Thinner (1996)
A film review by Michael Redman
Copyright 1996 Michael Redman
*1/2 (out of ****)
As I write this, it's a rainy night with severe wind gusts and only two evenings away from Halloween: Stephen King atmosphere. It'd be appropriate to talk about King's new film and how frightening it is.
Yeah, it'd be appropriate, but it ain't gonna happen.
Films from King supernatural horror tales haven't done so well in recent years. There hasn't been a well-crafted one since....well, since before some of you were born. King movies, a genre unto themselves, started out with great promise, but over the years "Carrie" turned into "Children Of The Corn". He's had more luck with "Stand By Me" and the psychological thrillers "Misery" and "Shawshank Redemption".
"Thinner", based on the novel originally released as written by "Richard Bachman", attempts to combine the two Kings for an occult thriller. It almost succeeds for a short while, but rapidly deteriorates into another schlockfest. The film's beginning draws you in and then takes a wrong turn to go where almost every Stephen King movie has gone before.
Attorney Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) lives the good life as a distinguished member of the good ole boy network, complete with wife, daughter and supposedly happy home life. He's fighting a losing battle with his 300 pound weight while continually stuffing one thing after another into his mouth. This all changes when Halleck runs into and kills an old gypsy woman as he and his wife engage in an activity that got Hugh Grant arrested.
His legal buddies rule the death accidental, but the ancient Gypsy king isn't going to let him get away with killing his daughter and puts a grisly curse on the lawyer. At first he is thrilled as the pounds melt away, but then panics as he continues to lose weight no matter how much he eats. He is literally wasting away. Desperate, he turns to a local mobster for help and they both hunt down the band of Gypsies.
The major problem with the film is that there is not one sympathetic person in the entire story. The main character, Halleck is initially the one we identify with as the accident leads to his tremendous misfortune, but as the film wears on (and it does) he turns into a vengeful dolt. Even his loving wife is unmasked as a scheming liar.
The movie isn't helped by its perpetuation of the racist depiction of Gypsies. They're easily the most interesting characters in the film, but It makes you wonder how a people could survive when all of its members are whores, killers and thieves. If this were any other minority group, they'd be up in arms, but Gypsies probably don't go to the movies, right?
[This appeared in "The Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana, 10/31/96. Michael Redman can be reached at mredman@bvoice.com]
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