Movie Review: 84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

Genre: Biographical Drama  
Director: David Jones  
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench  
Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: In 1971, New-York-based writer Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) visits London for the first time, with the now-closed bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road her primary destination. A long flashback reveals her history with the store. In 1949, literature lover Helene is frustrated with the limited selection of rare books in New York, and writes to London booksellers Marks & Co. The store's manager Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins) answers, and in addition to supplying books, the correspondence evolves into a years-long letter-writing friendship. Helene also gradually establishes correspondence with Frank's wife Nora (Judi Dench) and his dedicated staff.

What Works Well: Based on Helene Hanff's book, this is a simple and heartwarming story of old-fashioned, long-distance, across-the-ocean friendship. Director David Jones and writer Hugh Whitmore successfully overcome the challenge of creating a screenplay from an exchange of letters, and initially lean heavily on contrasting post-war period vibes, Helene's New York bustling with promise while Frank's grey London struggles with war's aftermath. Anthony Hopkins conveys layers of emotions with the merest of glances, while Anne Bancroft compensates with over-animation.

What Does Not Work As Well: This is a deeply personal story with limited broad appeal beyond aficionados of obscure book trivia. After the premise is set, the second half starts to drag despite the accelerating timeline, and the exchanges surrender to repetitive and perfunctory tones. Helene's friends and Frank's co-workers are never more than props.

Key Quote:

Helene (in a letter responding to Frank): I hope "madam" doesn't mean over there what it means over here.

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Movie Review: The Miracle Worker (1962)

Genre: Biographical Drama

Director: Arthur Penn

Starring: Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke

Running Time: 106 minutes

Synopsis: The setting is Alabama in the 1880s, where seven-year-old Helen Keller (Patty Duke) is blind, deaf, and resistant to parenting. Boston's Perkins School For The Blind dispatches recently graduated and near-blind teacher Anne Sullivan (Anne Bancroft) to become Helen's live-in personal instructor. Anne has to teach Helen basic methods of communication and appropriate behaviour, while overcoming her parents' well-intentioned but damagingly tolerant attitudes.

What Works Well: William Gibson's adaptation of his hit Broadway play (based on Keller's autobiography) is a stunning showcase of committed physical acting. Patty Duke's Keller starts out as a feral child, and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan never yields in what becomes a battle of wills and wits between determined teacher and unwilling student. Sullivan's valiant attempt to teach Keller basic table manners is an exhilarating and exhausting sequence, director Arthur Penn converting the dining room into a showdown of bruising moves and countermoves. Anne's own backstory of childhood hardship adds rich context as the fuel igniting her fire to succeed.

What Does Not Work As Well: The dominant two central performances push all the supporting characters (mainly Helen's parents and older brother) into the bumpkin background.

Conclusion: The seemingly impossible becomes possible with unshakeable resolve. 



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Movie Review: The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (1975)

A drama with some humour about the stresses of city living, The Prisoner Of Second Avenue touches on some weighty issues but never quite finds it footing.

In New York City, Mel Edison (Jack Lemmon) and his wife Edna (Anne Bancroft) are a middle aged married couple living in an apartment building. The noise, crime, crowds and heat of the city are all getting to Mel, who is frequently irritable. With the economy in recession, he loses his office job.

The couple take a trip to the countryside to visit Mel's older brother Harry (Gene Saks), but Mel's mood remains bleak. Stuck at home all day, he starts to slip into a bitter depression. Edna finds a job, but when their apartment is burgled, Mel is tipped over the edge.

Written by Neil Simon as an adaptation of his play, The Prisoner Of Second Avenue tackles middle-aged anxieties as a bustling city starts to overwhelm an empty nest couple. Directed by Melvin Frank, the film is certainly talkative and largely confined to the Edison apartment, but enough familiar hassles are tossed at Mel and Edna to maintain narrative momentum.

Simon's trademark humour is evident in a few zinger lines, but overall the attempts at comedy sit uneasily with the overall serious subject matter. Mel cannot sleep, the couple are economically vulnerable, his depression hits hard, and Edna's ability to hold their marriage together starts to fray. His anger and frustration spill out in several tirades, and the film stumbles into awkward terrain where laughs are uncomfortable guests.

