Uncovered is a 1994 thriller that originally came out in France in May starring Kate Beckinsale, based off Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novel The Flanders Panel. The lead character, Julia, an art restorer in Barcelona, Spain stumbles upon a mystery through a five-hundred year old painting and falls right in the middle of a mystery of her own as everyone she comes in contact with turns up dead. Did she get Fox Die or something? I should probably get it out of the way now that I never read the book, so I'll be looking at the movie based on its own merits.
Julia's parents died when she was young and ever since then she was raised by her legal guardian, Cesar, albeit pronounced differently. A rather charming old bloke who looks after her well into adulthood. Not much is really said about Julia's past beyond that. She smokes, she's loyal, and she sneezes every time she's confronted by intimacy.
She also used to bang her old art teacher... because... why not? Apart from that, she's a pretty straightforward character who takes her job seriously and gets irritable around people she doesn't like. She also smokes around and kisses five-hundred year old paintings. Oh, but don't touch it because that's a step too far!
This is Cesar, played by John Wood, and is without a doubt the best character. He's just all around fun to watch and has the best scenes. In one part of the movie he literally has someone by the balls. He's also the only homosexual character in the movie, and to its credit he doesn't come across as a gay stereotype. I guess the United Kingdom was a lot better in their portrayals of homosexuals than we were in the nineties. Or still are, for that matter.
You get some backstory on him when Julia finds out he's related to the old man who owns the painting where you learn he was kicked out of his home for the crime of being gay. Something that's pretty relatable for some and unfortunately is still something that's happening even today.
This lovely lady name is Menchu, Julia's boss. Her character traits can be narrowed down to slutty and bitch. Surprise, surprise! You're introduced to this character by Julia walking in on her being serviced in her office. Huh, the man knows how to use his tongue. Color me impressed.
I'm not trying to slut shame or anything it's just... there's not much to talk about. She's the boss, she's sleeping with a married man, you get the feeling she's close with Julia and you see glimpses of a nice person, and then she tries to screw her over because she spent a bunch of money she didn't own in the hopes the sale of the painting would go through. Didn't think that through, did you, lady?
Then we have Domenec, the street rat turned professional chess player who gets hired on to help solve the chess game. He's your laid back, cool, doesn't care but at the same time kind of does that becomes Julia's love interest. She sure did get over the art teacher fairly quick.
The two do get some screen time to bond a little bit, and it's not like the movie is trying to pass them off as in love or anything. They just hook up because... men who are kind of assholes are sexy? I don't know, I just don't feel the least bit invested in their relationship. They meet, they can't stand each other, they bond, then they have sex, and now they're a couple. The end.
Everything that goes wrong in the movie is centered around this painting, a 1471 Flemish masterpiece called “La partida de ajedrez” which translate to “The Chess Game.” The painting also contains the words “Qvis Necavit Eqvitem,” Latin for “Who killed the knight?”
The message was left behind by the Duke, whose wife killed the knight after a secret affair once it was in her best interest to do so. Since the Duke couldn't accuse her publicly, he left the message in the painting to be solved years later.
But he isn't the only one using the chess game to send a message, as Cesar is also using it to inform Juliet of his next moves setting it up for the reveal where she learns he was the killer all along and forces her to shoot him. Even making sure she has a gun on hand by making her believe she was the next victim.
The mystery around the painting and the chess game that predicts each move is easily the best part of the whole movie. Cesar's motivations are all about making sure Julia is provided for because he's dying, so he kills everyone else so she can inherit... A mountain of dept! Why does nobody in this movie have any smurfing foresight?!
There isn't anything in terms of special effects in the movie. I don't know what the budget is as there's little to no info on this film, so I'm just going to assume it's low. Also, what is up with the music? I don't usually comment on a movie's soundtrack, but this movie has a reoccurring theme that sounds like the background music to the bowling level from the 2002 Spider-Man game.
Overall, this isn't a movie that holds up under repeat viewing. The first time I watched this film I was immersed into the story and characters, but the second time around? I noticed there really isn't much to the characters at all. They're all bland and there's barely enough to keep you interested apart from the mystery. What's the point of a thriller without the thrill? Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss.
