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WICKER
PARK
4/10
USA
2004 : Paul McGuigan : 114 mins
Stylish but
wildly over-convoluted would-be-thriller Wicker Park finished filming
back in March 2003, but has been an inexplicably long time reaching the
big screen: so long, in fact, that the opening credits "introduce"
Diane Kruger," despite her having made Ms Kruger made a fair-sized
splash months ago as Helen of Troy.
Many critics - not quite grasping the subtleties of that underrated production
- reckoned Kruger made a somewhat colourless Trojan queen, and instead
heaped praise on the unheralded Rose Byrne for her performance as feisty
slave-girl Briseis. Kruger would be forgiven for harbouring less than
sisterly feelings towards Byrne, who once again upstages her more glamorous
colleague in this remake of French award-winner L'Appartement (1996).
Admirers of
the original are advised to steer well clear of this disappointing Hollywood
version, which transplants the action to the eponymous, wintry Chicago
suburb despite the fact that nearly all shooting took place in Toronto.
Such geographical sleight-of-hand is standard penny-pinching practice
these days, and the film has many more serious flaws to contend with.
The Scottish director (Gangster No.1, The Reckoning) makes the
wintry picture look just fine, judiciously deploying some of the gloomier
examples of recent Brit-Pop - but he can't salvage Brandon Boyce's script,
which gets itself twisted into such complicated knots that most audiences
will be left scratching their heads in bemused puzzlement.
Chicago native
Matt (Josh Hartnett) returns home after two years in Manhattan, bringing
with him fiancee Rebecca (Jessica Pare). This new relationship has enabled
him to finally move on from a disastrous previous affair with ballet-dancer
Lisa (Kruger), but once back in Chicago memories of his former love start
to resurface. When he tries to track her down, aided by easygoing former
schoolfriend Luke (Matthew Lillard), the trail leads only to the mysterious,
seemingly shy Alex (Byrne). At which point the coincidences, contrivances
and implausibilities start to spiral exponentially, and a series of interconnected
flashbacks sends the narrative spinning into a black hole of confusion
from which it never emerges. "I have no idea what you're talking
about!" sputters Luke in frustration, and unfortunately we know exactly
how he feels.
31st August,
2004
(seen 6th June : Vue, Leicester : press show - CinemaDays
event)
by Neil
Young
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