A few other script weaknesses erode the film's quality. For an essentially two-person drama, precious little is revealed about Mel and Edna's background. Simon barely bothers to define Mel's job (the setting is the most generic office), nor the work Edna secures (the milieu is the creative arts). The late introduction of Mel's sisters is clumsy, as is a bolted-on one-scene exposition of brother Harry's view of the tension between the brothers.

Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft ride out the rough passages with confident performances, theatrical for sure but with demonstrated conviction in their couplehood. A pre-stardom Sylvester Stallone as a suspected Central Park mugger, F. Murray Abraham as a taxi driver and M. Emmet Walsh as the building doorman have small roles.

The Prisoner Of Second Avenue has plenty to complain about, but shouts in uneven tones.



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Movie Review: The Hindenburg (1975)

A disaster drama, The Hindenburg offers a few impressive visuals but is an otherwise a turgid exercise in waiting for the inevitable to happen.

It's May 1937, and Colonel Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) is recruited by German officials to be the head of security for the airship Hindenburg. One of the symbols of pride for the ruling Nazi party, the Hindenburg is about to embark on the travel season's first journey across the Atlantic from Germany to the United States. A woman from Milwaukee has written a letter predicting the destruction of the vessel, and Ritter, who is still recovering from the death of his son, is asked to keep an eye on the passengers and deal with any possible sabotage threats.

After rigorous security checks the journey proceeds with Captain Pruss (Charles Durning) in command. The passengers include Ritter's acquaintance The Countess Ursula (Anne Bancroft), whose property has been seized by the Nazis, as well as an assortment of businessmen, tourists, entertainers, charlatans, crewmembers, government types and possible spies. Ritter and Gestapo officer Vogel (Roy Thinnes) try to keep tabs on all possible suspects, and eventually Ritter determines that crew member Boerth (William Atherton) may be the saboteur.

With the tragic ending of the Hindenburg rendered as one of history's most well-known disasters by the presence of multiple television cameras, any and all cinematic drama would have to be generated by character-generated stories. Unfortunately director Robert Wise and a trio of writers adapting the 1972 Michael M. Mooney book fail miserably in creating anyone or anything to care about. Despite some beautiful scenic shots of the Hindenburg majestically floating across the sky, Wise's attempts to enliven the journey across the Atlantic fly into severe headwinds. One contrived mid-flight emergency repair job is far from enough to maintain interest, and the film is a listless affair, singularly lacking in personality, meaningful events or any compelling interpersonal drama.

The sabotage plot is one of the more far-fetched and unsubstantiated theories as to why the Hindenburg exploded during the docking process at New Jersey's Lakehurst Naval Air Station. Setting aside the fact or fiction debate, the movie manages to reduce the entire evil plot to one tiny bomb and one nondescript crew member, and adds layers of convoluted implausibility by meandering its way to portraying Ritter as the clumsiest of plot enablers.

George C. Scott affixes a single stern expression throughout the film, his Ritter caught between heroism and incompetence, while Anne Bancroft overacts her way through the role of the Countess. The rest of the cast members are a bland assortment of character actors (among them Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, Richard Dysart, René Auberjonois and Peter Donat) playing distinctly forgettable and interchangeable travelers.

The Hindenburg starts with fake but effective black and white newsreel footage summarizing the history of hydrogen powered airships, and switches back to black and white for the dramatically calamitous climax, juxtaposing real and recreated footage of the crash. Regrettably, all the coloured bits in-between also represent their own special brand of disaster.

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Movie Review: How To Make An American Quilt (1995)

An anthology about women's diverse experiences and perspectives, How To Make An American Quilt weaves a loose narrative about a young woman at the emotional crossroads spending the summer with her great aunt's circle of friends.

Finn (Winona Ryder) is in her mid-twenties, struggling to finish her Master's thesis and engaged to be married to carpenter Sam (Dermot Mulroney). She spends the summer at the country home of her great aunt Glady (Anne Bancroft), who is part of a quilting group led by housekeeper Anna (Maya Angelou). As the lazy days unfold and the friends gets to work on a wedding quilt for Finn, she learns their personal stories.

