THE MAN WITH RAIN IN HIS SHOES (United Kingdom)
A review by Mark R. Leeper in bullet-list form
from the Toronto Internation Film Festival
CAPSULE: The woman Victor loves is marrying another guy and his job is going down the tubes. Then two magical junkmen give Victor a chance to relive the last eight months again and he tries to avoid the same mistakes. The characters are tiresome and familiar. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), 0 (-4 to +4)
- First feature film by Maria Ripoll. - Plot concept similar to GROUNDHOG DAY or upcoming TV series SEVEN DAYS. Victor (Douglas Henshall) has really screwed up the last eight months of his life. But he has been given another chance not to lose Sylvia (Lena Headey) the woman he loves. He finds things harder than he expected and requiring more than just good intentions. - Two mysterious Spanish junk men have the ability to send him back in time and allow Vic to relive the past eight months and not to hurt Sylvia. - Elizabeth McGovern in a small role as a bartender whose wisdom inspires Vic. - All these young romantic films seem to have some nudity to keep the audience titillated. It is unnecessary for this story, but expected. - Vic is not very smart in how he uses his memories of the first time around. He says things that would make no sense to anyone but himself and the audience, convincing people that he is not all there. - This film makes London look really, really ugly. The capper is walls with signs saying "Please do not piss here." - Title chosen to be intriguing, but has to be forced into the film. - Interesting in what can be changed and what cannot. - Vic is not very likeable. He slashes tires and in general is just not very appealing. It makes the audience not care if he gets the woman he wants or not.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1998 Mark R. Leeper
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