Palmetto (1998)
Director: Volker Schlondorff Cast: Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon, Tom Wright, Michael Rapaport Screenplay: E. Max Frye Producers: Matthias Wendlandt Runtime: 110 min. US Distribution: Sony Pictures Entertainment Rated R: language, sex, violence
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)
Woody Harrelson typically stars in films that I detest. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that Woody Harrelson typically plays as characters that I detest. Natural Born Killers, which is one of the worst films of all time, features Harrelson as one of the most deplorable excuses for a human being I've ever seen. Kingpin, one of the worst comedies of all time, features Harrelson in an unsympathetic role as another terrible guy. And other films in which he has a significant part, such as Indecent Proposal (which I hate) and recently Wag the Dog, all show Harrelson playing scum. In Palmetto, Harrelson plays more scum, but this time he's good-natured scum (but, regrettably, very stupid scum).
Harry Barber is his name. He lives in the small town of Palmetto, Florida. Upon his release from jail in the opening scenes, he is courted by his old girlfriend, Nina (Gina Gershon), and goes to live with her. Not long after this, Harry finds himself sitting in a bar, at which point he accidentally meets Rhea Malroux (Elisabeth Shue), who has a business proposition for him. She wants him to be a voice on a telephone, telling her rich husband that he has his daughter, and that he wants $500,000 for the kid.
Of course, everyone will be in on the joke, Rhea tells Harry. There won't be any kidnapping, because the daughter, Odette (Chloe Sevigny), wants some of the money, so she is doing it willingly. And everything goes as planned for about five seconds, until Harry makes various revelations at even intervals throughout the film, until suddenly what has been clear to the audience since they all saw the preview is finally clear to Harry, as well.
Palmetto is okay. I enjoyed it for what it is, which is a low-key, absurd film highlighted by some terrific acting and a bunch of plot twists that seem to be present only because plot twists are pretty fun. These are the kinds of plot twists you can't predict (they all caught me by surprise), but the interesting thing is that, looking back on the film, there are hints towards all of them. I like it when films do this, because it's clear that at least they didn't come out of nowhere.
I love Elisabeth Shue. She is luminous and wonderful. I can watch her for hours. She's great in Palmetto, although she is the kind of character that I would imagine most actors probably wouldn't want to play: Rhea is all superficial gloss, and there is no substance beneath that which we can see. Without giving away too much of the plot (I fear I already have...), let me just say that in order to understand the things she does, we would need a psychologist analyzing her every word and action. I don't doubt that there are people like this in the world, but if I were to meet them, I'd like to know what makes them act this way.
I like Gina Gershon, too, but she seems more suited to play the role of the lustful wench that Shue has. And Michael Rapport is one of those actors that I dislike immensely. I can not think of an actor that irritates me more than this man. I think back to Copland and cringe. I reflect on my experience watching Metro, and the thought of him annoys me. He's obnoxious, and full of himself, and overflowing with testosterone and machismo. I don't like him at all. And for those of you who have seen this film, there is a scene towards the end featuring chemicals. I like this scene very much.
The tone of the film, provided by director Volker Schlondorff, is fairly well-established. Palmetto has a lot of atmosphere, and the damp and scummy setting of this small Florida town is rich in texture. As I watched, I was somewhat reminded of the far-superior Body Heat, of which Palmetto often seems like a remake.
Unfortunately, the film disintegrates into pure ridiculousness by the final scene. Most of the film isn't even remotely plausible, but I was adequately sidetracked through most of its running time. It's only at the final twist that I finally gave up. I liked the way Palmetto unravels, but absurdity can do in even the most interesting pictures. I did get something new out of Palmetto, however--I can now be confident that Woody Harrelson isn't bound by playing awful people. >From 0-10: 6 Grade: C+
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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