• Finn's grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) has a strained relationship with her sister Glady, stemming from a moment of weakness when Hy's husband was on his deathbed.
• Sophia (Lois Smith) is now cranky and bitter. As a young woman (played by Samantha Mathis) she was a sublime diver who fell in love and married geologist Preston (Loren Dean), but her married life did not unfold as she expected.
• Em (Jean Simmons) is married to artist Dean (Derrick O'Connor), who has always had a wandering eye.
• Constance (Kate Nelligan) first lost her dog and then her husband; her subsequent behaviour means that she is now a bit of a misfit in the group.
• As a young black servant Anna was seduced by her boss' son Beck (Jared Leto); during the resulting pregnancy she became close with Glady.
• Anna's daughter Marianna (Alfre Woodard) is a sophisticated free spirit who refused to commit to any man, but she carries one regret.
• Finn's mother Anna (Kate Capshaw) has long been divorced, but she arrives late in the summer with a new surprise.

During the summer Finn also meets the extremely hunky Leon (Johnathon Schaech), and has to decide how much the potential long term commitment to Sam means to her.

An adaptation of the Whitney Otto book directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, How To Make An American Quilt enjoys relaxed pacing and a soulful perspective. Breathing deeply from the almost resigned stance of older women looking back, often with plenty of regret, the film offers plenty of themes and talking points. The Jane Anderson script avoids pat answers and easy resolutions; this is a compendium of several lives, women defined by their decisions as life's surprises rarely align with expectations.

The film's compilation structure is both its strength and its weakness. How To Make An American Quilt never lingers in one place for too long, as no fewer than eight stories share less than two hours of screen time. Proving that every person has a good tale to tell, Moorhouse gives equal due to each vignette, and the chapters creates and hold individual mystique.

At the same time the patchwork composition is what it is: sequential short stories told with expediency, tending to emphasize melodrama to quickly get to the point. It's not a stretch to imagine all eight stories as potential material for good full length features, but here only the headlines are on display.

The performances are uniformly good from a dream cast featuring veterans Burstyn, Bancroft, Simmons, and Nelligan, as well as poet and civil rights activist Angelou. Ryder holds her own, her relative lack of subtlety finding an understandable home as an emotive young woman a generation removed from all her companions.

Ultimately the convergent narrative is the collective wisdom that Finn will take away from her summer, and How To Make An American Quilt hits a solid target with an emphasis on the unconventional. The beauty of a quilt knitted by many hands is in its lack of coherent precision, the emotions seeping across the borders achieving imperfect perfection.

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Movie Review: The Turning Point (1977)

A melodrama in the world of ballet, The Turning Point has little to say, repeats itself endlessly, and then settles for a series of excruciatingly tiresome ballet-on-film sequences.

The American Ballet Company arrives in Oklahoma City on a tour stop, prompting a reunion between principle dancer Emma Jacklin (Anne Bancroft) and her childhood friend DeeDee Rogers (Shirley MacLaine). DeeDee may or may not have been good enough to compete for top roles with Emma, but she settled for a life of domesticity after getting pregnant and marrying fellow dancer Wayne (Tom Skerritt). While Emma achieved the pinnacle of ballet stardom, DeeDee and Wayne became dance teachers and raised three children, including the talented Emilia (Leslie Browne).

DeeDee never came to terms with her decision to walk away from the potential world of glamour, but is pleased when Emma spots the potential in Emilia and invites her to join the Company. DeeDee relocates to New York as Emilia's career begins to take off, leading to continued friction between DeeDee and Emma, whose own career is fading fast. Meanwhile Emilia begins to discover what it takes to get to the top, and starts a relationship with the charismatic Russian dancer Yuri (Mikhail Baryshnikov).

Directed by Herbert Ross and loosely based on the true-life story of Leslie Browne (who effectively plays herself), the goddaughter of Ross' wife Nora Kaye, The Turning Point holds some interest through the dance career versus family debate, but the conflict is set early and stagnates quickly. The characters of DeeDee and Emma are who they are; they are introduced in the first 20 minutes and never evolve. DeeDee grinds on, endlessly bringing up the past and unable to moved beyond her own decisions from decades prior. Emma is the steely-eyed diva who seized her chance and never looked back. Despite the best efforts of Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft, over two hours the women fail to become any more engaging.

