Movie Review: Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole (2010)

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell 

Written by David Lindsay Abaire 

Starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhardt, Dianne Wiest, Sandra Oh, Miles Teller

Release Date December 17th, 2010 

Published December 16th, 2010 

Grief is an individual thing, no two people, no matter how connected they are, react the same way to a catastrophic loss. Some will talk about the Kubler-Ross Theory, the five stages of grief, but Kubler-Ross is far too simple. No two people experience grief in the same way, attempting to simplify people’s reactions to trauma is a fool’s errand. 

The movie “Rabbit Hole” explores the different ways people experience grief, that individual experience, and how people recover or not from the most devastating of losses. Based on a play by David Lindsey-Abaire, who adapted his own script for this screenplay, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, “Rabbit Hole” is a deeply humane drama filled with anguish and heartache but also with a longing hopefulness at its core.

Nicole Kidman stars in “Rabbit Hole” as Becca a stay at home mom whose 4 year old son Danny chased his dog into the street one day and was struck and killed by a car. 8 months later Becca and her husband, Howie (Aaron Eckhardt), are struggling with the different ways each is dealing with the loss of their son.

For Becca, comfort cannot be found in a grief counseling group where, in one of the films most remarkable scenes, Kidman says what is on the minds of so many of us though most would not have the nerve or seeming lack of compassion to say it. She does find something soothing in removing memories of David from she and Howie’s home beginning with the family dog that was the reason Danny ran into the street, and continuing with the removal of David's clothes, his pictures on the refrigerator and eventually a suggestion to sell their lovely suburban house.

Howie on the other hand does find comfort in the grief group and in the friendship of a veteran group member Gabby (Sandra Oh). Will this friendship offer him the comfort that Becca cannot? Meanwhile, Becca finds a much unexpected comfort visiting with the teenage driver of the vehicle that killed her son. Miles Teller plays Jason a mild, artistic, thoughtful kid who bears physical and emotional scars from the accident and despite the circumstances elicits deep sympathy from Becca.

Becca's relationship with Jason and Howie's friendship with Gabby are on an emotional collision course that unfolds in unexpected ways in the final act of “Rabbit Hole.” Director James Cameron Mitchell is best remembered for his outlandish musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and his lesser known oddity “Shortbus” which earned an NC-17 for its explicit sex. In “Rabbit Hole” Mitchell subverts expectations by playing it straight, delivering in essence a highly conventional drama.

The distinct lack of oddity in “Rabbit Hole” stands out only for those unfamiliar with Mitchell's work. For the uninitiated, this stock approach to dramatic storytelling won't register in the same way. Both camps should find “Rabbit Hole” moving but only those who know Mitchell's work will be struck by the lack of playfulness, the standard approach and unfortunate lack of surprises.

Putting my expectations aside for a moment, “Rabbit Hole” contains scenes of heart-rending sadness and deeply moving emotion. A scene involving a video on Howie's phone that he believes Becca intentionally deleted is a powerful, gutty moment, exceptionally well played by Eckhardt and Kidman. The scene in which Howie discovers Becca's friendship with Jason is another agonizing scene filled with deep, passionate feeling.

I may have expected something else from director John Cameron Mitchell but what he delivers is quite strong even in its distinct lack of jaw dropping moments of surprise, the hallmarks of each of Mitchell’s previous films. “Rabbit Hole” has a strong sense of how individual the experience of grief is and it effectively shows the way two people as close as they could possibly be; experience the same trauma in different ways.

A strong cast that also includes Oscar winner Dianne Wiest as Kidman’s mother, playing her own grief storyline, and Tony Award winner Tammy Blanchard as Kidman’s newly pregnant sister, tackle a tough, perfervid story filled with inherent sadness and give it an uplifting and enlightening feel without losing that sadness that will never lift no matter how much time passes and healing takes place.

Resilience is at the heart of recovering from trauma and like grief, resilience is an individual endeavor. Some people will seem to bounce right back as if pretending nothing happened. Others will be consumed by grief and never emerge from the darkness. Only you know how you resilient you will be and likely not until you are forced to confront serious trauma.

