Review: Ronin
Starring: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Jonathan Pryce
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Approx 121 min
After all is said and done, as Vincent (Reno) walks up the steps of a Paris sidestreet, he mutters to himself "No questions, no answers. That's the business we're in. Accept it and move on." The line fits the movie perfectly. As moviegoer, you may have questions. It is the moviemaker's job to answer them. I had a lot of questions in Ronin, and none were answered.
Ronin (meaning "masterless samurai") is a convoluted story about Sam (De Niro) and a band of guns for hire who are asked by Irish operatives to track and recover a mysterious metal suitcase. What is in it? Those who know won't tell. Basically, Ronin lumbers on screen like a large beanbag chair being kicked by a three year old. (I don't know either, but I like it.) The audience is kept in the dark at the begining, and remains in the dark through the end. Then the lights come up in the theater. Ronin seems to be a 2 hour movie that was constructed around two five minute car chases.
Director John Frankenheimer, a modest man, claimed that his films were inspirational for Peter Yates's famous "Bullit" car chase and for William Friedkin's The French Connection chase. The only thing is, people remember those. No one will remember Frankenheimer's efforts in Ronin. They are loud, boring chases occasionally interrupted by gunfire.
In fact, the only things that will keep people from forgetting about Ronin within the next two weeks are the performances. They are not extrordinary, but De Niro does a fine job (has he ever been less than good in a role?) and Reno, McElhone and Skarsgard each do a dandy supporting turn.
What's more, Elia Cmiral presents a jarring score that reverberates through the theater, occasionally preventing that dialogue from getting through. Another contributor to the film is David Mamet. He stepped in to help doctor the script. What I don't know is if he was unable to do what he wanted with it, or if he feels he made a decent screenplay out of it. One thing is for sure, and perhaps it will answer the question, he used a psuedonym, Richard Weisz. Cant' say as I blame him.
* * out of * * * * stars © 1998 Nick Amado
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