White Nights (1985)

White Nights (1985) – Russian ballet star Kolya Rodchenko defected years ago from the U.S.S.R.  When his plane is forced down in the Soviet Union by a technical malfunction, he is arrested as a traitor.  While the authorities “negotiate” his future, he is placed in the home of an African-American dancer (Hines) who defected from the U.S.A. The two men must find common ground through dance.

Directed by Taylor Hackford                      Starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines,
                                                                                          Isabella Rossellini, Helen Mirren

Why I Liked It – One of Gregory Hines’ most compelling performances.  Plus Baryshnikov.

Gregory Hines is one of my “I’d watch him read the weather” actors.  Especially if he does it while tap dancing.  If Hines is in it, I’ll watch it.  This movie offers all kinds of extra tasty bits.  First, there is a lot of Hines hoofing.  When he is paired with Baryshnikov, the dance scenes are stunning.  Both actors have star level charisma.  Both of them are outstanding dancers in their particular style.  The ballet dancer is a finely muscled specimen, while the tap dancer is lean and sinewy.  The scenes of them “battling” on the dance practice floor are the high points of the movie for me.

What surrounds those scenes is not always of the same caliber.  Isabella Rossellini is lovely to look at but brings a flat, uninteresting performance to the screen.  With much less screen time, Helen Mirren shows how to grab and hold the audience’s attention.  (OK, confession time, HUGE Helen Mirren fan as well.  But there’s no comparison between the two actresses onscreen work here).

The Cold War intrigue that makes up the primary storyline was thin, to begin with, and doesn’t age all that well here.  It felt like they were trying to reach for a John Le Carre style spy story, but came up short.

Between the dancing and the two male stars, this one is well worth the time to watch.

Rating – *** Worth A Look