HOLLOW REED
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
British couple Martyn and Hannah Wyatt are divorced but are living in loving relationships with their live-in lovers. Martyn has an idyllic and monogamous relationship with his gay lover Tom Dixon. Hannah has had similar luck with her heterosexual lover Frank Donally. The Wyatt's son Oliver, about eight or nine, lives with Hannah, but Martyn's has been granted "reasonable access" by the courts.
This pastoral scene is shattered when a battered Oliver shows up at his Dad's flat. The boy explains how he was beaten up in the commons by some strange boys. Soon a swirl of unanswered questions arise that make it clear that someone may be abusing Oliver, but if so, who? When he is hurt again, Oliver has a different explanation. This time he claims to have smashed his hand on an derelict car in the park.
HOLLOW REED is a great film of intense power and ensemble acting that tells the story of these two families. Films like this defy characterization. The exquisite script by Neville Bolt and Paula Milne is a thriller and a mystery, an examination of child abuse, a discussion of what constitutes a family, an exploration of trust and love, and most of all, a character study. (Every time I try to tell my friends what SLING BLADE is about, I can see from the looks on their faces that they will never go see it. So I fear it may be with HOLLOW REED. The more you know about the superficial aspects of the plot, the less likely you are to want to see it, and yet this compelling film has the power of SECRETS AND LIES and deserves a wide audience.)
In a cast of wonderful actors, Martin Donovan, playing the father Martyn, stands out for his incredible and yet understated performance. Donovan is a character actor only recently coming into his own. Most people probably saw him last in THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY where he played Ralph Touchett, Isabel's cousin who was dying of consumption. As the father in HOLLOW REED, he gives an empathetic reading of the character, who is caring, confused, and vulnerable. His loves his boy and transmits his feeling of hopelessness to the audience.
New film actor Sam Bould gives a touching performance as the small boy, Ollie, at the heart of the controversy. His big, but sunken, eyes speak of the horrors that have befallen him even if he will not talk about them. You will want to hold him gently and reassure him that he must tell the truth. But you must know, what is he covering up and why?
Joely Richardson, who played Anita in the most recent 101 DALMATIANS, gives a complex and tender performance as the mother Hannah.
Also quite good as the respective lovers are Ian Hart (MICHAEL COLLINS) as Tom and Jason Flemyng (STEALING BEAUTY) as Frank.
In excellent minor roles, David Calder, from the BRAMWELL TV series on Masterpiece Theater, plays Martyn's sincere, but not very reassuring lawyer. Even better is Edward Hardwicke as the judge who looks as though he may require the wisdom of Solomon to sort the case out. Hardwicke was last seen in the film RICHARD III and as Dr. Watson from the latest SHERLOCK HOLMES series on television.
The script takes care to build a detailed story, not the outline with which most plots content themselves. We know that Martyn is a GP, Hannah is a nurse, Tom works at a record store, and Frank is a stay-at-home architect. It also lets the characters make the stupid but normal mistakes and false assumptions that happen in real life, especially when a withdrawn and incommunicative child is at the center of a predicament.
Although the mystery is fairly transparent, director Angela Pope nevertheless manages to keep the tension high. In the best of thrillers, of which this is one, the eerie calmness of most of the scenes creates more foreboding than cataclysmic events ever could. There is a composed, redemption scene that will have you wanting to scream, "No!" And when Hannah says, "It'll never happen again," about the abuse, your stomach will likely go into knots.
I am not going to give anything away. If you've seen the trailers or read any of the other reviews, you already know more than the little I've told you. I want you to see the film fresh so its power can overwhelm you as it did me. Although never manipulative, the intelligent script and moving acting may reduce you to tears even though almost all of the abuse happens off screen. I saw it at a press-only screening with only a half dozen critics present, but I could hear frequent weeping around me. Rarely does this happen at such an event.
The ending of the movie is strikingly photographed by Remi Adefarasin and directed with precision and power by Angela Pope. As the cameras rapidly circle our players, we know the drama is at an end. Although the brief epilog afterwards is satisfying, since it allows you to know how the players put their lives back together, it detracts slightly from the film's intensity. Then again, perhaps most viewers need that catharsis to make their emotional system whole again after such an experience.
HOLLOW REED runs 1:44. It is not rated but would be an R for mature themes, language, sex, and nudity. This is not an NC-17 film, and the abuse is of a physical and not a sexual nature. The film would be fine for mature teenagers. I recommend the picture strongly and give it *** 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: April 28, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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