LOVE WALKED IN
Triumph Releasing Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Director: Juan J. Campanella Writer: Juan J. Campanella, Lynn Geller, Larry Golin Cast: Denis Leary, Aitana Sanchez Gijon, Michael Badulucco, Terence Stamp, Gene Canfield, Marj Dusay, Danny Nucci, Neal Huff, Moira Kelly, J.K. Simmons
"No matter how much you try to be a creator, you're only along for the ride," concludes Jack Morrisey (Dennis Leary), the principal character in Argentine-born writer-director Juan J. Campanella's movie. Based on the Latin American novel "Ni El Tiro Del Final" by Jose Pablo Feinmann, "Love Walked In" is yet another entry into the noir genre, a story of a writer- pianist who is hoist by his own petard but who is ultimately redeemed. Campanella's story fall into the age-old category of fables that illustrate the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other man's side," featuring a guy who has a sexy wife but wants money pitted against another who has the cash but desires a sexy woman.
Life just isn't always fair and doesn't Morrisey know it. Here he is, a fine cocktail pianist who accompanies his sultry wife, Vicky (Aitana Sanchez Gijon), a singer in a Long Island supper club, but he is unhappy about the kind of living he's making with these gigs. After all, he's a multi-talented man, an unpublished writer who creates melodramatic mystery stories in his spare time, has a vivid imagination, and best of all can articulate his philosophy of life with ease and savoir faire to a mostly apathetic audience. Puffing on a cigarette and assuming a Brechtian tone of voice, he insults his bored audience with his view that they are the haves and he a have- not, yet what have they done to deserve their money? One particular member of the crowd who happens to own the club and a spacious mansion nearby--as well as property in Europe and a pied-a-terre in New York City--acquired his fortune simply by marrying well. A regular guest at his own club, Fred Moore (Terence Stamp) is under the surveillance of a private detective, Eddie Bianco (Michael Badulucco), hired by Fred's wife (Marj Dusay) who suspects her mate of infidelity. When Eddie proposes a sinister plan to his friend Jack to extract a large sum of money from Mrs. Moore--one which recalls the situation attending the far more commercial movie, "Indecent Proposal," Jack goes along. The scheme is to have Vicky seduce Fred while the private eye snaps pictures of the infidelity, and blackmail Fred lest the evidence go to Mrs. Moore's attention.
To add gravity to the narrative, Jack imagines an assembly of characters in a similar situation, an alter-ego named Howard who is likewise exploited into committing unethical and illegal acts. Jack's mistake is in thinking that reality follows art: that an invented scheme put on paper will not necessarily work in real life. So while Jack's fictional characters proceed, smoothly at first, to carry out their evil deeds, Jack runs into several detours which cause him to think anew about what he already has rather than obsess about the money he would like to possess. Denis Leary, who has already shown his depth by succeeding as a stand-up comic, and as a romantic hero (in "Two If By Sea"), and who has appeared not only on the screen but on English and American stages, turns in an adept performance as a man overtaken by greed. His chemistry with his charming wife, played by Aitana Sanchez-Gijon (best known to American moviegoers for "A Walk in the Clouds"), is palpable, though the latter's affinity for the much older millionaire played by Terence Stamp is unconvincing.
"Love Walked In" has the look of a low-budget movie but makes up for a deficiency in polish by an absorbing plot and exceptional acting by Mr. Leary. Rated R. Running Time: 90 minutes. (C) 1998 Harvey Karten
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