Wicker Park

 2.5/4

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne, Matthew Lillard

Rated PG-13 for Sexuality and Language

My opinion for "Wicker Park" is mixed.  I am delighted that the film blindsided me with some of its twists and turns, but was disheartened at what it all amounted to.  I desperately wanted a happy ending, but was disappointed at what it all boiled down to.  The film has such an intriguing premise but the follow through doesn't live up to its promise.

Two years ago, Matt (Hartnett) fell in love with the beautiful Lisa (Kruger).  When he asked her to come with him to New York, she was so taken aback that she said she needed time to think about it...and disappeared.  Now, Matt saw Lisa, or thinks he did, and is determined to find her.  And to find an answer to the greatest question of all: what happened two years ago.

"Wicker Park" is an uneasy fusion of a psychological thriller and a bad soap opera.  On the one hand, it's devilish fun to peel back the layers of what happened to these characters.  On the other hand, the truth is so thick, unsubtle and lame that it saps a lot of the fun from the end.  After all that, we are left with...this?

It certainly isn't for a lack of trying on the part of the cast.  Josh Hartnett gets a lot of flak as being a "teen idol," but one forgets that he's a damn good actor.  Anyone who doubts me should look to his performance as the psychopathic Hugo in "O," the controversial, little-seen contemporary update of "Othello."  In lesser hands, Matt could be a creepy stalker.  But by staying low-key and in control, Matt becomes someone we can identify with.  Few actresses working today are as beguiling as Diane Kruger, and she shows a sexy, sensual side that I haven't seen from her.  She looks incredible and has a talent to match.  Who wouldn't be seduced by her?  Rose Byrne has no trouble being cast against type as a mousey wretch, although it's more complicated than that.  Matthew Lillard is on hand for comic relief and to add or detract from the plot's contrivances.  Depending on the situation.

I lay the film's failings at the hands of the director, Paul McGuigan.  After seeing his previous film ("The Reckoning") and the film he made after this ("Lucky Number Slevin"), I can safely say that he isn't a good filmmaker.  McGuigan tries too hard to be hip and offbeat.  While his tendency to emphasize the wrong elements of the film is not in evidence, other flaws are.  A movie like this needs to stir in its own juices.  The characters and the story need to breathe.  The constant flashbacks and split frames make the film seem too busy, taking us out of the moment.  A more confident filmmaker would have found an innovative way to tell this complicated story, but McGuigan didn't.  Sometimes he can't tell if he is making a feature film or a music video.

There are parts of "Wicker Park" that I liked.  It's fun to be dropped into a tantalizing mystery.  But the longer it goes on, the more disappointing it becomes.  The mystery soars but the romance curdles.  What a shame.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more