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Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 7/24

7/24: While watching Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture, I could tell that it was probably based on one's experience given how the photographer (Roy Scheider) conducted his business.

Then, looking up the internet, it turns out to be the case for screenwriter Doug Magee who also wrote a book called Slow Coming Dark: Interviews on Death Row. The Dead Man Walking-like introduction of how the electric chair works seems to be quite authentic. Hence, the first thirty minutes of the film is excellent.

But once the stay has been issued for Raymond Eames who's about to be executed, Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture stops being interesting. The rest of the way is workmanlike in a race against time to save him although I like the Blow-Up angle. The problem is that Eames is a mid-level drug dealer, so who cares whether or not he's innocent?

Plus, how the capital murder went down is hard to follow, and I never got it straight after all, especially with the names thrown into the mix such as Jake Rusher, Mike Knighton, Floyd Tatum, and a bunch of people from the McGrath family. Maybe a simple summary at the beginning of the film will help a lot, yeah? Meanwhile, the whole romance stuff with the photographer and Bonnie Bedelia's character is too weird given she's the widow and her husband happens to be supposedly killed by Eames.

All in all, in spite of the decent performances, Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is rendered mediocre by the unorganized storytelling.

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