SWEPT FROM THE SEA (TriStar - 1997) Starring Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates Screenplay by Tim Willocks, inspired by the short story "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad Produced by Polly Tapson, Charles Steel, Beeban Kidron Directed by Beeban Kidron Running time: 115 minutes
** (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: C
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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Joseph Conrad's greatest contribution to cinema will undoubtedly be his novel "Heart Of Darkness", crafted by Francis Ford Coppola into the visionary landmark masterpiece APOCALYPSE NOW. At long last, his works are currently undergoing a mild cinematic revival -- last year saw his novel "The Secret Agent", filmed earlier by Alfred Hitchcock as SABOTAGE, make a return to the screen as Christopher Hampton's sophomore directorial effort, and 1997 brings about a big-budget adaptation of his novella "Amy Foster" to the silver screen, retitled as SWEPT FROM THE SEA and helmed by Beeban Kidron.
It's understandable that the filmmakers chose to go with the title of SWEPT BY THE SEA for their period romance over the film's original shooting title, which retained the title of the original source -- not only is it a literal description of the early pivotal moment which sets the film in motion, but it's inherently more cinematic and has a greater echo of lush romanticism than the rather staid and mannered tone implied by "Amy Foster". The film is in any case more intently focused upon Yanko Gooral (Vincent Perez), the solitary survivor of a Ukrainian shipwreck who washes ashore by the rural Cornish village of Colebrook, than it is interested in Amy Foster (Rachel Weisz), whose premarital conception has rendered her an outcast in said village, and whose use of silence as a defense mechanism is perceived by townsfolk as evidence of simplemindedness. It's a good thing that Yanko is the central character of the film, for in SWEPT BY THE SEA, Amy Foster is a dullard -- bland and uninteresting.
It doesn't help matters that Ms. Weisz is astonishingly flat and lifeless in the female lead role. Amy Foster is a character who shields her passions behind a wall of cold remoteness, but Ms. Weisz's performance in the majority of the film is simply expressionless, with a mild hint of irritability; there is no indication of any sort of restraint on the part of her character or any sense of inner turmoil, while her handful of emotionally volatile scenes are ineffective and lack credibility.
Ms. Weisz's performance is *so* awkward that it saps the life out of the standard-issue romance between Yanko and Amy, and actually begins to get in the way of the more interesting and better-developed relationship between Yanko and Dr. Kennedy (Ian McKellen), the kindly gentleman who first recognizes Yanko's intelligence and becomes his mentor. Given that SWEPT FROM THE SEA is positioned as a romantic epic, this is near-disasterous -- one would like to hope that the romantic relationship might be the interesting one in the film, rather than a cumbersome nuisance.
The friendship between Dr. Kennedy and Yanko, though a familiar retread, is nicely portrayed with a sense of warmth and compassion. Mr. McKellen is typically strong, subtly introducing some conflict and complexity into an otherwise saintly character, while Mr. Perez turns in a capable performance as the ridiculously good-natured outsider with only modest aspirations who is nonetheless subjected to relentless xenophobic malevolence by the villagers. SWEPT FROM THE SEA clearly attempts to address the theme of persecution -- both of the leads are outcasts, brought together by small acts of kindness and compassion rarely found elsewhere in their daily existence -- but it's handled rather heavy-handedly, and the film starts to become increasingly absurd with Yanko's continued attempts to integrate himself into the Cornish society by coming across as innocuous, gamely putting forth a brave face and flashing a goofy, bizarrely sheepish grin in the face of such loathing and hatred.
Tim Willocks' screenplay draws out the characters in SWEPT FROM THE SEA in extremely broad strokes, with none of the characters remotely enigmatic in their intentions or disposition. As in most unabashedly romantic and gushingly melodramatic films, the shallowly-depicted characters neatly fall into one of two camps: heroic and sympathetic, or eminently hissable, and while easily identifiable heroes and villains are a staple for the genre, there is little excuse for Mr. Willocks' lame, uneven plotting. The film completely lacks the cathartic dramatic punch with Amy's redeeming acts during the climactic third act that is sorely needed -- granted, Ms. Weisz's unempathic performance doesn't help either -- and employs devices throughout the film which are clearly intended to be cute or magical, such as the scenes of Dr. Kennedy's introduction to Yanko's chess-playing abilities and Amy's secret hideaway, but merely come off as silly or goofy. An early scene in SWEPT BY THE SEA is particularly ineffective; while intended as a tender moment between Amy and Yanko as the outsiders first meet, neither of the characters have been sufficiently drawn out at this point for the audience to have any vested interest in their fates, and consequently the sequence loses its power and appears excessively cliched and melodramatic.
Technically, SWEPT FROM THE SEA is a handsome film. The sound work by George Richards is superb, particularly in the shipwreck sequence and the storm sequence, while Dick Pope's cinematography is crisp, sharp, and striking. However, John Barry's bleating score becomes rather tiresome and doesn't meld well with the film.
What is perhaps most striking about SWEPT FROM THE SEA is its utter conviction in its material; the film is terribly earnest, and plays with complete sincerity. While the plot of the film is familiar and the romance is squandered, resulting in a historical saga which is at best mediocre, it is the film's complete faith in the ardour and fascination of its story which succeeds in sustaining viewer interest.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "Man, that was a big spider. It was so big I thought I saw a small dog caught in its web. We are talking big. That spider could've kicked Charlotte's ass." - Hope Davis, THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS
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