The strength of “Rabbit Hole” is in knowing this, playing to it and delivering a drama filled with the understanding necessary to create resilience between the two devastated souls at its center. There are no simple answers for understanding grief and in that way “Rabbit Hole” is instructive and wonderfully understanding. Like the most resonant of dramas “Rabbit Hole” is going to help some who see it and likely move all who see it.

Movie Review: The Queen

The Queen (2006)

Directed by Stephen Frears 

Written by Peter Morgan 

Starring Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam 

Release Date September 15th, 2006 

Published November 1st, 2006 

My memory of the death of Princess Diana begins with me being at work. It was after midnight and I was on the radio on Mix 96 a popular adult contemporary radio station. An employee watching the news wires at a news radio station in the same building brought me the breaking news about the car accident and the eventual pronouncement of death. I was in my second year as a broadcaster and had never broken into programming before.

I made the call to forgo waking my boss to ask permission and went ahead and went on the air with the tragic news. Then I made another editorial decision, I removed Billy Joel's "Only The Good Die Young" from my playlist. I wasn't supposed to, it was and remains against protocol for anyone to remove songs from the playlist. I made the decision I felt was appropriate and stuck by it.

My decision was extraordinarily minor in the grand scheme of things but appropriate responses to this tragedy are very much apart of the discussion that takes place in the movie The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, which details the seemingly inappropriate response of the monarchy to the death of the former Princess. The Royal Family was already clinging to relevance when Princess Di was tragically killed in a Paris car accident, in the wake of Di's death, the question of relevance gave way to questions of necessity and desire. 

In the five days between when Diana the Princess of Whales was killed in a car accident in Paris and the time she was laid to rest in a funeral at Westminster Abbey, England held vigil outside Buckingham Palace awaiting a response from their Queen, Queen Elizabeth the 2nd (Helen Mirren). There was none. The Queen along with husband Prince Philip (James Cromwell), the Queen Mum (Sylvia Sims), Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) and his and Diana's sons remained sequestered at the royal palace at Balmorel.

The non-response was roundly roasted throughout the British press and lead to articles and polls touting the fact that many Britons were coming around to the idea of ending the monarchy altogether. Watching this spectacle, with more than a little vested interest, was the newly installed British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen). It was Blair who took the pulse of the people and lead the public mourning of Diana; he dubbed her the People's Princess.

Blair's response to the tragedy was lauded by the people and the press because it felt un-calculated and yet it managed to heighten pressure on the Queen who remained in a cocoon of royal propriety, unwilling to issue even a statement and, at a critical moment, refusing fly a flag over Buckingham Palace at half staff as so many had called on her to do. Even seemingly minor gestures of public grieving over Diana appeared impossible for the cold-hearted Queen. 

The achievement of Stephen Frears' The Queen is to give context and reason to Queen Elizabeth's non-response. At no point are those of us who liked Princess Diana going to agree with the cold and detached way Queen Elizabeth reacted to Diana's death but we can be understanding and even, possibly, cut the Queen a little slack based on the complicated and strained standards upheld by the Royal Family. Tradition may seem rather silly to outsiders, but inside the palace, protocol is a religion. 

The film doesn't intend to criticize the Queen, deify Diana, or make excuses for either. The Queen presents the facts and allows us to make up our own minds about these people. Thus when the Queen says Diana isn't even royalty anymore we are rightly taken aback. However, as we learn a little more of the Queen's background and we cut deeper into this factory sealed world of royalty, we can come to understand how such detachment and such an unbending attachment to protocol and propriety might lead to exactly the response the Queen has.

Essentially, chilly, dispassionate, detachment is part of the breeding of a Queen and to expect anything else is simply dishonest. Does this excuse such inhumanity as the Queen being unwilling to make any compromise or even acknowledge the obvious, growing need of her people for an emotional response to the tragedy? No, but it does explain it.

The movie The Queen turns on the brilliant, Oscar worthy work of Helen Mirren. This is by far the best performance by any actress this year. Mirren captures the icy demeanor we all know of Queen Elizabeth and then infuses her with a withering intelligence, self awareness, and, by the end, a certain poignancy as she must come to terms with how the times and her subjects have passed her by.

