Pacific Heights (1990) Movie Review

Director: John Schlesinger

Writer: Daniel Pyne (Screenplay)

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, Mako, Nobu McCarthy, Laurie Metcalf

Plot: A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own.

Tagline – They were the perfect couple, buying the perfect house. Until a perfect stranger moved into their lives.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Pacific Heights starts when young couple Patty Palmer (Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Modine) move into their dream home in San Francisco with plans to rent out most of the rooms, with the pair finding a string of tenants.

When Carter Hayes (Keaton) talks himself into on of the apartments, it becomes clear he isn’t going to be a good tenant, forcing Drake to try and push him out, leading to a deadly battle for the building.

Thoughts on Pacific Heights

Thoughts – Pacific Heights is a thriller that will give a couple the tenant from hell, who wants to use everything in their power to try and bring down the landlords. Pacific Heights will show the impossible position a landlord can find themselves in when a tenant decides to go rogue on them. What starts out as trying to deal with the tenant from hell, does take a twist halfway through, showing the bigger picture to what Carter is up to. Pacific Heights is split into two sides, with Carter having control of one, while Patty has control of the other, making this a compelling thriller, that will see Michael Keaton shine as the psychotic figure. Pacific Heights is a thriller that will keep us on edge through the whole film, making us want to see what will come next. The only downside within this film, comes from the over-the-top reaction both Patty and Drake show, during their unhappiness, with neither being able to hold it together, when calm would have been the smartest solution.

Final Thoughts – Pacific Heights is an intense thriller that will keep us guessing, where Michael Keaton shines.