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DVD Deceiver
Interrogations, mind games, and murder: Jonas and Josh Pate’s post-modern thriller may be the bastard child of Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspects, but this devious offspring charts its own unpredictable course. Tim Roth dominates the film as the epileptic, absinthe-drinking, genius murder suspect who plays the lie detector like a violin and turns the tables on the cops (dim bulb Chris Penn and simmering veteran Michael Rooker) by stirring up their secrets, and they’ve got some doozies. The twisty little mystery is too clever for its own good, and the Pates neglect to stitch together the loose threads (like what exactly Ellen Burstyn’s raspy bookie is doing in all this), but they have a great eye and style to spare. The chilly stare and cool disposition of Roth’s borderline psychotic makes this battle of wits a game well worth watching. --Sean Axmaker
I really enjoyed this movie for its style and for some of the more compelling scenes. The murder is not solved and many interpretations of the "evidence" can be discussed to support the guilt or innocence of the two main suspects implicated in Elizabeth's death. It's a fun brain twister, and Tim Roth excels at playing the upper class jerk. There are a couple of memorable scenes but overall, this movie walks the line on being an involving exploration of the main characters. Almost great, but not quite.
Watch "The Offense"
Admittedly, I watched this movie when I thought another one was coming on the TV, and haven't seen the DVD or VHS versions, but I kept watching, since I like some of the "tough guys" in the movie, especially Tim Roth. It's a pretty good movie, unless you keep watching it, and realize that it's a scrambled version of the old Sean Connery film "The Offense", where a suspect (who may or may not be the murderer) "turns the tables" on the cops and has an altercation with the interrogating policeman (I won't ruin the end of "The Offense", but it's more gripping, in "The Offensive" than "Deceiver", in my opinion). Apparently Sean Connery cut a deal with his studio to make a few "artsy" movies (including "The Offense" and "The Wall") if he made a bunch of James Bond movies. "Deceiver" is pretty ok, and I kept watching, but "The Offense" is the source, and better. Presumably there were sources for "The Offense" though, but I don't know them. Check out "The Offense", and prepare to be "offended"!!!
Manipulated and Lied to
In flashbacks Roth's Wayland shows real affection for Zellweger's character - Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the only person who will listen to him. (who cares) She is intuitive about him -- in one of the best scenes of the movie she notes that he had been laughing "but it wasn't a real laugh, was it?" and talks about the saddest thing being hope. The scene is strong, but I'm unclear how everything that happens ties into what we are shown here. This could have been a great film, but there is no logical explanation for the ending that fits the motivations of every character. We are given pieces just to trick us, and in the end we are not so much tricked as left with a puzzle that can't be solved. If Wayland killed Elizabeth - then Why? Why would someone kill the one person who understood them (who could see who they really were?) There could have been some fascinating psychology put into play here - if this Was the case - then wouldn't the film have been more intriguing if that subject was dealt with? - ala The Talented Mr. Ripley - and trying to understand a person who can't bear to have someone see the Truth about them - as they have been living lies all their life. Or maybe Wayland just couldn't bear to be loved ... as his parents seemed devoid of the stuff. So Elizabeth did the one unforgiveable thing, and noticed him and cared about him... this is where the script could have went for some shred of motivation for What Went Wrong -- it has all the potential and underpinnings for it, but nothing is fleshed out. Maybe it could have been saved with the scene that is missing - something between Elizabeth and Wayland. It is understandable for Wayland to lie to the cops - but it isn't right for the filmmakers to lie to us - at least not in the end - when we want the payoff of being able to decipher who did what and why. Great writers know how to finish a story. It's too bad - because this could have been a great film if someone had the foresight to put it together right. I still enjoyed watching the film for the cat and mouse games in the interrogation room... the kind of power plays I found so interesting in the early years of Homicide are in play here (if in a less sophisticated form -- or I should say a form that has less understanding of human psychology.) There's confusion in this film, and not just the good kind of confused as you try to understand who did what. I know it sounds like I really didn't think much of Deceiver. On the contrary, while the story has its share of problems there are times when it delivers the goods. The triangle of tension and deceit between the police detectives and Wayland is compelling. Tim Roth steals the show as Wayland. Roth is both vulnerable yet calculating and devilishly devious - a heady and interesting mix.