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair borders at times on making the Prime Minister a toadying stooge to the monarchy but, for the most part, the movie captures the popular Blair, the one who was the chief mourner of Diana. Michael Sheen's conception of Blair is a man of the people who knew just how to react to tragedy. Keep in mind, Blair was squarely in the middle of a battle of wills that few realized was happening. On one side was the monarchy whose detachment was reaching a critical point and on the other side were the people who, without a royal response to the tragedy, were coming  around to the idea of no monarchy at all.

Sheen deftly plays Blair's conflict as he must manage the entirely unmanageable Queen while members of his own staff, and even his wife, Cherie Blair, well played by Helen McRory, talked openly about whether the time of the monarchy had passed. This is award level work by Sheen who slowly works Blair's golden boy charm into the smart, savvy persona that Blair held until recently when his decision to join the American adventure in Iraq began eroding his standing with the British people.

Before seeing The Queen I watched Emilio Estevez's supremely flawed movie Bobby another movie that is at least sort of about the tragic death of a beloved public figure. Watching Bobby made me look a little deeper at the death of Princess Diana and the overwhelming response people had to it. The death of Bobby Kennedy effected history, literally. He could have gone on to become the most powerful man in the world and made decisions that would have rippled through history even today.

Princess Diana, on the other hand, her death, though tragic did not effect history. I'm not meaning in anyway to demean the Princess whose good works and charity effected millions of lives, but there is a difference between the effect of her life and that of Bobby Kennedy that makes the response to her death a little puzzling.

For five days the crowds of mourners swelled into the millions and the public outcry over the non-response of the monarchy nearly called for a storming of castles. The out sized response was a testament to how much the people loved Princess Diana but to an outsider like myself it seemed a little much. The Queen portrays Queen Elizabeth as something of an outsider herself, in relation to her people and this allowed me, at the very least, to identify with her and respect her decision not to engage in the public wringing of emotion.

Queen Elizabeth was wrong to be so cold to someone who had borne her two grandchildren, one of whom is the future King, and there is no question that she could have made a couple of compromises to placate the public. Many were right to criticize her detachment and inability to change with the times. What the movie The Queen effectively offers however is an opportunity, if you are so inclined, to identify with Queen Elizabeth and her more than fair unwillingness to engage in the public's outpouring of emotion.

The Queen is a sensational film with academy notable performances from Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen. The Queen is also smart, entertaining and endlessly watchable for what might on the surface seem like another British chamber piece; impenetrable to the average American moviegoer. The Queen has the gravitas of masterpiece theater but a story that engages all audiences. The Queen is a true must see picture.

Movie Review: The Meg

The Meg (2017) 

Directed by John Turteltaub 

Written by Dean Georgaris, John and Erich Hoeber 

Starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Cliff Curtis 

Release Date August 10th, 2017 

Published August 9th, 2017 

The Meg stars Jason Statham as Jonas, a deep water rescue expert. When we meet Jonas for the first time he’s at the bottom of the ocean, inside a crashed submarine trying to save members of the crew. Unfortunately, something outside the sub is crushing it and Jonas is forced to make a terrible and tragic choice: save some of the crew and leave others behind or have everyone die at the hands of a monster only he believes is real.

Cut to five years later, Jonas is living as a drunken hermit in Thailand when he gets a call from his friend, Mack (Cliff Curtis) telling him that his ex-wife, Lori (Jessica McNamee) and two other crew members are trapped in disabled sub at the bottom of the ocean. By bottom of the ocean, we’re not talking about the known bottom but a newly discovered bottom of the ocean, further down than anyone has ever traveled before.

Jonas, being the hero that he is, jumps back into action to save Lori and company but the rescue has unintended consequences. An explosion has caused a breach in a wall of frost that had kept an ancient monster of the sea hidden away for centuries. Now, the ancient and mythic Megalodon is free and ready to wreak havoc on the ocean. Only Jonas, along with the brilliant scientist and oceanographer Suyin (Li Bingbing), and her crew, including Mack, Jaxx (Ruby Rose) and D.J (Page Kennedy) can stop the monster shark.

Oh, Rainn Wilson is there as well as the comic relief billionaire who is funding the research that was just to find the new bottom of the ocean but now is to save the lives of anyone who is unwittingly in the ocean with the new super-predator on loose. Wilson can be a little annoyingly quirky at times in The Meg but his final scene makes it all worth it. I would recommend The Meg based almost entirely on that one scene.

