THE ROOK
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 4.5 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1994 Shown at the 1996 SXSW Film Festival Running Length: 1:25 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Violence, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Martin Donovan, John A. MacKay, Michael Finesilver, Fritz Fox Director: Eran Palatnik Producers: Eran Palatnik, Alan Abrams Screenplay: Richard Lee Purvis Cinematography: Zach Winestine Music: Robert Een
THE ROOK is a lackluster murder mystery that transpires in a bizarre alternate reality. Hal Hartley regular, Martin Donovan (TRUST, SIMPLE MEN, AMATEUR), plays John Cross, a by-the-book detective investigating the murder of a female linguistics professor. Cross' world is a mixture of the modern and the archaic. Rooms are lit by electric lights, computers are available for crime investigators, but the most common form of transportation is still the horse-drawn carriage. England is in the midst of a revolution, with government forces having already lost Greenwich.
Cross' inquiries lead him deeper into the murky politics of the revolution, and this is where the story begins to lose coherence. Not only does THE ROOK's plot become difficult to follow, but the murder mystery lacks twists, red herrings, or surprises. It's too straightforward, and Cross' character isn't interesting enough to keep us involved during such a pedestrian investigation.
THE ROOK is effectively atmospheric, and there are occasional scenes that function as pointed political commentary, but the main story doesn't work. The film is dull when it should be engrossing, and the material is stretched ridiculously thin to reach feature length. Donovan, who typically plays understated roles, virtually vanishes into obscurity -- Cross has no personality.
Had THE ROOK spent more time exploring its unusual setting, the results might have been more satisfying. As it is, however, the strange technological disparities and offbeat social climate become little more than window dressing for the pedestrian plot. Even the lamest stories on PBS' MYSTERY offer more genuine suspense than director Eran Palatnik's sub-par effort.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin (or) http://www2.cybernex.net/~berardin
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