Two new movies revel in gunplay. "In Bruges" is about a pair of hit men who find themselves in a kind of fairy tale village, complete with an ogre and a dwarf. "Vantage Point" is about the risks of protecting a world leader.
Bruges is a town in Belgium that is considered, depending on who's doing the travel promoting, either the most perfectly restored medieval city in Europe or the most pristine medieval village (no restoration needed) in the world. Regardless, it's a pretty place with its canals and squares and tower and absolute lack of garish neon signs and hooligans.
But wait, here come the hooligans. Brendan Gleason and Colin Farrell are the hit men who are ordered by their British boss, a nasty Ralph Fiennes, to hide in Bruges because their most recent mission ended in a mess. I won't tell you what kind of fiasco, but suffice it to say that it's not taking-out-a-priest that gets them in trouble. Gleason's character loves Bruges and is fascinated by its history and tourist sites. Farrell is completely bored by the place and has a comic moment at the beginning of the movie during which he castigates some Americans. And just to show he's an equal opportunity offender, there's a nifty Canadian riff that will come later.
You should watch a film like this with its surprises left unrevealed. I'll keep secret most of the movie's mysteries. By the time Fiennes has traveled to Bruges to clean up the mess, you know you're watching a superior film. Noted British playwright Martin McDonagh ("The Beauty Queen of Leenane") directs from his own entertaining screenplay. As a director he knows where to concentrate the camera, and he keeps his rich dialogue flowing, letting his capable actors run with the witty, clever and expository words. Add the scenic splendor and top-notch acting and you've got a movie that is utterly satisfying.
What's especially wonderful about "In Bruges" is that each character is fully developed and is given depth and meaning that's not often found in contemporary thrillers, right down to the lady who owns the hotel and the hooker-loving dwarf. I can best compare the writing and acting to the excellence of "Michael Clayton." Gleason, Farrell and Fiennes do riveting work.
With its plot twists and hints of dread, "In Bruges" is the best new movie I've seen this year.
Here's the most important thing to remember if you go to see "Vantage Point," which is about an assassination attempt against the U.S. president. Each time the actual act is repeated from varying points of view, there's a clue for you, the moviegoer, to spot, understand and log into your personal databank. Then by the end of the film, you should know who is behind the deed. Unfortunately, it's less interesting than it sounds.
The president is speaking in Spain at a world conference on terrorism at an outdoor plaza. Mexico actually stands in for Spain, which continues the loss of American jobs to our amigos south of the border. Anyway, he's felled by a sniper's bullet, which is followed by a bomb blast within the crowd. Chaos ensues. It's all done with breathless intensity and comes across as solid action moviemaking, which proves once again that if the major Hollywood studios are good at anything, it's blowing things up and killing people.
From this exciting start, "Vantage Point" spirals downhill. That's because of the plot twists that eventually become boring. The U.S. Secret Service searches for the gunman. Here we focus primarily on Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox. Witnesses are interviewed. In one case, a tourist's camcorder is seized. He's Forest Whitaker. A news producing team, headed by Signourney Weaver, replays everything from their point of view. Over and over and over, we see the event. Twice. Three times. Four, then five. Are we really going to have to hear and see parts of it even more times? It sometimes seems that way. Fragments clang like so many missed opportunities to truly advance the story. Each complete retelling lasts a bit more than 20 minutes.
Of course, this telling of a story from different vantage points is used most famously in Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon," and it shouldn't come as any surprise to you that the none of the people behind "Vantage Point" can hold a candle to Kurosawa, especially director Peter Travis and screenwriter Barry Levy.
I think the filmmakers behind this thing want to keep us guessing because there's no actual story to tell in "Vantage Point." What's the point of repeating everything if you don't let the audience in on the game? The clues are like bread crumbs, but I think some birds might have eaten a few of the hints. And then, of course, there are myriad red herrings. Maybe Whitaker's tourist isn't quite what he seems to be. Maybe there's something fishy about Quaid's Secret Service agent. Maybe the president really isn't dead. Heck, maybe Weaver's news crew is shooting a training film.
Ah, smart reader, you caught that, didn't you? "Maybe the president really isn't dead." If you've seen the trailers -- those ubiquitous previews of coming attractions for the movie -- then you know about what I'm writing. And I'm not telling tales out of school. The studio has decided to toss the biggest, fattest, sloppiest red herring right atcha.
From a technical and production standpoint, "Vantage Point" is well-done. The cinematography by Amir Mokri is superb. However, because director Travis is no Kurosawa, he doesn't seem to know how to carry out the retellings and make them interesting. Levy's screenplay is nothing more than a rewinding. The acting is relatively good. Weaver, Quaid, and Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega (as a cop) all do excellent work.
However, Whitaker is a failed Everyman, and Fox, while he may be a strong presence on the television show "Lost," doesn't have the energy or voice needed to work in movies. He's flat and uninteresting. William Hurt is the president and he's, well ... he's presidential.
By the time of the big reveal -- as in, who dunnit -- you might not care who committed the deed. The filmmakers sure don't seem to be concerned about motive. That's because that would require deeper thought and better dialogue. But I will give you a leg up. Be as fascinated as I was when Whitaker, all sweaty and out of breath, is feverishly looking for the little girl with the ice cream cone.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Feb. 26 2008 |