The Contract
By John Sheridan, Blockbuster.co.uk

John Cusack and Morgan Freeman star in this cat and mouse crime thriller directed by Bruce Beresford (Double Jeopardy).

Cusack stars as Ray Keene, a man who has suffered a tragedy (lost is wife to cancer) and has travelled to the woods to go camping in the hope of reconnecting with his teenage son Chris (Jamie Anderson) after finding he has been acting out at school. While in the woods, the two of them come across a dead FBI agent who is handcuffed to a criminal on the side of the river.

The criminal in question is Frank Cordell (Freeman), a professional assassin who had been captured by the FBI but managed to arrange for his men to attack the agent driving him to prison and free him… well, almost. Taking the agent’s gun, Ray frees the criminal from the corpse and insists on taking Cordell back to civilisation to face justice (as you do).

Although now a basketball coach, it is revealed that Ray used to be a cop and despite warnings from Cordell that his men will track them down and kill Ray and his son, the former cop refuses to let his criminal go and like a Canadian Mounty on a mission, drags Cordell and his son across miles of savage country to hand him over to the FBI.

Needless to say, Cordell’s men do indeed show up; Ray and his son find themselves running for their lives.

A solid film that doesn’t break new ground however has a fantastic cast; The Contract is well worth watching if only for Cusack and Freeman’s outstanding performances. Add to your list now.

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