Friday, October 17, 1997
Screenscene
"The Devil’s Advocate"
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves
If John Grisham and Stephen King ever teamed up to write a
screenplay, they would probably end up with something like "The
Devil’s Advocate."
This combination of legal thriller and horror film successfully
navigates the divide between genres for most of its running time.
The film does run into problems in its second half, however, mainly
by not having enough faith in its own story to bring it to a
satisfactory conclusion.
The story follows bright young attorney, Kevin Lomax (Keanu
Reeves), who has never lost a case throughout his entire legal
career. He and his young wife, Marianne (Charlize Theron), are soon
courted to New York by a large, powerful law-firm, headed by the
energetic and crafty John Milton (Al Pacino).
Though Milton has taken Kevin under his wing and is providing
him with the most lavish lifestyle imaginable, there is something
very disquieting under the surface. As the film draws closer to its
conclusion, it becomes apparent that the sinister presence
underneath all the surreal events is in fact Milton himself, who
appears to be none other than Satan.
The unique premise provides the film with several opportunities
for inventive, special-effects-laden set pieces, not to mention a
surprising sense of humor. Pacino, perfectly cast as Milton, is
obviously having a great time with the role, and is a lot of fun to
watch. Reeves, never noteworthy for his acting ability, manages the
central role of Lomax ably, although he has the tendency to
underplay scenes of intense emotion. On the opposite end of the
spectrum, Theron, who was exceptional in this year’s otherwise
passable "Trial and Error," overdoes the part of Marianne, making
her presence more of an annoyance than anything else.
The film moves along briskly until its closing moments, and
includes a powerhouse scene in which Pacino and Reeves face off in
Milton’s office. Watching Pacino inhabit the role of the
Anti-Christ is alone worth the price of admission. However,
screenwriters Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy force the film into
an unnatural conclusion and efficiently kill all the momentum
heading into the film’s denouement.
"The Devil’s Advocate" is a fun and engaging thriller about the
power of temptation and the evil that surrounds us. If only the
filmmakers had managed to conclude the story with the same skill
that they used to craft it, the movie could have been much
more.
Lonnie Harris
Grade: B-
"Ice Storm"
Directed by Ang Lee
Starring Joan Allen, Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
The word "hollow"doesn’t begin to describe it. The feeling is
most comparable to being impregnated by an icicle, with its cold,
clean pain subsiding only after the entire spike slowly melts away.
But as the numbness clears, you’re still left with the festering
scar of the sharp tip left deep inside of you.
Such a cinematic experience occurs only about once every leap
year or, to be more precise, once every "Ice Storm." Director Ang
Lee presents the unhinging of two families in Connecticut during
the 1970s. Yet, despite using the flamboyant decade of sexual
revolution as a backdrop to the subtle conflicts, the film never
gets out of hand.
The drama between Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) and his wife, Elena
Hood (Joan Allen), never erupts into a cathartic shouting fest or
falls into a slick resolution. Likewise, the unspoken struggles
affecting both crisp, hardened Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver) and
Jamey Sheridan’s aloof, cuckholded husband Jim Carver fail to find
a forum for discussion.
The work offers only a delicate window into the lives of a few
average people whose problems exist in the same place they do for
most Americans the nation over: just above freezing point.
One of the most perfectly executed of movies to come in a long
while, every aspect of the film conveys isolation. Swathed in
serene burgundy wools and grey suits true to the era and the
North-Eastern cold, even the costumes are a form of expression for
these heavily guarded characters.
As leaves coat the ground, the very air moving on-screen looks
brisk and hard, echoing the tightening of the characters and the
eventual hardening of the rain. Shots of trees encased in ice, with
their drooping leaves resembling wind chimes in their frozen state,
speak of the numbness surrounding the movie’s events.
Christina Ricci and Elijah Wood add to the estranged atmosphere,
their adolescent traumas not exceeding the bounds of reality, as
they endeavor to understand themselves amidst the chaos of their
home lives.
Yet, moments of humor abound along with the tenderness. But they
are not just added to lighten up an otherwise dismal drama. They
flow naturally, just as they would do in life. It is this attention
to legitimate human relationships which takes this film off of the
screen and injects it straight into the emotion of the viewers.
It’s more of a documentary at times, the characters behaving
naturally, not as Hollywood scripted actors. "Ice Storm" steps out
of the ’70s and into the ’90s, sure to enjoy a timelessness common
to any great film.
Vanessa VanderZanden
Grade: A