Friday, September 26, 1997
Screen Scene
"The Peacemaker"
Directed by Mimi Leder, Starring George Clooney and Nicole
Kidman
Don’t put away those "Fallout Shelter" signs yet. The end of the
Cold War may have eliminated the Soviet Union as a nuclear threat
but there could still be a few nuts – and nukes – loose.
DreamWorks’ first film, "The Peacemaker," departs from action movie
conventions in presenting a gritty, chillingly realistic story of a
postmodern nuclear scenario.
When a trainload of Russian nukes is hijacked, Dr. Julia Kelly
(Nicole Kidman), head of the White House Nuclear Smuggling Group,
and Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe (George Clooney), a Special Forces
intelligence officer, team up to stage a high-tech international
manhunt to prevent the first nuclear attack against the United
States.
The film is surprisingly innovative in both content and style.
Screenwriter Michael Schiffer ("Crimson Tide") adeptly draws from
recent uranium smuggling incidents in Europe to reinvent America’s
fear of nuclear attack, not with a missile but with an
innocuous-looking backpack.
The film also inverts the standard
stuck-on-a-plane/train/bus/boat scenarios of previous action
thrillers. This time, it’s the terrorist who is trying not to get
caught. It has a different feeling, but the fact that he’s packing
nukes gives fresh flavor to a heart-pounding tension that is all
too often based on formula.
Similarly, Kidman doesn’t play the tearful pathetic weakling who
must be saved by Clooney; in fact, she plays his boss. This
reversal provides for some humorous moments of verbal sparring.
The director of ER’s "Love’s Labor Lost" episode, Leder has no
problems imparting a similar blend of dramatic tension and powerful
humanistic overtones into her first feature film. Although they
slow the pace of the film, emotionally intense moments of
contemplation, mostly for good guys who died, punctuate the action
scenes. The film’s examination of the villain’s pathos is also
admirable. "The Peacemaker" backs up the villain’s claim to
humanity with a tragic flashback that evokes our sympathy and
complicates our notions of evil.
"The Peacemaker" is an intelligent, intensely filmed action
thriller that sucks viewers in from the very beginning. Although
the film is not all adrenaline, the slower moments provide
meaningful plot and character development. For those expecting the
muscle-bound, bad accent, profanity-laden,
let’s-see-who-has-the-better-aim type of action movie, you won’t
find it here.
William Li
Grade: A
"Gravesend"
Directed by Salvatore Stabile, Starring Tony Tucci and Michael
Parducci
When employed properly, violence on screen can serve as a truly
disturbing film technique which has the capacity to contort a
merely memorable flick into an unforgettable experience. When
utilized improperly, it can twist an otherwise poignant piece into
a cliched, mind-numbing waste of time. First-time film director
Stabile’s street-based debut, "Gravesend," falls somewhere in
between.
The story revolves around four rough and ready youths on a
Saturday night in their neighborhood of Gravesend, N.Y. After the
quasi-accidental murder of one character’s older brother, the crew
continues on a desperate mission to locate fast burial money and a
place to stash the body.
Not surprisingly for films of this ilk, the group’s attempts get
out of hand, and the evening crumbles into a morning wrought with
betrayal, intense emotions and a whirlwind of compiling chaos.
While the plot line comes across as practically formulaic to an
audience weaned on such classics as "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Usual
Suspects," Stabile does manage to utilize a few innovative
techniques which set "Gravesend" apart from other works in the
genre.
For starters, the narrator is an unseen friend who just so
happened to be elsewhere on the night in question. Through grainy
black and white footage, he reveals background on each of the four
main character’s personal traumas. Though this flashback technique
may not seem particularly creative, some scenes have a gripping
effect when Stabile flashes back to segments not 10 minutes past in
the story’s string of events.
Yet, even with this ingenuitive approach, "Gravesend" has a
tendency to feel stale. Many scenes rely on humor which seems out
of place to the heaviness of the moment. When trapped in these
segments, the actors appear as an unprofessional group of kids,
screwing around in front of a buddy’s camcorder. However, the
performances grow stronger by film’s end as those comical moments
get left by the wayside and the unraveling string of events carry
more weight.
"Gravesend" remains somewhat of an enigma. It does leave viewers
with a pit in their stomachs, though from where that sense of
hollow emanates is hard to tell. The work has no other deeper theme
than "Gee, it sucks when you lead a shitty life and have access to
a gun when under stress." Bang, bang, you leave the theater and
maybe you remember "Gravesend" the next day. Regardless,
22-year-old Stabile should be one to watch in the future, if he can
keep his work stylized while managing to concoct less familiar
scripts.
