review for Hide in Plain Sight on AllMovie

Hide in Plain Sight is such a gritty, realistic slice of working-class life in Buffalo that it disregards several key elements of narrative filmmaking, most notably a suspenseful build toward an emotionally rewarding climax. This is both a strength and a weakness of James Caan's stridently uncommercial directorial debut. One applauds Caan and screenwriter Spencer Eastman for sticking close to the facts of the true story, which has the inherent sensationalism of involving the mob and a custody battle complicated by the secrecy of the witness relocation program. The authenticity of these characters and the situations they face is unquestioned. Caan in particular plays his frustrations with minimal drama, railing against the bureaucracy with controlled rather than exaggerated outbursts. But Hide in Plain Sight can't achieve more than a middling level of affection because of this restrained naturalism. The final showdown is made possible by a lucky break that doesn't get adequately explained. It arrives so suddenly that it leaves the viewer unprepared. Still, Caan is clearly operating on his own terms, free from Hollywood dictates, and the result is a triumph of quiet independence, one that parallels Thomas Hacklin Jr.'s underdog quest to find his children.