The thrill of forbidden passion electrifies the air when young dentist Julia Ormand, the wounded victim of a rough divorce, falls for sad, soulful convict Tim Roth, a patient in her part-time prison duties. Her impulsive embrace of a man who seduces her with whispered confessions and little love bites (how better to flirt with a dentist?) and the rush of their affair raises unsettling questions: what exactly are his motives, and what crime is he in prison for? Captives can't decide whether it’s a tale of obsessive love or a film noir thriller with an erotic twist, and it finally falls back on mundane complications. But delicate Ormand is a beauty with a deer-in-the-headlights look, and Roth steals the film with his simmering and tragic eyes. --Sean AxmakerMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Angela Pope DVD Release Date: Released the 04 June 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Frenzied, stylish road movie in the off-beat lovers-on-the-run vein of Natural Born Killers or True Romance. Watty (Gil Bellows) and Starlene (Renee Zellweger) are our heros on the run after a botched robbery attempt when Watty and his vicious accomplice Billy (Rory Cochrane) leaves a counter girl dead, at the hands of Billy. On there trail are the demented criminals, Creepy Cody, Dinosaur Bob and Billy, who was left for dead. But our lovers are not killers, just simply misjudged. The over-the-top acting by an excellent cast and a surprisingly smart and lively script make for an exceptional film. Among road movies, this ranks as one of the very best. Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence, pervasive strong profanity, sexual situations, drug use and content, and a scene of nudity. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gil Bellows - Renée Zellweger - Rory Cochrane Director(s): C.M. Talkington DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 1999 Usually ships within 24 hours
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This brings to mind "My Name is Asher Leve". If you like Chaim Potok's books, you will like a Price Above Rubies, for it has some of the same elements in this tale of a person who doesn't quite fit in the society in which they were born. There is also the mystical elements that remind one of "The Book of Lights." This movie is a good dramatization of the break that sometimes happens between the individual and society.
As for performances, Zellweiger is wonderful as Sonya. Julianna M. ditto as the conservative and fiercely protective Rachel. I went through the movie frustrated by the characterization of the husband, particularly when he refuses to listen or deal with Sonya. But then at the end, when he is so innocently looking at all the religious relics in Ramon's house,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Renée Zellweger Director(s): Boaz Yakin DVD Release Date: Released the 18 January 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on a story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Perfect Husband is a suspenseful hybrid of tense psychological drama and period love triangle. Set in Prague in 1900, this emotionally inhibited roller coaster revolves around three friends who met at a spa seven years ago. Gifted musician Milan (Tim Roth) is an unabashed womanizer who wins over even the most difficult-to-conquer women and whose propensity for seduction has led to 29 duels and counting with their affronted husbands. Wealthy spa manager Franz (Peter Firth) is much harder to read. His always proper, button-down demeanor cloaks a surprisingly tumultuous, fiery inner nature--when a stranger on a train, reminding him that smoking is not allowed, takes his pipe and throws it out the window, he calmly throws her dog out the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Beda Docampo Feijóo DVD Release Date: Released the 02 January 2001 Usually ships within 24 hours
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This memorable drama helped bring British director Stephen Frears back from the limited opportunities of television (where he spent 13 years after making his promising debut feature, Gumshoe) and into the ranks of world-class filmmakers. Driven by the self-confident charisma of Terence Stamp, the vicious charm of John Hurt, and a fascinating debut performance by Tim Roth, The Hit concerns a criminal informant (Stamp) on ice for the past decade in Spain. Found out by the mobster who wants revenge on him, Stamp's character is apprehended by a pair of hit men who have to escort him to Paris. Along the way, the serene abductee, having become a bit enlightened during his ten-year retreat, seems not to worry about death or anything else. It's his overseers who feel the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Stephen Frears DVD Release Date: Released the 19 November 2002 Usually ships within 4 to 8 days
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