d be reminded of it;
“I’m becoming one of those older people who has way too many stories. [Laughs.] But I will say that more people ask me about Fire With Fire than any other movie I’ve done, including Sideways. But for some reason, no one ever knows what Fire With Fire is called. They always say something like, “Oh, you know, that movie where you’re floating in the pond?” “Yeah, that’s Fire With Fire.” But the movie was originally called Captive Heart, which is a much better title, but then we were given the song “Fire With Fire” [by Wild Blue] for the end credits, so they named the film Fire With Fire, too. That was an ’80s thing to do: You’d have your soundtrack and your movie at the same time. But, yeah, that was a beautiful experience. I loved making that movie.”
I commented on the Kenny Loggins music video that Virginia was in for I’m Free how similar that was to this movie and having watched it again I’m absolutely convinced you could take scenes from this film and remake the original. It’d be a fun project if anyone could find the time. And, a very niche audience that would get it…
Availability:
Not too bad thanks to a recent American release, it also appears to be a region free DVD so if you aren’t in the States then you shouldn’t have a problem.
Star Trek surely needs no introduction, unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past, well nearly 60 years at this point, then you’ll have at least heard of it. Getting to appear in the show was a bonus for Virginia Madsen as a long time fan.
Star Trek: Voyager was the 4th spin off from the main series. It followed the adventures of the USS Voyager, a spaceship that was flung to another galaxy by a mysterious entity.
Captain Kathryn Janeway runs the ship with a crew made up of a mix of Federation and Marquis crew members, and the off stray they picked up along the way. Her First Officer is Chakotay, an ex-leader of the Marquis.The show follows the adventures of the ship’s crew as they make their way home.
I do like Star Trek and have seen every episode at least once, I think I’ve watched Voyager through at least twice. For a show set so far into the future it tends to date quite quickly but it’s always a fun watch if nothing else.
In the twenty second episode called Unforgettable, of the fourth Season broadcast on April 22 1998 on the (now defunct) United Paramount Network Virginia Madsen would play a guest role on the show. She’d play alien Kellin from a species known as Ramuran. The Ramurans have a unique biochemical trait that stops anything biological, and technological from retaining memories of them for more than a few hours.The crew come across Kellin when she requests asylum aboard the ship, she hails them and speaks to them as though she is already familiar with the ship and the crew, much to the bemusement of the crew. She specifically asks for Chakotay.
Once on board she explains to the crew that they actually first met a month ago, but they’ve lost all memory of her. She’s examined by The Doctor (Robert Picardo) who is confused by the readings he isn’t getting from Kelllin.
Kelllin tells Chakotay about their species and their ability to be forgotten by everything. The crew do their thang and find evidence to support her claims. The ever sceptical Tuvok (Tim Russ) and the suspicous of everything Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) It turns out when they first met she and Chakotay had quite the fling going. She’s returned to Voyage because she’s decided she wants out of the Ramurans way and make a life with him, Chakotay doesn’t remember but after spending time with Keelin he soon realises that she could easily be telling the truth and finds himself with feelings for her, again.
Before long she is tracked by another Ramurans who intends to being her back into the fold, they attack Voyager but they are able to get away thanks to some modifications Kelllin makes to the ship. Immediately after the attack Captain Janeway grants her asylum.
Chakotay and Kellin rekindle their romance but just as though it looks as though they are going to have a happy ending, another Ramuran, Curneth (Michael Canavan), beams in and shoots Kellin with a special weapon that makes her forget everyone. The inverse of what normally happens with their species. Shortly after being shot, Kellin is unable to remember Chakotay or the crew of Voyager, Kellin agrees to return back to her people. Chakotay doesn’t want her to leave but she promises he’ll forget all about him and goes on her way. Refusing to accept this Chakotay writes down his memories of her with pen and paper to always remember his time with her.
It’s a very middle of the road episode as far as it goes. It’s certainly watchable but it was never going to win any awards as the best of the bunch. Of course Virginia has worked with Robert Picardo before in the TV Movie A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story where he played her attorney, David Lewis. Also Robert Beltran in Slam Dance, but given her minor role in that and no shared screen time I don’t know if they’ll have even met.
Virginia’s character is likeable enough and she gets to show a soft and an almost comedic side of her acting skills “Can I have your pudding?” she coyly asks at the end of a slightly heated debate between her and Chakotay as a way to defuse the situation. She is of course totally believable in her role, the highs and lows such a role can afford in well established show like Voyager. Again, no awards to be won but way better than some other big name guest stars they had over the years.
Virginia Madsen is a self confessed Trekkie, so she loved being able to play a part in the show, no matter how small. Speaking with The AV Club and Will Harris she’d say;
“That was a dream come true, because I was a huge Star Trek fan. I mean, I still am, but I was a fanatical Star Trek fan. I had a giant life-sized cutout of [William] Shatner well into my 20s. And my first live-in boyfriend was like, “Darling, are you really going to bring Shatner into our new home?” I was like, “Oh, uh… just for fun?” “No, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” [Laughs.] I’m just kidding. But not much.
That was the earliest call time I’d ever had on a show. It was at 2:43 a.m., because I had to put on those… well, they were kind of like Vulcan ears. But it was cool! I got to be on the bridge during a battle, doing the thing where you bob and weave, I got to beam in and beam out, I had my own phaser, I had my own quarters, I went to sick bay and was scanned by a tricorder, and in one scene that got cut out? I went into a Jefferies tube, thank you very much.”
Also, a bonus repairing of Virginia Madsen and Tim Russ who previously worked together on Fire with Fire back in the day. There is a joke somewhere about it being a small world even in the Delta Quadrant, but I can’t find it.
Availability:
Good. The show is more or less freely available on DVD, you’ll probably have to buy the whole season if you want to own the episode but it’s cheap enough these days. Netflix currently carry the Series in the UK so if you have a Subscription there you can watch it as part of that.
Trailer:
Not for this particular episode unfortunately.
Jack plans on framing Annie for the theft, and his death while he runs off into the sunset and a new life.
Bitter Vengeance is a competent enough film, it’s obviously made for TV, it just has that vibe to it. But it throws its punches well enough and the casting of all the roles is spot on.
