Friday, February 6, 1998
Screenscene
FILM:
"The Replacement Killers"
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino
When it comes down to it, regardless of anything that needs to
be said about "The Replacement Killers," there’s no doubt that the
emergence of Chow Yun-Fat in American cinema is a moment of great
reward. That the box-office giant of Asia would cross the Pacific
was indeed inevitable, considering his huge cult following here,
but that he does it in a way in which movie buffs know him and love
him best– as the John Woo-style action juggernaut – will likely
send the Woo-Fan Clan out in droves.
But alas, something does need to be said about "The Replacement
Killers," a grating two hours of bullet-dodging that simply doesn’t
make the most of Chow’s arrival.
Interestingly, what’s being said mostly by Columbia Pictures’
marketing department is that executive producer Woo presents the
movie. No one knows for sure what artistic merits "presenting"
entails, but after watching the film we realize how distant Woo’s
executive office is from his usual director’s chair.
Occupying the director’s chair instead is Fuqua, whose claim to
fame is directing the music video for Coolio’s "Gangster’s
Paradise." Likewise, "Replacement" is a gangster’s paradise: a lot
of ammo, vendettas, codes of honor, gun-downed enemies, a
ghetto-down soundtrack. And in the middle of it all there’s a
pretty girl with an attitude.
The tough cookie is document counterfeiter, Meg, played
earnestly by Sorvino. One day, a professional assassin named John
Lee (Chow) visits her office requesting a passport. Refusing to
kill the young son of a police officer, Lee must now rush back to
China protect his family, which his boss, Mr. Wei, vowed to kill
should Lee reject his assignment.
Of course, Wei realizes it wouldn’t hurt to kill Lee too, so he
sends out some men to follow him. Lee and Meg do manage to escape
the bullet storm in her office, but since she’s associated with Lee
now, Meg’s in it for the long haul. And, regrettably, so are
we.
In any movie with Woo on its mind, and clearly Fuqua is reaching
hard here, everything stands or falls on its gun fights. But
Fuqua’s choreography is so humdrum and empty; they don’t come
anywhere near the ferociously delirious, almost spiritual orchestra
of Woo.
It’s not entirely Fuqua’s fault. On the touchy American screen –
where the fact of violence is more important than the director’s
imagination of it – no one is allowed to be like Woo, not even Woo
himself (though he sure came close with "Face/Off").
But what is Fuqua’s fault is that he doesn’t even engage the
audience dramatically. Working with a desperate script and unable
to put together even one captivating moment, Fuqua ends up putting
all of his effort into the action sequences – which, again, are
worthless.
With Woo comfortable in Hollywood now and Chow being pulled in,
it’s depressing to realize that we might never come across another
masterpiece like "The Killer" where the wonderfully unabashed
theatricality of Hong Kong cinema turns Woo’s ultra-violence into
visual opera. But Fuqua could have at least tried to distract our
nostalgia by telling a story that was half-interesting. Or,
conversely, he could have at least catered to our nostalgia, by
letting Chow speak more Chinese.
Tommy Nguyen
Grade: D
"Nil By Mouth"
Directed by Gary Oldman
Starring Kathy Burke
There’s a scene where a son, a smack addict frantic from
withdrawal pains, rushes into a car where his mother’s been
waiting. "Don’t do that here!" the mother yells, and so he hops in
the back seat. He takes his gear out; he starts heating up a spoon.
The mother looks over her shoulder. "You’re alright?" she asks
quietly. "Yes, mum." She then turns her head from us with the
silent relief that he’s easing his pains now. But we can still see
part of her left eye, trembling like a child, reflecting the sad
glow of streetlights.
"Nil By Mouth," which refers to the sticker the hospital puts
over patients’ mouths who must fed intravenously, is the
directorial debut of actor Gary Oldman. The film is best described
in moments such as this one – not because it’s impossible to give a
synopsis, but because a synopsis would offer no preparation for the
truly moving journey Oldman takes us through.
One can say the movie’s about a working-class family in south
London where drug addiction, alcoholism, spousal abuse, domestic
drudgery and urban profanity comprise the hour hands of daily
living.
But clearly Oldman is concerned with moments here: he wrote the
script from the various memories he had while growing up in the
same milieu, and for many people the narrative of memory is written
from moments. Oldman, exploring every facet of human intercourse
with such intimate and personal care, connects one unforgettable
moment after another, eventually finding a story that must be
autobiographical on an emotional level, though not necessarily on a
literal one.
Like the one described, so many moments in "Nil" are complicated
with good and evil, right and wrong: they require certain emotions
audience members aren’t used to surrendering. Yes, "Nil" is
demanding in that sense – the film’s spousal violence is
particularly intense, with Kathy Burke deservedly winning the best
actress award at Cannes for playing the abused wife. But there’s
enough laughter and warm touches to quiet the movie’s rage, and the
movie’s score (by Eric Clapton) is hypnotically calming when it
needs to be.
It seems only filmmakers from the British Isles can make these
scathingly sincere documents of working-class society. Oldman is
working in the same vein, combining the rich character studies of
Mike Leigh with the knuckling social commentary style of Ken
Loach.
But because Oldman is working with memories (and perhaps
reconciling himself with his own father’s inabilities), we’re drawn
even closer to the screen. It’s there that we notice those small
words behind all that abrasive teeth grinding, words difficult to
say for a son who had a father that was equally nil by mouth.
Tommy Nguyen
Grade: A
"Zero Effect"
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller
In the midst of all the bloodfests of thrillers today, it’s not
often (if ever) that you encounter a murder mystery that jumpstarts
your brain, instead of your heart.
Writer-director-producer Jake Kasdan’s feature film debut "Zero
Effect" is a classic detective story reminiscent of the old
Sherlock Holmes tales, yet revamped for the cynical, seen-it-all,
bring-on-the-decapitations film audience.
Bill Pullman stars as Daryl Zero, a sharp, brilliant, master
detective, who is hired by a blackmailed businessman (Ryan O’Neal)
to find his lost keys. The catch is that he’s a complete social
moron, who plays the guitar in his underwear and eats tuna straight
from the can. His social skills are so impaired that he must
conduct his business through a frontman, Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller).
Somewhere along the case he meets a mysterious young woman (Kim
Dickens), who is more significant than he initially believes.
While the premise suggests that the movie will be a complete
spoof of the classic mysteries, the story does evolve into an
extremely clever mystery of its own.
This satiric thriller has some good comic moments, but don’t go
expecting to roll off your seat. It actually has some intense
moments that you wouldn’t expect from a typical comedy.
Writer-director-producer Jake Kasdan manages to incorporate
drama, suspense, romance and comedy all in one story, but
unfortunately, it’s a little too much for just a two-hour movie.
His exploration of Zero and Arlo’s friendship is somewhat
incomplete, as is the relationship between Arlo and his fiancee
Jess (Angela Featherstone). However, the murder case itself is
fascinating and complex, and the audience will leave the theater
satisfied.
Louise Chu
Grade: B
Chow Yun-Fat plays John Lee, a professional killer trying to
make amends for his past, with the help of Mira Sorvino, in the
"Replacement Killers."