Vanessa VanderZanden
Grade: B
"Going All the Way"
Directed by Mark Pellington, Starring Jeremy Davies, Ben
Affleck, Amy Locane, Rachel Weisz and Rose McGowan
Ah, the ’50s, a time for marriage, family and getting that cute
girl into bed. Sounds like things haven’t changed much. Based on
Dan Wakefield’s best-selling 1970 novel, "Going All the Way"
follows the adventures of two young men as they attempt to break
away from the goody-two-shoes image of that clean era.
Davies ("Spanking the Monkey") stars as Sonny Burns, a shy,
repressed photographer returning home to Indianapolis after serving
in the Korean War. Affleck of "Chasing Amy" fame plays vet Gunner
Casselman, a confident macho-man ex-jock who befriends Sonny on the
train ride. Amid an ensemble of comical stock characters, this
unlikely pair delves into the mysteries of art, philosophy and
women as they search for meaning and fulfillment in their
lives.
Davies’ acting is the highlight of a talented but relatively
undistinguished cast as he fleshes out Sonny’s character. He’s a
geek. He’s a girl-watcher. He’s a scoundrel. He’s a suave dancer.
He’s a tough guy. In combining all these elements of Sonny
together, Davies effectively infuses complexity into his
character.
Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski aids in developing Davies’
character. When Sonny’s dream girl, Gale (Rose McGowan), shatters
his heart, Bukowski follows up with an erratically filmed scene
that starkly explores the chaos and pathos of Sonny’s psyche.
Mark Pellington’s direction also contributes little details that
go a long way in delineating the unusual friendship between Sonny
and Gunner, such as the way in which Sonny neatly tucks his shirt
in and Gunner leaves his out.
Although the premise of the film borrows from J.D. Salinger’s
novel, "Catcher in the Rye," Wakefield’s script is a little too
obvious in paying homage to his literary influence. In one scene,
Sonny randomly pontificates on "Catcher’s" protagonist, Holden
Caulfield, to Gale after a dance. This superfluity abruptly exposes
many parallels between the film and Salinger’s novel, stuff that
could be left for the moviegoer to discover.
The film bridges the gap between the present and this bygone
era, as most guys today can relate to Sonny or Gunner in one way or
another. Peppered with sophomoric humor, this coming-of-age story
of male bonding is an extremely fun and at times, poignant, film to
watch.
William Li
Grade: A-
"Stag"
Directed by Gavin Wilding,
Starring Mario Van Peebles and Andrew McCarthy
Here’s an idea – let’s make a movie about ordinary men who
commit an unthinkable crime. We’ll watch them digress and
contemplate our own darker sides.
Sounds intriguing. Too bad it’s already been done – a lot.
"Stag" follows the tradition of "Lord of the Flies," "Heathers" and
"Shallow Grave" as it chronicles a group of men who accidentally
kill a stripper while roughhousing at a bachelor party.
The men debate how to handle the situation, taking into account
their families, jobs and positions in the community. And while this
isn’t a new concept, it’s a consistent thought provoker and Gavin
Wilding handles it fairly well, at least from a stylistic point of
view.
The film foreshadows … big time. As early as the first scene,
business partners Vic (John Stockwell) and Michael (Van Peebles)
chat about the senselessness of a recent shooting spree that made
the news as they enter Vic’s luxurious house. Soon, of course, the
pristine dwelling will be splattered with blood as the men turn on
each other.
And soon the film’s lack of originality takes hold. The
characters are somewhat stock; Michael is the logical but cold
businessman, campaigning for city council. Dan (Kevin Dillon) is
the wise war vet, shunning violence in response to the Gulf War
terrors he’s witnessed. Timan (John Henson) is basically his "Talk
Soup" character – only this time we’re supposed to take his
over-the-top goofiness seriously. Pete (McCarthy) is the black
sheep of the group – the drug dealer and the only character who is
openly a bad guy. We’re supposed to marvel at the irony as the
pillars of the community turn to increasingly desperate – and
violent – measures.
Nevertheless, "Stag" has its chilling moments. Van Peebles is
frighteningly rational – to his character, even murder is business.
And as he manipulates the situation to fit his own needs, it makes
us think twice about the politicians we’ve voted for.
And, while not quite shocking, the end isn’t exactly what you’d
expect from this pessimistic, "we’re-all-going-down" school of
movies. Justice is served. Sort of. And the movie is worth seeing.
Sort of.
Cheryl Klein
Grade: B-
Nicole Kidman and George Clooney (r.) costar as anti-terrorist
intelligence agents in this year’s latest action-filled potential
blockbuster, "The Peacemaker."