The Big Picture

• Harrison Ford's rare villainous role in What Lies Beneath challenges expectations and adds depth to the horror film.
• The role required Ford to shed his heroic persona, showcasing his versatility and ability to play dark, toxic characters effectively.
• What Lies Beneath's success hinged on Ford's performance, grounding supernatural elements with his portrayal of a deceitful husband.

There is perhaps no living actor in the film industry who has been as synonymous with figures of heroism within the last half century as Harrison Ford. Although he got his start in a series of idiosyncratic arthouse New Hollywood films, Ford would become the screen protagonist of a generation with his roles as the charismatic smuggler Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise, the titular swashbuckling archeologist in the Indiana Jones saga, the pulpy detective Rick Deckard in the Blade Runner duology, and a grizzled version of Tom Clancy’s most famous protagonist in the Jack Ryan series. Considering the overwhelming success of Ford’s franchise roles, his ability to play characters outside the hero's realm has gone somewhat unnoticed. In a rare role that cast him against type, Ford delivered a terrifying villainous performance in Robert Zemeckis’ supernatural horror film What Lies Beneath.

What Is 'What Lies Beneath' About?

Like Ford, Zemeckis is a filmmaker who took audiences by surprise by taking on such dark material with What Lies Beneath. Although he’s always been a filmmaker who pushes the boundaries of technology and the visual medium, Zemeckis’ highest-grossing films tended to be family-friendly adventure stories like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Back to the Future trilogy. Although making a supernatural conspiracy film was certainly a bold new direction for Zemeckis, What Lies Beneath required a powerful villainous performance in order to get audiences interested in the disturbing material. Without a star of Ford’s magnitude to play a significant role in the film, it’s unlikely that What Lies Beneath would have become a mainstream hit.

What Lies Beneath follows the wealthy cellist Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer), whose relationship with her accomplished husband Norman (Ford) has grown strained. Although the couple has managed to settle their differences during the time in which Claire’s daughter, Caitlin (Katharine Towne) leaves for college, she begins to suspect that insidious forces are at play regarding the disappearance of her neighbor, Mary Feur (Miranda Otto). Caitlin’s latent investigation into her whereabouts leads her to evidence suggesting that Norman may be hiding details from her about his alleged relationship with a student. Although Pfeiffer succeeds in lending credence to Caitlin’s motivations, it’s initially hard to believe that Norman is malevolent because of Ford’s association with playing heroes. The unexpected quality of the twist is what makes Norman such a great villain.

Through the use of supernatural rituals that allow her to experience glimpses of the past, Claire begins to realize that Norman is responsible for the murder of the young woman, Madison Elizabeth Frank (Amber Valletta), with whom he was having an affair. Although the fantasy elements make the neo-noir worldbuilding more intriguing, the chemistry between Pfeiffer and Ford delves into the deeper parts of a marriage that was built on lies. Ford does a great job of showing how Norman was merely crafting his persona as a well-meaning scientist and professor. In a way, he’s playing a hero in the same way that Ford played characters like Solo or Indy. Seeing such a typically heroic actor gaslight his wife and deny his murderous misdeeds came as a complete shock to fans of Ford's earlier work.

Harrison Ford’s Casting in 'What Lies Beneath' Was Subversive

While the film is reliant on some truly groundbreaking feats of visual effects during the supernatural sequences, a majority of the tension in What Lies Beneath relies on the interactions between Pfeiffer and Ford. Zemeckis makes the smart decision to show the film primarily from Claire’s perspective, making the twist of learning Norman’s sordid past more impactful. It’s a brilliant piece of subversive casting, as Ford generally plays altruistic heroes, and has never played an all-out villain. Norman is established as a seemingly generous, well-respected medical professional, and any stings against his honor are met with skepticism. As a result, it becomes more difficult for Claire to convince her peers that her husband is hiding something from them. Ford helped the film offer insight into how easy it is for men of influence to abuse their power.

Given his experience shooting the elaborate action sequences in the Indiana Jones franchise, Ford has proven that he can be a commanding physical performer. Norman is an abuser in both the physical and psychological sense, and Ford sheds his inherently endearing qualities altogether to create a monstrous character unlike anything else he's ever done. This is particularly evident in the final stretch of the film, in which Norman attempts to trap Claire in a bathtub and drown her so that he can forge a fake suicide. The sequence is haunting because the audience is already aware of Ford’s intimidating physicality, which casts doubts on Claire’s chances of survival. Given Ford's dominant physical presence, it seems unlikely that Claire will be able to emerge from their encounter unscathed. In addition to challenging expectations of his character, Ford was able to make Pfeiffer’s performance more effective.

'What Lies Beneath' Doesn’t Work Without Harrison Ford

While he’s certainly responsible for some of the best movies ever made, Zemeckis has a fairly mixed track record when it comes to special-effects-laden genre films. While it would’ve been easy to turn What Lies Beneath into merely a showcase for the new technology at his disposal, Ford grounds the film in a semblance of reality. While the supernatural elements are integral in explaining the twist, What Lies Beneath merely uses the ancient rituals to flesh out the neo-noir mystery. Ford leans into the secluded, abusive nature of Norman that feels representative of a great noir villain. He's also an entirely toxic character who uses his position of influence to avoid real consequences; this commentary on toxic masculinity would not have been as effective if a more traditionally malevolent actor had been cast.

It was also an impressive performance in that Ford shed his inherently charismatic abilities to play a deceitful husband. Even before his murderous activities are revealed, Ford revels in how Norman’s ego looms and prevents Claire from having any independence in their marriage. It becomes increasingly infuriating to see Norman cover his tracks, as he only reveals the truth to Claire when it is advantageous to him. Although Ford has succeeded in playing romantic heroes in even his genre films, seeing him play a deceitful husband who willfully misleads his wife came as a shock.

Ford is certainly not opposed to playing darker characters, as he’s succeeded in playing morally dubious anti-heroes in films like The Mosquito Coast and Presumed Innocent. Nevertheless, What Lies Beneath remains the only true horror performance in Ford’s filmography. It would be exciting to see Ford return to the horror genre to ensure that What Lies Beneath does not remain an outlier.

What Lies Beneath is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

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