The Gingerbread Man
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Movie Reviews of The Gingerbread Man
Movie Review: Underrated Altman gem!
Summary: 4 Stars
I can remember seeing this movie in an almost empty theater when it came out. It's a shame because this is really a well-made, intriguing thriller that only Robert Altman could make. Rumour has it, he completely demolished John Grisham's original story and basically did his own thing--which is what Altman is famous for. The results? An unusual mystery that gets under your skin with characters that are flawed and always interesting to watch.Much was made about Kenneth Branagh's Southern accent... or lack thereof. To tell you the truth, it really didn't bother me all that much and I think he pulled it off. He certainly is a flawed character, vain, self-absorbed but through the course of the movie he certainly learns his lesson as his whole world gets tossed upside down.
This movie really is about human behaviour as opposed to a concrete A to B to C linear plot. The mystery is really just window dressing to get all of these characters together and see what happens.
As always, Altman has assembled a top notch cast with the likes of Daryl Hannah (?!) and Tom Berenger plucked out of obscurity for solid performances. Robert Duvall also turns up as a crazed hobo character. He makes the most of his limited screen time. And of course, good ol' reliable Robert Downey, Jr. turns in another wonderfully eccentric turn as a slightly-sleazy private detective who's buddies with Branagh's character. He steals every scene that he's in.
The DVD is quite good. The audio and video is excellent. As another reviewer pointed out, if you have a surround sound set-up it feels like the tropical storm in the movie is all around you. Altman really knows how to build atmosphere and suggest a specific place.
This is a really good movie. Very underrated and worth a look.
Movie Review: Entertaining but not quite satisfying Altman thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh), a rather arrogant, womanizing lawyer in Savannah, Georgia, has just won a big case against some allegedly overzealous cops. Which is jolly good for his career, unless of course he should develop the sort of problems in life where having the local police hate you might prove a handicap. Which is exactly what he goes and does. A casual sexual entanglement with Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz) gets him involved professionally in a conflict with her father (Robert Duvall) who appears to be stalking her. Then when the latter escapes from a psychiatric hospital things start to get complicated. And nothing, it will turn out, is quite what it seems.
Robert Altman, of course, just doesn't do mainstream, run of the mill Hollywood movies. Which makes this an intriguing project for him as what could be more mainstream, run of the mill Hollywood than a hot and sweaty Southern-based legal thriller from a John Grisham story? The result is certainly interesting, though not helped by the casting of one of my least favourite actors, the consistently lacklustre Kenneth Branagh, in the lead role. On the plus side, the cinematography by Changwei Gu (who had earlier shot`Red Sorghum' and `Farewell My Concubine') is superb and the long opening shot of the Savannah River is altogether breathtaking.
The film as a whole is certainly well worth a look: dark, shadowy, intriguing and twisty but somehow less than wholly satisfying. Here everything depends on your choice of comparison class. As Grisham adaptations go, it's brilliant, surely the best. As Altman movies go it's only so-so.
Movie Review: Branagh does an excellent job in this suspenseful film
Summary: 4 Stars
I just got done watching this movie, and I'm a bit torn on which side of the discussion I'm going to come down on.
I was curious to see how Branagh (whom I generally love as an actor) was going to do a Southern accent. I think he struggled on this. He did an OK accent, but being a Northerner, I'm going to have to defer on others on how good his accent was. At least he didn't have a broad drawl.
The plot was pretty suspenseful. One did feel a definite sense of foreboding when Branagh's children were involved. Unlike other reviewers, I thought the subplot about the storm added an interesting twist.
Two other great actors, Robert Duvall and Robert Downey, Jr. were good in the film, although neither had a lot of screen time.
I must confess that it was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen, so the ending wasn't a giant surprise. Films these days all seem to offer a twist at the end, so I think we are all trying to out-guess the filmmakers. It was pretty easy this time.
Moderately recommended. The film's actors bail out what really should have been a better film. Pick a rainy day to watch it (it really does rain in this film all the time).
Movie Review: Decent thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
I am inclined to like Robert Altman. I like the way he paces his movies, with dialog overlapping and little quirky comments. I like that. I like the impressive cast that he always gathers. And I liked this film well enough.I thought the storm element in this film was perfectly appropriate. It added a noir touch that I appreciated. The dialog has a sense of humor that was a treat. Cinematography is excellent, and I loved the moody score by Mark Isham. The story is well-paced, and intriquing. I was engrossed until the end.
The cast is impressive and everyone does a great job. Branagh does a great Southern accent, and his character was believable as a somewhat cocky lawyer. I especially liked Robert Downey Jr.'s character-he was just right as Branagh's easy-going, flirty bar-hopping associate. Robert Duvall is also wonderful as a creepy old coot who doesn't like to wear shoes. An excellent, well-chosen cast.
A well-told mystery film. A solid offering.
Movie Review: Not as ambitious as usual for Altman, but succeeds on its own terms.
Summary: 4 Stars
One could see this as 'Short Cuts' correlative
opposite. That was a movie with great ambitions, that - while good -
fell just short. This is a movie of much lesser aim (just a good tense
thriller/mystery), that's much more successful on it's own terms.
The acting is very good throughout. It may be my favorite Kenneth
Branagh performance; understated and subtle. And a number of the scenes
really are tense. Altman finds some clever ways to create suspense with
sound and image that aren't just retreads of what we've seen before.
Admittedly, some of the twists are pretty creaky and predictable, the
logic sometimes questionable, and the moral POV of the film is a bit
confusing. But this still blows most modern Hollywood thrillers out of the
water.