Which leaves Ross with plenty of time to kill, and he defaults to filming ballet sequence after ballet sequence. Watching ballet in the theatre is sufficient drudgery, but the live experience at least adds some drama. Watching ballet on film kills any narrative momentum dead in its tracks, and The Turning Point is padded with a solid 30 minutes of stage-bound performances that have nothing to do with the story, complete with on-screen captions introducing the piece, the music and the choreography. The film morphs into an education and attempted celebration of an art form for ballet fans, leaving behind everyone else. MacLaine and Bancroft are more often than not reduced to painfully fake reaction shots.

In a moment of mass imbecility, somehow the film garnered an incredible eleven Academy Award nominations, the most egregious going to the supporting performances by Browne (wooden) and Baryshnikov (who dances a lot but does not act all) for playing versions of themselves and doing little else. The writing nomination is also beyond belief, the Arthur Laurents script unable to create anything resembling an arc for any of the characters, and resorting to a butt-slapping cat fight between middle aged women. Fortunately the Academy came to its collective senses in time and the film was comprehensively and deservedly shut-out on Awards night.

In MacLaine and Bancroft The Turning Point has classy actresses in the lead roles doing their best. They are thoroughly smothered by the tutus, the ballet shoes and the uninspired drama stretching in vain to justify a cinematic experience.

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Movie Review: The Graduate (1967)

A drama and romance about generational rifts, The Graduate is a sharp examination of youth bumping up against the rules of their parents.

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has returned home to Los Angeles after finishing his college degree. A top student, Benjamin does not know what he wants to do in life, and his parents (William Daniels and Elizabeth Wilson) are no help. Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) is the bored, alcoholic wife of the business partner of Benjamin's father, and she relentlessly pursues and seduces Benjamin. They start and sustain a prolonged affair behind the back of Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton). While the sex is great, Mrs. Robinson is not too interested in ever actually talking to Benjamin.

The Robinsons' daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) is a Berkeley student, and Benjamin's parents and Mr. Robinson believe she is a perfect fit for him. But Mrs. Robinson wants to keep Benjamin for herself, and warns him away from getting close to her daughter. Benjamin is initially happy to oblige, but when he reconnects with Elaine, a spark ignites. Benjamin finds his life getting exceedingly complicated as he gets caught between loving one woman while being held emotionally hostage by her mother.

Directed by Mike Nichols and set to the magical tunes of Simon and Garfunkel, The Graduate defines an era. The screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry (adapting the Charles Webb novel) perfectly captures the angst shrouding the journey from youth to adult, and made all the more hazardous in a time of societal turmoil. Members of the greatest generation are at their economic and sexual peak, and the baby boomers are tentatively seeking their way in a changing world and challenging rules they don't respect. The conflict is filled with transformational moments.

The genius of The Graduate is in capturing a generational shift through the simple story of Benjamin's search for a purpose. The narrative is always intimate, personal and singularly concentrated on one man. But the broader seismic shift of the next generation bedazzled by the fantasy of their elders while seeking to break free is the silent yet dominant backdrop to Benjamin's post-graduate summer. The first half of the film consists of none too subtle coercion and seduction, the men in his life throwing thoughtless career advice his way, sometimes literally reduced to one word ("Plastics!"), while his dad parades him in a scuba diving suit supposed to represent scientific achievement but only serving to heighten Ben's sense of isolation.

Mrs. Robinson is more persistent and more successful in her attempts to lure Benjamin into her bed. With Anne Bancroft enjoying the role of her life, Mrs. Robinson expertly snags Benjamin like a prized fish and reels him in with a combination of hints, seduction, flattery, and ultimately insults that demand his physical response. And once she lands her trophy, Mrs. Robinson will not let go. Benjamin represents her fountain of youth, a reason for her to believe she is still relevant, the older generation emotionally and physically dominating the upstarts, a strategy that works fine as long as the youth keep their mouth shut.

