Two Criminal Reviews
by Tim Wick
Bandits
Anyone who actually reads this site on a regular basis might have been
wondering where the movie reviews have been for the last month or so. True,
Ishmael Williams got a Training Day review up and I managed to get a
review of The Princess Bride DVD going, but that's really not much.
The fact is that I've been busy. The list of movies that I want to see is
rapidly approaching unmanageable and with a significant number of films
(Monsters, Inc and Harry Potter to name two) getting set to open for the
holiday season, I'm only going to get further behind.
I'm working on catching up now, and here (three weeks late) is my review of Bandits.
If you take Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, recast the leads as Bruce
Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchette and then set the whole thing
in modern day America, you have the basic concept of this film.
We have two happy go lucky criminals (Willis and Thornton) who are only
happy when they are planning elaborate bank robberies or bickering with each
other. They really are pretty good guys who just happen to make their
living out of breaking the law. Add a gorgeous woman to the mix (Blanchette
- who continues to prove why she got rooked out of an Oscar by Gwyneth
Paltrow) and there you have it.
The story, therefore is not original. The characters are not original.
Nothing about this movie is original.
But it's still a lot of fun. Part of the reason must be the onscreen
chemistry of Willis and Thornton, who must carry the majority of the film.
Despite their constant bickering, we can really see that under it all these
two guys really do care for each other. Even so, their bickering makes for
some wonderful comedic moments, often in the midst of one of their famous
bank robberies.
Blanchette could probably carry any movie on her own (she just about did in
The Gift and most certainly did in Elizabeth) so to see her play what
amounts to a secondary character in this film could almost be a let down.
She really does a great job making the most of the situation and brings her
character to life in such a way that the rather unorthodox decision she
makes regarding the two men in her life doesn't really seem out of place.
Blanchette is one of the great chameleons of cinema. It was amazing to see
her in the Lord of the Rings trailer that preceded the film and then watch
her as a completely different character once the movie started. I know
she's paid to do that, but so many actors cannot pull it off.
If anything, this movie suffers from a rather lengthy middle portion that
has trouble getting around to the point. Like many Hollywood films, it's
not content to be a heist film or a buddy picture, it has to be a romance as
well. The romance works, but by adding it, the film runs about fifteen
minutes longer than it really needs to.
Ultimately, though, what you come back to is the connection between Willis
and Thornton. In his work with M. Night Shaymalan, Willis has proven that
he is far more than just an action star. I don't know that he stretches any
new acting muscles in this film, but he doesn't need to. Thornton, on the
other hand, is about as much of a chameleon and Blanchette. He manages to
make one forget about Sling Blade or the bizarre role he plays in real
life in a way that only a truly gifted actor can.
Reworked plot and all, this film still works. As a comedy it does what
every comedy is supposed to do - it makes you laugh early, often and out
loud.
What more can you ask for?
Three and a half beakers.
From Hell
Serial killers fascinate us. I don't think a year goes by that we don't see
at least three or four films that are about serial killers. In many ways,
we find ourselves more drawn to the villains in these films than the heroes
who are trying to defeat them. I'm not sure why this is, but no serial
killer captures the imagination more than Jack the Ripper.
He wasn't the first. At least nobody really thinks so. He wasn't the most
prolific - he only killed six people for sure. He also wasn't caught. He
faded into the shadows, never to be seen or heard from again.
In it's own way, Hollywood has tried to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper
for as long as people have been making films. Who was he? Why did he do
what he did? Most importantly, why did he stop?
Every Ripper film has had it's theories and as the latest installment, From
Hell has it's own as well. That I'm not nuts about the theory is by no
means an impeachment of the film, but it is the major reason I can't give it
five beakers.
Much like Mulan Rouge and A.I., From Hell recognizes that film is a
visual medium. What we see - and don't see - often says much more than what
comes out of the actors mouths. By showing only glimpses of the mutilated
corpses, we fill in the worst part of the picture on our own. According to
Harry Knowles on aint-it-cool-news, this was done to appease the MPAA.
Well, it worked for me. I think suggested violence is almost always
preferable to the real thing. A fleeting glimpse tells more than a
prolonged stare.
Johnny Depp has taken on a role in this film that is much like the one he
had in Sleepy Hollow. However, he has a better role and a better story in
this film. Both films have a distinctive visual style. Depp centers the
film and keeps the viewer focused on the most important factor - who is Jack
the Ripper and why is he doing this?
The prostitutes he is killing are far too pretty, but I suppose that can't
be helped. We are making a movie, aren't we? Heather Graham's Mary Kelly
is quite possibly the least prostitute looking prostitute I've ever seen.
That we never see her coming close to turning a trick in the film is
actually a bit insulting. Are we supposed to believe she is pure as the
driven snow? No! She is a poor woman who is selling the only thing she can
sell to stay alive. You don't have to like it but you really shouldn't
gloss over it, either.
I liked this film primarily because of it's lush visual style and it's
powerfully evocative score. The mood is one of fear and hopelessness. We
know these women are doomed and that the Ripper will get away. We are
witnesses to his atrocities but we can't do anything about them. Depp
becomes the audience as he is always just far enough behind the Ripper to
get there right after the deed is done.
If I found the resolution unappealing, it was only because I found the
theory unappealing. Visually and stylistically, I can't argue with what was
done. Intellectually, I was not satisfied.
But maybe that is how it should be for a film that tries to tackle one of
the great unsolved mysteries of all time.
Four beakers.
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