Five words: Go see The Gingerbread Man. Yes, I DO live in Savannah, and it was weird to see our city up there on the big screen. This film, masterfully directed by Robert Altman, was very enjoyable, and made Savannah look gritty and urban. Rick Magruder (played to perfection by Kenneth Branaugh, who, of course was last seen frolicking in his own four-hour Hamlet adaptation) is a prominent Savannah lawyer. After a party for a recent win, Magruder meets Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz). Her car gets stolen in the parking lot. Magruder gives her a ride home. Soon enough, they're in bed. Turns out that her father, Dixon Doss (Robert Duvall, in a small but critical role) was the one that stole her car. He's the leader of a cult-type group.Magruder subpoenas Mallory's ex-husband (Tom Berenger) to testify against Dixon. It works. After he is arrested, and after a quick hearing, Dixon is sent to Georgia Regional for psychiatric treatment. Soon after, his cronies break him out of the asylum, and pretty soon thereafter, not only is Magruder's life in danger, but his children as well. That's when Magruder hires his woman-loving, hard-drinking private detective friend, Clyde Pell (Robert Downey, Jr., who easily gets the most laughs). All of this culminates in typical and new Altman scenes. You get everything you'd hoped for and more in this suspense-laden film. Kudos belong to not only Branagh, but to Downey, Jr., Embeth Davidtz, and Daryl hannah, as Lois, Magruder's assistant. Also, the hurricane used in the film, Hurricane Geraldo, is NOT a plot device, but an effective use of dramatic tension for the finale.All in all, The Gingerbread Man is worth the price of admission alone. A truly suspenseful excellently Grisham(recieves story credit for this film) film that leaves one remembering it for a long time.
THE GINGERBREAD MAN
MPAA CLASSIFICATION: (R)
RATING: *** (out of four)
RUNNING TIME: 125 min.
Jason Bacon
bacon4@bellsouth.net
(c) 1998 MSTFAN Productions, Inc.
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