Once Benjamin demands they start talking he is not happy with what he hears, her possessiveness sowing doubts in his mind and triggering an encounter with Elaine that will finally start to define a purpose. Still under Mrs. Robinson's influence Benjamin is initially aloof and cruel with Elaine, but her calm frailty wins him over, and soon he learns what true love can offer his life. Untangling himself from Mrs. Robinson's clutches will not be easy, but it is never easy for any generation to emerge from the shadows, cast off the burden of its elders, and aim for new horizons.

Few films are as closely associated with their soundtracks as The Graduate. The songs include Mrs. Robinson, The Sound Of Silence and Scarborough Fair, with Paul Simon's fragile yet intense singing and the soulful melodies adding immeasurably to the film's impact. Nichols directs with audacity, using jump cuts, playing with focus and perspective and sprinkling touches of humour to portray the tentative first steps of a young man into adulthood. Benjamin's initial foray into the surreptitious world of booking upscale hotel rooms for sexual encounters, under the suspicious gaze of the stern desk clerk, is turned into a deliciously awkward misadventure.

In his first major screen role, Dustin Hoffman shows remarkable talent and uncommon maturity, holding the film together with a mixture of unease, drift, and finally intent. The film launched his stellar career and rewarded him with his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Bancroft (Best Actress) and Ross (Best Supporting Actress) were also nominated, as was the film, the script and the cinematography. Nichols won the Oscar for Best Director.

The Graduate crosses the stage with confidence, passion and humour, leaving behind a lasting legacy.

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The Movies Of Anne Bancroft

All movies starring Anne Bancroft and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Miracle Worker (1962)

The Graduate (1967)

Blazing Saddles (1974, uncredited extra)

The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (1975)

The Hindenburg (1975)

The Turning Point (1977)

The Elephant Man (1980)

84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)

Point Of No Return (1993)

Malice (1993)

How To Make An American Quilt (1995)

G.I. Jane (1997)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Malice (1993)

A spicy twisty thriller, Malice offers deceit, greed, hubris, murder and revenge in a potent mix.

In New England, Andy and Tracy Safian (Bill Pullman and Nicole Kidman) are newlyweds, struggling financially as they renovate their old Victorian home. Andy is Associate Dean at a local college while Tracy volunteers at a hospital daycare. Dr. Jed Hill (Alec Baldwin) is a hotshot surgeon, a renowned womanizer, and a new addition to the hospital staff. Jed and Andy were classmates in grade school, and after they reconnect, Jed rents the upstairs floor from the Safians, despite Tracy's reservations.

Meanwhile, a serial rapist and murderer is terrorizing the campus community, and the victims include Paula (Gwyneth Paltrow), one of Andy's troubled students. Detective Dana Harris (Bebe Neuwirth) does not seem to be making much progress in identifying the perpetrator. Andy and Tracy are desperate to have children, but Jed's disruptive behaviour as a tenant does not help their romantic life, and Tracy starts to suffer from regular bouts of severe stomach cramps. With Harris beginning to realize that several of the rape victims were connected to Andy, a medical crisis severely disrupts the the lives of the newlyweds.

Not much else can be given away about the Malice plot. Co-written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Harold Becker, Malice sets out to deceive and succeeds admirably. Suffice to say that in its final act, the film reveals its hand, and it's a clever, edgy twist, not entirely unpredictable but quite astute nonetheless. The final climax features another surprise, which is perhaps easier to foresee, given the established character motivations. And Malice is a character-driven thriller, where glances, demeanour, individual dynamics and the differences between genuine and socially convenient interactions are carefully constructed and prove to be relevant.

The first hour of the film consists of patient build-up. Becker introduces Andy, Tracy, Jed and Dana, creates individual contexts and conflicts for each, and sets them all up against the backdrop of a serial rapist preying on young college women. The film creates plenty of potential avenues for progress, and leaves all options open as to which one will be pursued. It's a relatively original stance, a story that doesn't telegraph it's real intentions until well into the second half, while maintaining plenty of interest through the lives of interesting and flawed characters.

Many points of friction provide rich territory for the imagination. Tracy used to be Andy's student, and their age difference may be catching up with them. There is a creepy kid next door who always seems to be staring into their bedroom. Tracy and Andy are under financial pressure and dealing with a money pit of a house. Andy and Jed are diametrically opposite personalities, the meek college associate dean and the philandering surgeon, former classmates but never friends. Dana begins to consider Andy as a potential suspect. Jed as a tenant proves to be quite the noisy nuisance. And Tracy's stomach ailment seems to only get worse. Once Malice reveals its central premise, a few of these potential take-off points are revealed to be successful diversionary tactics.