The Meg was directed by Jon Turteltaub who knows a little something about making a goofy fun action movie; he’s best known as the man behind the National Treasure franchise with Nicholas Cage. It’s been 11 years since Turteltaub has had a hit movie, the National Treasure sequel, Book of Secrets, and 7 years since he made his most recent feature film. His most recent effort, 2010’s The Sorcerer's Apprentice, another attempt at a Cage led franchise, failed spectacularly with fans and critics.

Perhaps leaving Nicholas Cage behind was a good choice, Turteltaub seems reinvigorated by having a new star in Jason Statham who, since joining the Fast and Furious franchise, and appearing with Melissa McCarthy in Spy, has developed the skills that are a perfect fit for The Meg. Statham has the ability to take the nonsense seriously without taking it too seriously. He’s not winking at the audience constantly but he’s definitely in on the gag of how silly it all is, reminiscent of the approach of his pal Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Statham strikes all the right notes in The Meg, including the romantic notes. Statham has terrific chemistry with love interest Bingbing Li and allows himself to be playful, charming and vulnerable, a rare combination of traits in a Statham character. Sure, he’s still intense and intimidating as Jonas, but the moments where he lets his guard down are more effective here because they are so unexpectedly charming.

The Meg succeeds on Statham’s star performance though Bingbing Li is every bit his equal in likability and sympathy. Li’s Suyin is a loyal daughter, a terrific mother to scene-stealer Shuya Sophia Cai, and a good friend to her crew members. She even gets some of the films best laughs when she secretly ogles a shirtless Statham and is nearly caught. It’s an adorable and funny performance and Li elevates the goofy material.

Sadly, the special effects of The Meg, including the title character, are the weakest part of the movie. The Meg is just okay looking, it’s not all that special. There is a fuzzy quality to the Megalodon up close and the kills, though appropriately gory, have a low budget quality that keeps them from being legitimately scary. Whether this was director Turteltaub’s intent to make the film more suitable for mass audiences or a lack of care in the effects department, I can’t say. I can only say that the film suffers a little for the lack of genuine frights.

Only a little though, the mediocre effects do work well enough to underline the campy, good natured goofiness of The Meg. This is not Jaws, there doesn’t appear to be any real intent to make The Meg scary. It’s a B-movie production that aims squarely for the PG-13 thrill market rather than the R-Rated horror market. It’s a function of mercenary marketing strategy and not an artistic concern but at least the filmmakers don’t appear to be hiding the mercenary qualities, and rather are wearing them proudly as part of the film’s odd campy charm.

I was convinced I was going to hate The Meg. So, I really should not be surprised that the film overtook such low expectations. All Jon Turteltaub needed to do to impress me here was not annoy the bejesus out of me and I was going to be rather happy. That the film, especially Jason Statham, entertained me makes the movie a genuine pleasure. I’m reminded of the same low-quality high fun appeal of the Fast and the Furious movies. If Jason Statham can keep making movies in that vein, he and I are going to be actor and fan for years to come.

Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) 

Directed by Grant Heslov

Written by Peter Straughan 

Starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey 

Release Date November 6th, 2009 

Published November 5th, 2009 

Remote viewing is sort of a real thing. Real in that some people believe they can do it or enjoy conning others into thinking they can do it. So good were some of these con men that they convinced the United States government to fund a program that allowed them to train their remote viewing techniques. The book The Men Who Stare at Goats, by journalist Jon Ronson, is about the real life nuts and con men who took advantage of cold war paranoia to further their work in the world of the paranormal. 

The book is now a quite funny movie that slowly morphs into a mawkish tribute to morons and con men. Ewan McGregor is the star of The Men Who Stare at Goats. MacGregor plays Bob Wilton a journalist who, after his wife leaves him, decides to get embedded in Iraq to cover the war. Once their he stumbles upon Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob knows Cassady from an interview he did with a wacko who claimed the ability to stop an animal's heart with his mind. The nut claimed Cassady was the best psychic spy in the world.

