HEAVEN'S PRISONERS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): 1/2
Moviegoers should be experimental, but not downright foolish. I knew I was taking a significant risk by trying another movie with Alec Baldwin in it, but when I saw Eric Roberts name on HEAVEN'S PRISONERS' opening credits as well, pain hit, and I realized what trouble I was in.
Baldwin's last flick, THE JUROR, was a major bomb and most of his other recent films have been equally unsuccessful. Don't get me wrong, both actors possess great talent, but it is coupled with a death wish when it comes to finding scripts and with an excessive ego that leads to heavy overacting. Eric Roberts hasn't given a good performance since 1983 in his brilliant STAR 80. Alec Baldwin has had a disastrous career, but with flashes of brilliant film making as in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, MIAMI BLUES, and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
I tried, I promise I tried to like this show. Liking a script (Scott Frank and Harley Peyton based on a book by James Lee Burke) that is so bad, as I will shortly demonstrate, that you want to laugh at it rather than with it is not easy. The directing by Phil Joanou is to create great atmosphere, which he does, and hope for the best. These actors are not the sort you turn loose on their own. They need a firm hand, which he never provides.
Let me see if I can give you a feel for this turkey. Ex-cop and three year sober alcoholic Dave Robicheaux (Alec Baldwin) is in the confessional. He starts the movie by confessing, "I want a drink. I want a drink all the time." In the next scene he and his wife Annie (Kelly Lynch) are on their boat when a plane crashes in the water next to them. Dave is a hero and rescues the only survivor, a young Salvadoran girl (Samantha Lagpacan). It seems the girl is an illegal alien, but also in the plane is drug runner and DEA informant. They take the girl to a hospital and claim she is her daughter. The nuns there find it curious that their daughter speaks only Spanish whereas they only know English.
By inquiring around about the circumstances of the plane crash, Dave gets in big trouble with the local bad guy, his fellow high school student, Bubba Rocque (Eric Roberts). Dave explains how tough Bubba was in high school. "He was one of those guys who were eating light bulbs and pushing thumbtacks into their kneecaps." Sure. Dave is a wonder with words. He threatens a bartender named Larry with, "Your face looks like a good toilet bowl brush." That would sure scare me if I didn't break out in uncontrollable laughter first. Later he really frightens poor Larry with, "If I were you, I'd find another ZIP code." Whew. See what I mean about this sizzling dialog?
It isn't only Dave that gets to say these stupid things. When an overdrawn evil character threatens his wife while Dave is out, Dave asks her, "What'd the guy look like?" She stares at him replying, "He looked like a big bad guy." Well, that would certainly make the police lineup go faster. Oh yes, all of the leads can never make up their minds about their accents which fade in and out like the tide.
Break your ear plugs if you come. There are lots of explosions and general loud sounds as people get shot at and beat up in about every other scene. Usually, when they fall, they crash into a door or some such large object. The film is needlessly gory, but the biggest sadist is editor William Steinkamp who lets the show go on for what seems forever. I was ready to walk out, but the show at been going on for almost an hour and a half, so I decided to stay in deference to my wife who was not visibly as bored as I was. I was shocked to find the film go on for almost another hour past that. If the devil possesses your body and forces you to enter the theater, walk out at your first opportunity.
One final good note, the atmosphere of the Louisiana bayous is great. The natural sets (John Stoddart) and the dreamy cinematography (Harris Savides) with streams with hazy light is beautiful.
HEAVEN'S PRISONERS supposedly runs 2:10, but I think it may have been longer. It is rated R for some nudity, some bad language, and lots of violence. It would be okay for most teenagers. Be wary of any movie that is not screened in advance to the local critics as this one was not. This usually means that the studios know they have a dog on there hands and are hoping that people will come on the basis of the stars' names alone. Based on the large size of my audience, this seems an effective strategy. Do not come anywhere near this disaster. I give the film 1/2 of a star, but only for the atmosphere.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: May 17, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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