Felicia's Journey
rated PG-13 116 minutes starring Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy, Arsinee Khanjian, and Claire Benedict directed by Atom Egoyan
A Video Review by Frankie Paiva
Joseph Ambrose Hilditch (Bob Hoskins) is a sort of modern Norman Bates. His strange obsession with his French cook mother (Arsinee Khanjian) leads him to pursue, videotape, and possibly kill young women, usually prostitutes, searching for answers in their difficult lives. Hilditch is very lonely, not to mention a little crazy, but he tries to be appealing. He's admired by his co-workers, the only friends he has. He apparently hopes the girls will stay forever, providing him with everlasting companionship. Felicia (Elaine Cassidy) is his latest young acquaintance. She is looking for her Irish boyfriend who says he works at a lawnmower factory in town. It turns out he may have joined the British Army and used the lawnmowers as a cover-up. Felicia relies on Hilditch for guidance and lodging since she has little money. She almost gives up all hope of finding Johnny, but Joseph tries to keep her optimistic and with him for his own personal purposes. The tension builds as Felicia may or may not meet the same fate as the previous young women.
With one exception, the acting was very good. Elaine Cassidy was never satisfactory, but was manageable. Bob Hoskins turns in a masterful performance as Hilditch, and Arsinee Khanjian succeeds in flashback scenes. Claire Benedict plays a small, but important role as a traveling bible saleswoman. She perfectly captures the essence of all Jehovah's Witnesses that have ever come to your door. Her marvelous performance got overlooked for an Oscar nomination. A wonderful score and soundtrack accompany the actors. During the frequent long periods of silence, Egoyan lets the music speak for his characters. Malcolm Vaughn's songs add to the unbearable intensity.
Despite being tense, Felicia's Journey has its downsides. The movie is remarkably slow and was very tiring. Dramatic build-up is probably the reason for lots of unneeded scenes. Too much of the movie is confusing. Felicia and Hilditch's actions always seem scripted. Since we never learn a huge amount about these people, it's tough to comprehend their motivations. The film obviously takes place in England, but the time period is uncertain. Hilditch’s old car model and home appliances suggest the 1950s or ‘60s. Felicia’s wardrobe, including platform sandals, suggests otherwise. It’s even harder to understand the perplexing ending. This mystery is actually entertaining for a while. The intriguing Hilditch is quite fascinating until his secrets get revealed. Around the same time the movie comes to a grinding halt. Another viewing would perhaps help to clear any of my confusion. However, another viewing would also put me to sleep.
Sadly, the boring moments outnumber the exciting ones. The material isn't enough to build an entire movie on, even though the cast and director try hard. This was a personal disappointment for me because Egoyan's 1997 film The Sweet Hereafter is one of my all-time favorite movies. Felicia's Journey is tiresome, hollow, and better suited as an eighty to ninety minute film. Superior performances don't save the poor script.
C-
Frankie Paiva SwpStke@aol.com http://www.homestead.com/cinemaparadise/mainpage.html
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews