BULLETPROOF HEART
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.4
United States, 1995 U.S. Availability: varies Running Length: 1:38 MPAA Classification: R (violence, profanity, sexual situations) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Mimi Rogers, Matt Craven, Peter Boyle Director: Mark Malone Producers: Robert Vince and William Vince Screenplay: Gordon Melbourne Cinematography: Tobias Schliessler Music: Graeme Coleman U.S. Distributor: Keystone Pictures
The chief problem with Mark Malone's stylish BULLETPROOF HEART is the schism between plot and dialogue -- one is (supposedly) thoughtful and meditative, the other is pulpy. It's the sort of thing you might expect if Raymond Chandler wrote an existential novel or if Chekhov tried his hand at a story about a hit man. Over the course of the movie's ninety-eight minute running time, we get the toughest assassin in New York mulling over the question "What's the meaning of meaning?" while brandishing a gun. Despite the apparent thematic relationship with the closing scenes of PULP FICTION, BULLETPROOF HEART is distinctly inferior.
Anthony LaPaglia plays the murderous Mick, one of the best in the business. This is the story of a bizarre and disastrous night in his life. First, his best friend and ex-partner Archie (Matt Craven) arrives from Florida, begging forgiveness for a past screw-up and asking for a second chance. Then Mick's regular client George (Peter Boyle) shows up with a job: a beautiful woman (Mimi Rogers) in debt for more than $1 million has to be taken out. The twist is that she knows what's coming and actually welcomes it. And the problem for Mick is that after spending a short time with Fiona, he falls for her. (Anyone remember Forrest Whitaker and Sherilyn Fenn in DIARY OF A HITMAN?)
Vaguely echoing Daniel Auteuil's male lead from UN COEUR EN HIVER (in both appearance and demeanor), Mick is as emotionally repressed as they come -- even a sensuous call girl can't elicit more than a "who cares?" reaction. Then enter the seductive, distraught Fiona, and Mick's emotions come rushing out like an uncapped geyser. BULLETPROOF HEART certainly isn't an original exploration of feelings and issues, but there are a few moments of genuine impact. Unfortunately, these tend to be cut short by silly dialogue and so-so acting. Mimi Rogers is appealing and Matt Craven is hilarious, by Anthony LaPaglia has difficulty convincing the audience that his entire life has undergone a radical transformation. Only towards the very end do we get a sense of what all this means to Mick, but then it's a little too late.
By too frequently straying into the cliched realm of the noir thriller instead of really plumbing the emotionally-wrenching situation of a man forced to kill the woman he loves, BULLETPROOF HEART loses momentum. The ending is telegraphed far in advance and several scenes seem overplotted and mechanical. Fiona is supposed to die before sunrise, but as the morning approaches, the film bogs down.
Perhaps director Mark Malone was too ambitious, trying to merge Shakespearean tragedy, dime novel themes, and comedy into one. Strip away all the trappings, and this is essentially about the reviving power of love. The premise is intriguing, and the romance between Mick and Fiona is often as fascinating as it should be, but BULLETPROOF HEART is crammed with nonsensical and pointless elements that severely curb the film's effectiveness. In the final analysis, I liked this film far less than I wanted to.
- 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