(out of ****)
_The_Cell_ (R) ***
_Steal_This_Movie_ (R) ***
Just about one thing separates _The_Cell_ from a pulpy thriller you'd find premiering on late night cable or your local video store. But it's that solitary difference that not only makes it special, but a cinema landmark or sorts--the visionary imagination of director Tarsem Singh. In the hands of this music video veteran and first-time feature director, a by-the-numbers story becomes the incidental backbone of one of the most visually arresting films of recent memory.
Writer Mark Protosevich obviously enjoyed _The_Silence_of_the_Lambs_, for much of _The_Cell_'s story particulars mirror those of the Oscar-winning film. There is a young woman (Tara Subkoff) trapped in a specialized prison in a dog-loving serial killer's (Vincent D'Onofrio's Carl Stargher) lair--in this case, a glass cell that is timed to incrementally fill with water, ultimately drowning the prisoner. There is an intelligent, resourceful young woman (here, psychologist Catherine Deane, played by Jennifer Lopez) who must find out the location of the latest victim before it's too late. The high concept twist? Stargher is quickly captured, but soon comatose--and the Hannibal Lecter whom Catherine must consult with is Sargher's own unconscious mind, by way of a futuristic technology that enables her to enter the dangerous world inside the killer's head.
The sci-fi spin is intriguing, but not much else Protosevich comes up with is. For a film that is a psychological thriller, the psychology is dismayingly simplistic. In her exploration of Stargher's mind, Catherine uncovers the root of his psychosis, and it's nothing particularly shocking, if not completely predictable. There is also a fleeting reference to an incident in Catherine's past that is implied to have factored in her career choice as child psychologist. The heady issues that are addressed are obvious and shallow.
But when speaking of Singh's final, finished film, complaints such as these are almost moot. _The_Cell_ is a clear, classic case of a director's vision invigorating standard material. The film moves at an effectively erratic pace: action in the real world moves fairly swiftly, but once it's in the world of the mind, the pace becomes more languid, befitting the surrealism of dreams. It is in this latter realm that the film really soars. Dream worlds in movies are nothing new--witness the oeuvre of David Lynch or, for a less highfalutin example, the _Nightmare_on_Elm_Street_ series--but the visual ideas put forth by Singh are spectacular and unique; there's an atmosphere of excess that hasn't even been reached in Lynch's famously bizarre work. Tom Foden's production design and Eiko Ishioka's costumes are gloriously outré, one standout being the garishly frightening look of the "demon" Stargher and his "throne room." Also adding immeasurably to the mood are Paul Laufer's grainy yet vibrant cinematography and the CGI work by visual effects supervisor Kevin Tod Haug.
For all the film's flights of fancy and the script's derivative nature, _The_Cell_ maintains a foothold in reality through the cast. Lopez is convincingly, appealingly smart and vulnerable as the headstrong heroine; Vince Vaughn is effective in the by-the-book role of FBI Agent Peter Novak; and D'Onofrio manages to make a lasting, eerie impression in a very dialogue-light role. The smaller roles surrounding the lead trio are all played by familiar, reliable actors, such as Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Pruitt Taylor Vince.
It has been said that it's not what you have, but what you do with it, and that statement applies to Singh and _The_Cell_. As written, the film is not terrible, but just average; as executed, _The_Cell_ is, to use a cliché, something that truly hasn't been seen before.
D'Onofrio has a lot more lines--and more of a character to work with--in _Steal_This_Movie_, Robert Greenwald's biography of legendary '60s activist Abbie Hoffman. D'Onofrio plays Hoffman, who is best remembered as the flamboyant leader of the Chicago Seven, a protest group that stood trial for inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. This, as well as Abbie's retreat to the underground in 1974, are the key moments in Greenwald's decades-spanning film, which uses a flashback framework where a reporter for _Newsweek_ (Alan Van Sprang) interviews loved ones (Abbie's wife Anita, played by Janeane Garofalo), associates (Abbie's lawyer Gerry Lefcourt, played by Kevin Pollak), and Abbie himself for a piece sometime in the '70s.
Aside from Anita--and to a lesser extent Gerry and Johanna Lawrenson (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the woman with whom Abbie hooks up while underground--the background players in _Steal_This_Movie_ are barely developed. When the Chicago Seven stands trial, the presence of the other six are barely noticeable, and we don't get to see exactly how some relationships with key cohorts deteriorated. However, this being a film of Abbie Hoffman's story, this isn't too troublesome. Greenwald (through his energetic, sometimes anarchic, direction) and D'Onofrio (through his charismatic performance) bring the man to vibrant life--emphasis on the word "life." Aside from the requisite "what happened" text card, the film doesn't go near the circumstances surrounding his death, which is perfectly in line with this engrossing film's intent: to be an inspirational story about standing up for who you are and what you believe in.
Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://www.moviereportsite.com CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23
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