Death & the Maiden (C or 2/4 stars)
Based on a play, 'Death & the Maiden' (directed by Roman Polanski) tells a story of ultimate revenge. Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver) & her husband Gerardo (Stuart Wilson), a couple living in a secluded house on a South American country's coast, are political activist/revolutionaries for democracy (hence their hiding out). He was the editor of an underground newspaper; she was a courier who was raped & brutally tortured for protecting his identity (now you know why they hide out). Now, some 15 yrs. later, Gerard is rescued from a car breakdown on a lonely road in a huge storm by a Dr. Roberto Miranda (Ben Kingsley).
When the doctor stops off at the Escobar home for a quick drink, Paulina hears his voice, & some demons from her past come racing back; as she recognizes him as the man who was once part of the old fascist regime that blindfoldedly raped & tortured her! Paulina is torn btwn. her own psychological repressions & macabre memories, Gerardo is torn btwn. his wife & the law, & Dr. Miranda must face captivity because of it all. But whether she's correct or incorrect about his identity, Paulina takes the necessary steps (in her mind) to ensure that Dr. Miranda doesn't leave her house until her revenge on him comes full circle.
I love most Roman Polanski movies. They are usually full to the brim with atmosphere. And that is no different, here. The premise has intrigue. The setting is mysterious. The evening is windy & stormy. Lightning flickers intermittently. Bumps in the night. Rain comes down quite forcedly. I felt uneasy early on. Polanski instills subtle dread into his audience. Cinematographer Torino Delli Colli frames every claustrophobic scene very well. I could go on with the technical strengths. But so, too, do you need a good movie somewhere inside all of that surface stuff. The potential was there for an interesting dramatic 'thriller'. But based on the story, plotting, acting, & overall execution ... I'm afraid that I was let down, a bit.
You know, there's actually very little in the script to allow for the running time that the film has. There are contrivances. Any tension that is created by the film's premise is relieved any time the actors start to speak (I don't know if that's the fault of the material or the actors themselves). Furthermore, since most of the mystery of this film - is Dr. Miranda actually the bad guy from Paulina's past? - is told to us with quite a lot of time left in the film ... that tension dissipates even more.
Sigourney Weaver can be a great actress with the right roles. But here, I found her inauthentic & loud (when she needed to be nuanced). Her 'emotionally charged' acting comes across as overacting; or worse ... unintentionally funny. Stuart Wilson fares a bit better as the conflicted husband. And Ben Kingsley fares bets as the enigmatic Miranda. We really can't tell if he is guilty or innocent of Paulina's insinuation. He's disquieting. But with all of that said, none of these characters capture our sympathy. If I don't care about Paulina OR Dr. Miranda ... why watch the film? 'Death & the Maiden' suffers from lack of subtleties (both in the story & the acting). Suspense drains from the narrative as it goes. And the film is too pretentious & heavy-handed to be considered great.
When the doctor stops off at the Escobar home for a quick drink, Paulina hears his voice, & some demons from her past come racing back; as she recognizes him as the man who was once part of the old fascist regime that blindfoldedly raped & tortured her! Paulina is torn btwn. her own psychological repressions & macabre memories, Gerardo is torn btwn. his wife & the law, & Dr. Miranda must face captivity because of it all. But whether she's correct or incorrect about his identity, Paulina takes the necessary steps (in her mind) to ensure that Dr. Miranda doesn't leave her house until her revenge on him comes full circle.
I love most Roman Polanski movies. They are usually full to the brim with atmosphere. And that is no different, here. The premise has intrigue. The setting is mysterious. The evening is windy & stormy. Lightning flickers intermittently. Bumps in the night. Rain comes down quite forcedly. I felt uneasy early on. Polanski instills subtle dread into his audience. Cinematographer Torino Delli Colli frames every claustrophobic scene very well. I could go on with the technical strengths. But so, too, do you need a good movie somewhere inside all of that surface stuff. The potential was there for an interesting dramatic 'thriller'. But based on the story, plotting, acting, & overall execution ... I'm afraid that I was let down, a bit.
You know, there's actually very little in the script to allow for the running time that the film has. There are contrivances. Any tension that is created by the film's premise is relieved any time the actors start to speak (I don't know if that's the fault of the material or the actors themselves). Furthermore, since most of the mystery of this film - is Dr. Miranda actually the bad guy from Paulina's past? - is told to us with quite a lot of time left in the film ... that tension dissipates even more.
Sigourney Weaver can be a great actress with the right roles. But here, I found her inauthentic & loud (when she needed to be nuanced). Her 'emotionally charged' acting comes across as overacting; or worse ... unintentionally funny. Stuart Wilson fares a bit better as the conflicted husband. And Ben Kingsley fares bets as the enigmatic Miranda. We really can't tell if he is guilty or innocent of Paulina's insinuation. He's disquieting. But with all of that said, none of these characters capture our sympathy. If I don't care about Paulina OR Dr. Miranda ... why watch the film? 'Death & the Maiden' suffers from lack of subtleties (both in the story & the acting). Suspense drains from the narrative as it goes. And the film is too pretentious & heavy-handed to be considered great.