Cassady prefers the title Jedi Warrior and maybe through some pop culture osmosis, McGregor was Obi Wan Kenobi, he senses a kindred spirit in Bob and decides to take the reporter with him on a 'psychic mission.' The two men wander out into the desert of Iraq and along the way Lyn recounts the wild, unbelievable story of his introduction to, and the creation of, what the government called 'The New Earth Army'.

Lead by Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) the New Earth Army was a plan to fight wars without weapons. Col. Django believed that the mind could be used to fight wars and encourage peace. Django recruited young men willing to explore their minds and dance free and grow their hair. Lyn Cassady was his prize student while Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) acts as the snake in the New Earth garden of Eden.

Director Grant Heslov tackles Jon Ronson's book with an eye toward satire. It is after all quite a wild idea that the US government paid to train psychic warriors. However, as the movie goes along, what begins as a biting satiric send up of this lunatic idea turns into a mushy tribute to goofballs who believe in the ridiculous. Instead of sending up the idea of psychic warriors, the director appears to buy into the idea, though not completely, and what appears intended to be a comedy becomes something closer to a tribute to weirdos and kooks. 

In the final act of The Men Who Stare at Goats a film that was building some satiric momentum devolves into a nutty homage to the numbskull characters who believe they have psychic abilities. It's a shame because a healthy dose of skepticism and reality is just what this material needed. A great cast in the end is drowned in lunacy and goofiness and while it's all very good natured, it also feels like a major missed opportunity. The Men Who Stare at Goats, in the end, is a disappointing sop that should have been a giddy satire.

Movie Review: The Messenger

The Messenger (2009) 

Directed by Oren Moverman 

Written by Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman 

Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone 

Release Date November 13th, 2009 

January 31st, 2010 

There are many jobs to be done in the American military and it is likely a great movie could be made about any of those jobs. Writer-director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon have chosen a particularly difficult job and crafted a great movie from its many emotional and professional complications.

The Messenger tells the story of Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a recently injured soldier home from Iraq. Though Will is desperate to get back to the war his injuries need more time to heal and his commanding officer (Eamonn Walker) has a temporary job for him to do while he heals.

Will is assigned to work with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) in the Casualty Notification Service. It is Captain Stone's duty to inform the families of soldiers who are killed in battle. Captain Stone has been at this job a very long time and has some hard and fast rules for Staff Sgt. Montgomery to live by.

The first and most important rule is being professional. Do not engage emotionally with the family. Stick to the script which informs the family that the Department of Defense is sorry to inform them of the death of their loved one. Never touch the victim's family, no physical or emotional attachments are essential to performing this task.

The rules are practical to military standards but also provide a distance for the men of the casualty service who need the rules to keep the sadness and despair at the heart of the job at bay. Montgomery understands but cannot resist a natural tendency toward helping people. In battle he was often the first to rush to help a downed soldier, and in his new duty keeping his distance from the wounded is difficult.

It was inevitable then that one of the victim's families would get through Montgomery’s shell of professionalism. The wife of a late soldier, Olivia (Samantha Morton), strikes something deep within Montgomery and he cannot help but engage with her, eventually beginning to fall in love with her all the while trying to keep Tony from knowing about his breech of conduct. Of course, Tony is well aware of what is happening and seeing the young man make this mistake leads Tony to his own breech of conduct when he returns to drinking as a way of coping with the job. As these two men bond and battle the story takes on a tornado swirl of emotions.

Director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon structure the story of The Messenger as a series of vignettes strung together with scenes of male bonding through alcohol and immature sexuality. There is an inherent disconnect from emotion in this structure, one that actually plays very well to the overall story.

By structuring the film as a series of beginning middle and end encounters with victims families followed by scenes of Montgomery and Stone getting to know each other off the job, we get the disconnected feeling that Stone urges as the most important part of the job. This makes it even more effective when Montgomery begins to allow the job to bleed over out of the vignette and into the other portions of the story.

By the end, the wall that Stone so carefully crafted as a means of distancing himself from the tragedy of his job is nearly destroyed and it nearly destroys him. Montgomery meanwhile finds himself again through the despair and heartache and finds a renewed purpose that gives the film a hopeful yet nervy end.

