DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 4.4
Date Released: 1/27/95 (wide) Running Length: 1:43 Rated: R (Language, violence, mature themes, brief nudity)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stuart Wilson Director: Roman Polanski Producers: Thom Mount and Josh Kramer Screenplay: Rafael Yglesias and Ariel Dorfman based on the play by Ariel Dorfman Cinematography: Torino Delli Colli Music: Wojciech Kilar Released by Fine Line Features
It's a windy, stormy night somewhere in "a country in South America after the fall of the dictatorship." Lightning flickers, thunder rumbles, and rain comes down in sheets. This atmosphere, so carefully constructed by director Roman Polanski and cinematographer Torino Delli Colli, is by far DEATH AND THE MAIDEN's most notable feature. In fact, a fair impression is that too much effort went into this aspect of the production, leaving little remaining for such minor details as plotting and acting.
The premise, which also formed the backdrop for the Ariel Dorfman play upon which this film is based, is a solid one, brimming with potential for a great dramatic thriller--potential that is never realized in the film. The story revolves around Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver) and her husband Gerardo (Stuart Wilson), a couple living in a secluded house on an unidentified South American country's coastline. Both are former revolutionaries for democracy--he was the editor of an underground newspaper; she was a courier who was raped and tortured for protecting his identity.
Now, fifteen years later, Gerardo is rescued from a car breakdown on a lonely stretch of road by a Dr. Roberto Miranda (Ben Kingsley). When the good doctor stops off at the Escobar house for a quick drink, Paulina hears his voice and laugh, and recognizes in them echoes of the man once in charge of her torture. Right or wrong about his identity, she takes steps to ensure that Miranda doesn't leave until her revenge is complete.
There are several problems with DEATH AND THE MAIDEN. The storyline is littered with contrivances. Individually, each is acceptable, but combined, they give the film a bloated, overplotted feel. Any degree of tension cultivated by Polanski is frequently undermined by Rafael Yglesias and Ariel Dorfman's sputtering script.
The central mystery is whether or not Miranda is the vicious animal of Paulina's memories. Unfortunately, this question is answered far too early. Supposedly, this is to allow the drama to swirl around the trio of characters--but there's a flaw in the approach. Due in large part to lackluster acting, none of these people ever captures the audience's sympathy. We simply don't care one way or another about them. The house could explode and it wouldn't be worth more than a shrug.
Sigourney Weaver is the worst of the small cast. Her performance careens wildly from stilted to over-the-top with little transition in between. Several of her most dramatic moments are unintentionally hilarious. At her best, the actress is marginal; here, she's out of her depth. Stuart Wilson, playing her husband, isn't much better. His character is supposed to be relatively impotent, but Wilson plays the part almost mechanically. Even the reliable Ben Kingsley isn't in top form (although he's eminently more watchable than his co-stars).
As was the case with BITTER MOON, Polanski abandons all attempts at subtlety. Justice stands by uncertainly while the victim and victimizer trade places. The message, clear from the beginning, gets hammered home relentlessly. The resulting production ends up far too heavy-handed to be considered powerful drama. Perhaps the best lesson viewers of this movie will come away with is how dangerous it can be to pick up stranded motorists.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
.
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