PASSION OF MIND A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Most people dream of having a glamorous life. In PASSION OF MIND Demi Moore has two. Her predicament is that, supposedly, one is real and the other merely an illusion, and she doesn't know which is which.
The problem with the movie, by director Alain Berliner (MY LIFE IN PINK), is that neither of Moore's lives -- as Marie in the bucolic South of France or as Marty in a spacious Manhattan apartment -- are the least bit real on the screen. With warm light constantly bathing Moore's face, the movie appears more like the pages of a glamour magazine than a motion picture. Dressed always to the nines and living in picture postcard homes, Moore appears to be a model on one long fashion shoot.
With 2 fabulous lives, 2 designer-decorated homes, 2 supportive lovers, 2 beautiful countries, 2 high-profile professions and 2 wise shrinks, Marie/Marty would appear to have it all. She does, of course, have the difficulties of living these dual existences and of getting no sleep. The movie would have us believe that she falls asleep in one place each night and awakes in the other. With plot holes aplenty, the biggest might be why Marty doesn't just catch a plane to Marie's place, or vice versa, so that she can finally put an end to the charade. (The story also features a remarkably French-free France.)
Her analysts aren't much help. They each reassure her that her other life is fake. In France, her psychiatrist (Joss Ackland), who is described as pure Viennese in order to give him extra credit, tells her, "You are riding two horses, and the mind isn't built for that." The pretentious script is full of such mumbo-jumbo. Her New York shrink (Peter Riegert) uses such medical terms as "mad as a hatter" to describe her condition.
In the plodding movie, Marie's lover (Stellan Skarsgård) advises her, "Always do what you wish you could." And what Moore wishes to do is to pose rather than act. The director appears to have relinquished control to Moore since his awkward staging makes sense only if one assumes that the film's purpose is nothing other than to be a vanity piece for Moore.
The only reason to stay to the end and the only thing to keep the viewers awake is pure curiosity about how the story will be resolved. The conclusion is kind of plausible, somewhat predictable and reasonably satisfying, but it certainly doesn't atone for making the audience endure the rest of this silly, lackluster film.
PASSION OF MIND runs 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for scenes of sexuality and would be acceptable for kids 12 and up.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
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