The Messenger is a film of remarkable poise, poignancy and empathy. It features performances by Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson that are hard but sensitive, tough yet compassionate. Oren Moverman made his mark as screenwriter in 2007 and now is a full fledged filmmaker with his exceptional work here.

Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon were nominated for an Academy Award for this original screenplay while Woody Harrelson earned a much deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination. This film deserved even more than that. The Messenger is powerhouse filmmaking.

Movie Review: The Messengers

The Messengers (2007)

Directed by The Pang Brothers 

Written by Mark Wheaton

Starring Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett 

Release Date February 2nd, 2007

Published February 1st, 2007

The two worst things to happen to modern horror are the rise of the PG-13 rating as a box office force and the rising influence of atmospheric Japanese horror movies. The PG-13 rips the guts out of the genre by not allowing guts to be ripped out on screen anymore. The rating robs the genre of its kink and cheap thrills and leaves nothing but the shrill screams of the soundtrack.

The influence of Japanese horror wouldn't be such a bad thing if American filmmakers could mimic it well. Unfortunately, as demonstrated by two The Ring's and two Grudge movies and the pitiful Dark Water with Jennifer Connelly, clearly we can't. Both of these bad trends come together in the latest haunted house horror flick The Messengers.

The last thing young Jess (Kristen Stewart) wants is to move to the middle of nowhere, North Dakota. Unfortunately for Jess, her dad Roy (Dylan McDermott) and mom Denise (Penelope Ann Miller), are forcing her to do just that. Dad has decided he is going to become a sunflower farmer and has used the family's savings to buy a dilapidated farmhouse and some empty acres.

Naturally, the house was once the site of a grizzly murder. A mother, her daughter, and young son, were killed in this house and their spirits haven't left. Only Jess's baby brother Ben can see the ghosts, though eventually, Jess gets up close and personal when they try and kill her. Joining the family on the farm is a mysterious wandering farmhand named Burwell (John Corbett) who may or may not have some history of his own tied up in the old house.

Commercials for The Messengers trade on the idea that small children, toddlers, can see things adults can't. It's an attention grabbing conceit. However, it has nothing to do with the movie that ends up on the screen. Yes, there is a toddler in the film and yes he does see the ghosts. However, the fact that the kid can see the ghosts has little, to no impact on the plot, it's more of a marketing tool intended to make you think of better movies in which kids see ghosts, The Sixth Sense. 

Director's Danny and Oxide Pang made the awkward but entertaining Japanese horror flick The Eye and now make their American debut with The Messengers. The new movie shares the debut picture's awkward style and low rent effects. What The Messengers lacks; and what The Eye had in abundance, is an original story. Working with first time writer Mark Wheaton, and from an idea from the man behind Jason X; Todd Farmer, the Pang Brothers deliver an uninspired bit of by the numbers direction.

There is some unintentional comedy in The Messengers, though not nearly enough for real camp fun. In one scene Dylan McDermott gets into it with some crows and ends up having to throw a haymaker at one, a dignity destroying bit of physical business. In another, John Corbett is engulfed by the evil black birds, reminiscent of a scene from The Simpsons in which Homer is attacked by crows. Oh, did I mention the fact that these bizarre bird attacks are entirely random and never actually linked to the plot? That's kind of important.

The special effects of The Messengers are about as bad as the directors fetish for black birds. The ghosts of The Messengers are The Grudge knockoffs with cracking bones and crawling on all fours on floors, walls and ceilings. Each has that very obvious digital glow about them that let's the audience know the filmmakers didn't have the money for the top notch digital effects.

The Messengers is a mindless rehash of a dozen other bad horror movies from The Ring and The Grudge to the long forgotten Sharon Stone-Dennis Quaid teaming Cold Creek Manor whose creators might consider looking into copyright infringement, the stories are so similar. The estate of the late great Alfred Hitchcock might consider litigation as well. considering The Messengers' oddball, non-plot related, bird obsession.

However, relating anything Hitchcock-ian to this thrill-less thriller is a little too insulting to the great master. Forget I ever brought it up, just as you would forget The Messengers moments after seeing it.

