"Caught" perverts a simple story of an extramarital affair into a darkly cynical vision of the modern American family. The film first compares an unfaithful woman to a caught fish and then traps you in its supposedly enlightening social commentary. Once it layers on the Oedipal themes too thick, you just might long to escape this tangled-up mess.
The New Jersey-based drama centers on an illicit relationship between Nick (Arie Verveen), a scruffy transient, and Betty (Maria Conchita Alonso), the middle-aged wife of Joe. Betty, feeling charitable, welcomes Nick into their home and even persuades Joe (Edward James Olmos) to give him a job at their seafood store. Nick happens to be the same age as the couple's only child, Danny (Steven Schub).
Betty feels an explosive sexual attraction to Nick, whose mother passed away when he was very young. Joe, a man who lives for his business, is completely oblivious. When Betty tells Nick, who stays in her son's bedroom, that he's just "a kid," the film shifts into Freudian mode. By the time Danny, who until then appears on video-taped messages to his mom, gets involved, the film practically screams "Look, Oedipal complexes galore!"
In the ancient story, Oedipus the son kills his father and marries his mother. In "Caught," both Nick and Danny fulfill the Oedipal role (Danny even spitefully calls him "brother"), while Betty stands at the peak of the resulting love triangles. Strangely, Danny ends up competing with Nick for parental love rather than telling his father about Mom's affair. Danny is insanely jealous of Nick, who is jealous of Joe, who is the most ineffectual of the three men.
The film addresses the implicit incest theme in sometimes disturbing, often ridiculous ways. In one scene, Danny unexpectedly arrives home from Los Angeles while Nick is performing oral sex on his mother in his bedroom, of all places. Betty rushes out to greet her son, who lavishes her with kisses, saying, "You look great! I could just eat you up!" Toward the end of the film, Danny calls Nick a "motherfucker," which brings a whole new meaning to the word. The filmmakers trade meaningful character development for what they consider a brilliant statement about familial bonds.
More than any other character, Betty deserves more depth. After all, she starts the chain of misbehavior in the first place. Instead of explaining why Betty strays from her workaholic husband or at least why she falls in love with Nick, the script focuses on her physique. In scene after scene, Alonso takes a bath, applies cold cream and satiates her sexual hunger, thereby satisfying her Oedipal role. Compared to Olmos, however, Alonso pulls off a better performance.
As Joe, a victim of everyone else's indiscretion, Olmos struggles with a script that fails to dredge up sympathy for his character. We never see how Joe's and Betty's marriage was pre-Nick, so by the time Joe finds out, it's too late to justify a pointlessly symbolic ending. Nick narrates periodically, drowning out any valuable insight into Joe and Betty.
Perhaps the screenwriters had the saying "still waters run deep" in mind when they wrote lines for Nick, who grunts responses to Betty's overtures. Verveen, who brings the range of a pet rock to this pivotal role, delivers the voice-overs in a sleepy monotone. Schub, who revs up his role with high emotional intensity, steals every scene he shares with Verveen.
Without giving away the ending, let's just say it's, as Nick whines, very "phony." The film actually asks us to feel sorry for Nick - a man who beats thieves with a huge fish and then ruins two marriages.
Edward James Olmos, pictured in "American Me," stars in "Caught."