AllMovie

Almost a decade after originating the character in Jack Smight's slight but amusing Harper, Paul Newman once again assumes the persistent smirk of private eye Lew Harper. Here, screenwriter Walter Hill transplants the character from sunny L.A. to the overheated bayou for an altogether moodier case. The now-fiftyish Newman clearly relishes being reunited with Cool Hand Luke director Stuart Rosenberg and acting alongside wife Joanne Woodward. His character's charms are wearier and warier this time around, which fits The Drowning Pool's often uncomfortable subtext. Melanie Griffith, playing jailbait again the same year Night Moves was released, makes an appropriately trashy femme fatale. She's joined by a distinguished supporting cast that consistently enlivens backwoods cliches with smart character details. The film's most memorable scene - the extended set-piece that inspired its title - remains a marvel of humane action after decades of computer-generated trickery. Newman and Woodward embody everything vulnerable, sexy and thrilling in this well-executed noir.