Movie Review: The Missing

The Missing (2003) 

Directed by Ron Howard 

Written by Ken Kaufman

Starring Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, Evan Rachel Wood, Jenna Boyd, Aaron Eckhardt 

Release Date November 26th, 2003

Published November 24th, 2003

I have never been a big fan of westerns and yet, this year, I have seen a pair of terrific films from that genre: Kevin Costner's elegant cattle rustling drama Open Range and an unknown indie western called Dust starring Josef Fiennes; a western that toys with the traditions of the genre in ways that bring it new life and vitality. Now comes Ron Howard's take on the western, The Missing. Like Open Range, it has some of the traditional archetypes and structure of classic western, but like the innovative Dust, it has a  lot of artistry and flair that the genre has always lacked.

Cate Blanchett stars in The Missing as Maggie, a healer in a backwoods New Mexico homestead. Maggie lives and works the land with her two daughters, oldest Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and youngest Dot (Jenna Boyd), as well as a field hand named Brake (Aaron Eckhart) with whom Maggie is close. Their lives are mundane and, you might even say, dull, until Maggie's estranged father Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones) comes to their home in need of medical attention.

Father and daughter haven't spoken in years, not since Samuel ran off to live with Apache Indians, leaving Maggie behind with her sick mother who died soon after he left. Maggie grew up hard and fast and was only recently coming to terms with herself when Samuel shows up. It's not surprising when she angrily sends her father on his way. 

Unfortunately, Samuel will re-enter his daughter’s life again soon after when Indians kidnap Lilly and head for the Mexican border to sell her into slavery. Only Samuel has the means to track the Indians and get the girl back. The military, represented by Val Kilmer in a quick cameo, are hot on the wrong trail and are headed the wrong direction despite Maggie's pleading.

The Indian kidnappers are lead by a mystical man called Chidin, who Samuel is convinced is a witch. Chidin does indeed seem to have some sort of powers, though his motives are clearly just motivated by greed. Chidin is played by Eric Schweig who made a wonderful impression in 2002's Skins. Here, he is hardly recognizable under aging makeup and war paint, and he is more frightening than most horror movie villains.

Director Ron Howard had said he never wanted to make a western, but something about the unconventional elements of The Missing appealed to him. Howard liked that this western had a strong woman as its lead character. He liked that there were no card games or noontime shootouts at ten paces. The mystical elements of The Missing offered the opportunity to break many of the traditional western cliches. For the most part, Howard makes it work.

The success of The Missing starts with the casting of Cate Blanchett, a terrifically believable actress. Blanchett is a chameleon on par with Meryl Streep, Blanchett can play any role. Here, she plays what are essentially two roles. When we first meet Maggie, she is a hard bitten woman who is both mother and father to her two daughters. Maggie chops wood and cooks dinner. However, after her daughter is kidnapped, she is forced to become vulnerable and, as father and daughter slowly reconcile, she softens Maggie's edges in a way that is believable. Maggie never melts into a typical victim role that the character might have become in the hands of a lesser actress.

What can you say about Tommy Lee Jones? The man is toughness personified. In The Missing, even as he wears the ugliest, least convincing pony tail in film history, Jones still exudes toughness and wisdom. There is something about those deep lines in Jones's face; those lines communicate strength, intelligence, surprising humor, a most effectively wisdom. Jones' wizened visage carries gravitas, it has weight as much as age, intensity and experience. 

Credit cinematographer Salvatore Tatino with helping The Missing break with many of the western genres' most conventional elements. Using different cameras, film stock, and lighting Tatino and Howard paint a wonderfully unique looking western setting. The only significant problem with The Missing, is its length, which stretches too far past the two hour mark. 

There are a number of times the film could have ended but didn't and the final half hour is desperately padded with unnecessary scenes. It's as if screenwriter Ken Kaufmann, adapting a book by Thomas Eidsen, couldn't decide on an ending and kept circling back to wrap up forgotten and unnecessary plot points that could have been left for the audience to wonder about. Instead those plot points are resolved with pretentious, overlong bits of dialogue that threaten to sink the film near the end.

Thankfully Ron Howard pulls out of this bad run of scenes before the film completely faltered and, for most of its run time, The Missing is an enthralling western thriller that shows there is plenty more you can do with a western setting than mere gunfights and saloon brawls.