BLESS THE CHILD (2000) / ** 1/2
Directed by Chuck Russell. Screenplay by Tom Rickman, Clifford Green and Ellen Green, based on the novel by Cathy Cash Spellman. Starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell. Running time: 108 minutes. Rated AA for controversial subject matter and violent scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 16th, 2000.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
One of 1999's biggest hits -- and biggest surprises -- was "The Sixth Sense", a thriller about a young boy with supernatural abilities. It was only a matter of time before the formula was copied and thinly-veiled knock-offs began hitting theatres. Almost exactly a year later, the first of these has arrived in the form of "Bless The Child", a thriller about... wait for it... a young girl with supernatural abilities.
But to pick at how "Bless The Child" is derivative of "The Sixth Sense" would be too easy, even unfair. Surprisingly, "Bless The Child" is not a bad film in its own right. Certainly, it is no classic -- it is too unambitious for that, stringing together timeworn plot pieces and boasting acting and direction that are, in general, workmanlike at best. But it does not embarrass itself, and is enjoyable in the kind of turn-your-brain-off way that often characterises summer movies.
New York City, Christmas 1993: Child psychologist Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger) is met at her apartment by her estranged sister Jenna (Angela Bettis from "Girl, Interrupted"), a drug addict who has been missing for two years. Jenna has brought with her another surprise: a daughter, Cody, just nine days old. Jenna alludes to Cody being a strange baby, but avers that she was not born hooked on narcotics. (That the identity of Cody's father is a mystery should come as a surprise to no one.) Minutes later, Jenna runs off again, abandoning Cody with Maggie. Maggie decides to raise the little girl on her own.
Six years later, New York City is being terrorised by a series of ritualistic child murders. An FBI agent specialising in occult crimes, John Travis (Jimmy Smits), is brought in to assist in the investigation. Meanwhile, Cody (Holliston Coleman) has begun to manifest strange abilities -- she can make objects spin, and brings a dead bird back to life. It turns out that the murders are being committed by the New Dawn, a cult run by Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell) who are looking for a special child born on December 16th, 1993. This, of course, is Cody and soon Stark shows up on Maggie's doorstep with the long-lost Jenna as his new bride. When Maggie refuses to let Stark and Jenna take Cody, Stark has her kidnapped. With the help of a renegade New Dawn member (Christina Ricci), Maggie discovers that Stark and his cult are really Satan-worshippers, who plan to turn Cody and her powers to their own dark cause.
Anyone who has seen even a fraction of Hollywood's thriller output is likely to find much of "Bless The Child" rather familiar. Many aspects are recycled from better works -- not just "The Sixth Sense", but also "Rosemary's Baby" and others. The screenplay, by Tom Rickman, Clifford Green and Ellen Green, based on the novel by Cathy Cash Spellman, is a routine affair which unfolds predictably, with few surprises. The characters are poorly balanced. Smits is kept in the background for the first three-quarters of the running time, and enjoys no character development whatsoever. Ricci, meanwhile, is present in only two scenes and is a transparent plot device. Similarly, a religious group opposed to the New Dawn is abruptly introduced late in the film, and just as abruptly dismissed. Their sole purpose seems to be to explain some of "Bless The Child"'s mythology.
And there are some rather murky plot details as well. For example, if Stark has gone out and found Jenna, surely he's known for some time that Cody is the child he's after. Why, then, do his followers hunt down other children until just shortly before Cody's abduction? Also, the New Dawn killed the youngsters after they failed some sort of test; why do we never see Cody undergo this rite?
Despite these flaws, I still found myself enjoying "Bless The Child". Director Chuck Russell is no M Night Shyamalan -- he demonstrates few distinctive directorial stylings here -- but his pacing is good, and he seems to understand that less is more. For instance, when Maggie experiences brief moments where she can see demons encircling the New Dawn headquarters, these are held long enough to be effective but are gone before we can start picking holes in the (well done but still very obvious) computer animation. This principal is particularly well-employed at the climax of a chase across a subway platform, the movie's most visually striking scene. Indeed, the design work throughout "Bless The Child" is above average -- keep an eye out for the atmospheric graveyard exterior in the final act, for example.
Also very good are some of the supporting performances. Sewell is terrific, creepy without going over the top into sheer black-hearted lunacy. Newcomer Coleman also does a fine job. The youngster is charming without being overly coy, and she interacts well with the adults. Less impressive are the two leads. Basinger is sleepwalking through "Bless The Child", demonstrating a limited emotional range; she clearly isn't trying very hard. Smits just seems bored with his role, which gives him little to do and seems to rely largely on his "NYPD Blue" TV character to substantiate itself in the minds of the audience. Ricci is sadly wasted in her very brief role, although she tackles what little material she is given with gusto.
As a sequel-in-spirit to "The Sixth Sense", "Bless The Child" is a pale imitation, lacking the invention and surprises of that film's script, the atmosphere and artistry of its direction, and the quality and conviction of its performances. Judged on its own merits, though, "Bless The Child" is reasonable popcorn fare, fun to watch and lacking any truly cringeworthy elements. Summer 2000 has been full of movies which don't quite live up to our expectations, which settle for being passable when they could have been more. Here, then, we may well have the poster "Child" for the season.
Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/BlessTheChild.html
_______________________________________________________________________ / Shannon Patrick Sullivan | "We are all in the gutter, but some of us \ | shannon@mun.ca | are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | Popcorn Gallery Movie Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html | | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |
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