The three lead actors deliver dedicated performances, Baldwin, Kidman and Pullman not setting any new standards but respecting the tone and intent of the script. Veterans Anne Bancroft and George C. Scott get one scene each, Bancroft as a relative of a central character and Scott as a respected doctor. Bancroft in particular is unforgettable, creating in less than ten minutes of screen time an indelible picture of a crusty old woman thriving in her understanding of the conniving mind, while happily wallowing in her alcoholic addiction.

On close examination there are plot holes for sure, and as the film hurtles towards a resolution, the proclivity for violence, skulkiness and episodes of emotions trumping rationality increase. But Malice remains first and foremost an intelligent, enjoyable and sharply crafted psychological thriller.

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Movie Review: G.I. Jane (1997)

A military training action drama, G.I. Jane tackles the issue of gender equality in the armed forces but more often than not heads straight towards the most obvious clichés.

Veteran Texas Senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft) strikes a sleazy deal with Department of Defence officials. The Navy will allow women to prove their combat capabilities by participating in a training program, in exchange for DeHaven facilitating the confirmation hearings for the incoming Secretary of the Navy. Navy analyst Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore) is selected to be the first woman trainee, and she is thrust into the Navy SEAL-like Combined Reconnaissance Team program, considered the most arduous training regime offered by the military.

Command Master Chief Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen) runs the brutal training program, and with Jordan the only woman in a class full of male recruits, she is not expected to survive even the first week. Initially Jordan is provided with special treatment to help her compete, but she rejects the privileges and insists on being treated exactly like the men. With a determined Jordan making surprising progress through the physically punishing and mentally draining program, her success starts to make waves in Washington DC, where DeHaven is facing another crisis that will require more deal making.

Whenever G.I. Jane tries to expand its horizons beyond the training course, it stumbles awkwardly. The scenes in Washington featuring Senator DeHaven and a large group of faceless defence department suits never move beyond the most obvious theatre. Jordan's home life and romantic relationship is hard boiled in scenes so brief that next to nothing is known about her as a person. And the film ends with the ever so tiresome bromide of a class full of trainees suddenly thrust into a poorly defined actual combat mission. Hello undefined bad guys running around in the Libyan desert.

The film therefore lives and dies in the training program that Jordan and her fellow recruits are subjected to, and here director Ridley Scott does shine. The exercises designed to harden the trainees into well-honed fighting machines capable of withstanding whatever nature and enemies throw at them are long, detailed and almost physically exhausting to watch. Scott deploys his usual expertise in shadows and back-lighting, and along with cinematographer Hugh Johnson the film is bathed in spectral blue-green representing the nighttime home of special forces.

G.I. Jane is at its best when there is little dialogue and plenty of physical effort on display. Whenever the film moves towards humanizing the tension between Jordan, Urgayle and the many interchangeable men surrounding her it becomes obvious that the script (by David Twohy and Danielle Alexandra) is firmly stuck in first gear, and none of the characters can say anything or display any emotions beyond basic "women don't belong here / yes they do" clipped exchanges.

Demi Moore deserves a lot of credit for undergoing an intense physical training program to get in shape for the role of Jordan O'Neil. She shaves her head on-screen, performs all her own stunts and enjoys plenty of scenes showing off her buff body being put through the exhaustive training grind. Her acting is admirably intense, but that is all. G.I. Jane never succeeds in revealing much about Jordan except that she starts out resolute and gets ever more tenacious, in proportion to the number of people who want her to fail, and Moore is stuck in that box. Viggo Mortensen provides an interesting angle on the traditional ruthless training instructor persona, but the script cannot deliver an evolution to his poetry-loving ferocity.

G.I. Jane succeeds as an inside look at what it takes to be an elite soldier, but otherwise misfires when it comes to creating people and a story worth caring about.

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Movie Review: The Elephant Man (1980)

The true tragic story of Joseph (John) Merrick, a horribly disfigured man who lived in London of the late 1800s, The Elephant Man is a movie that finds tenderness deep within abomination.

Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) tracks down the frighteningly distorted Elephant Man, a freakshow owned by the brutal Bytes (Freddie Jones). The Elephant Man is actually John Merrick (John Hurt), born with a disease that caused extreme enlargement of his skull, skin outgrowths, a uselessly overgrown right arm, and a mangled spine. After initially examining Merrick purely as a medical exercise, Treves delves deeper and discovers that Merrick is intelligent and can actually talk and read.

London Hospital's Governor (John Gielgud) eventually agrees to make a room available to house and care for Merrick. Gradually London's upper classes, including theatre star Madge Kendal (Anne Bancroft) hear about The Elephant Man and start to visit him, although the hospital's night watchman continues a side-business of profiteering. Bytes has plans to regain control of Merrick as a meal ticket, and Treves has to deal with the guilt of continued exploitation.

Ironically, The Elephant Man was one of the more mainstream films created by director and co-writer David Lynch. Staying close to historical facts, Lynch introduces Merrick with masterful artistry. For the first 30 minutes of the film Merrick is only seen in glimpses, under a shroud or from behind a curtain. Only once the context is set, the locales established, Merrick's suffering outlined, and the characters of Treves and Bytes introduced is Lynch ready to reveal The Elephant Man. It's a mature strategy of patience that works brilliantly in building anticipation and humanizing the subject prior to foisting him upon the screen.

Lynch and cinematographer Freddie Francis make excellent use of the black and white photography to recreate the seedy London back alleys where sleaze thrives, and to capture the earliest days of industrialization and nascent medical progress.

A still svelte Anthony Hopkins gives a complex performance as Dr. Treves, a man who initially just sees in Merrick an opportunity to advance his status. Hopkins allows Treves his pompous moment of bluster in front of his London medical establishment colleagues, but soon steers the character to a much more distinguished role as Merrick's gateway to society. But the doctor's journey not yet over, as Hopkins has to convey Treves' mounting revulsion that he may have only succeeded in helping Merrick move from one freakshow to another, albeit a high class one.

John Hurt performs admirably underneath a mountain of make-up, and projects emotion with physical gestures and through a monstrously disfigured face. It does not take long for Hurt's eyes to channel trauma, joy, pain and longing. Hurt completely overcomes Merrick's deformation and releases the human within.

In the support roles, Freddie Jones, John Gielgud, Anne Bancroft and Wendy Hiller provide serious depth to the outstanding cast.

Society's response to tragic suffering brings out the best and the worst of human behaviour. The Elephant Man captures the base instinct to stand, stare, and profit, as well as the noble ability to bend down and help. The film leaves no doubt as to which course of action causes civilization to move forward.

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Movie Review: Point Of No Return (1993)

A remake of Luc Besson's film Nikita, the Hollywood treatment not unexpectedly strips the soul out of the story and replaces it with abject superficiality. In Point Of No Return the action sequences are over-muscled on steroids, the character motivations are non-existent, the romance is phony, and the tits-and-ass are plentiful and utterly superfluous. Bridget Fonda tries hard to bring some depth and conviction to the central character of Maggie (nom de guerre Nina), but is undermined by a dull script and director John Badham insisting on filming her in her underwear at every opportunity.

In Washington DC, Maggie is a drugged-out criminal, running with a gang of lost and vicious youth. A robbery of a drug store goes wrong, and in the ensuing shoot-out Maggie blows out the brains of a police officer. She is convicted and sentenced to death.

Bob (Gabriel Byrne) rescues Maggie from the lethal injection by enrolling her, initially very much against her will, into a top secret agency that does the government's dirty work by eliminating high profile undesirables. In addition to combat and weapons training, Maggie's instructors include Amanda (Anne Bancroft), who teaches her social etiquette. As she is polished into an expert assassin, Bob naturally takes a much more than just professional interest in Maggie's progress.

Upon mastering all the required skills, Maggie is given the code name Nina and unleashed into society, where she quickly meets and falls in love with J.P. (Dermot Mulroney), although she cannot share much pillow talk with him since her job includes tasks such wiping out criminal cartels by blowing up entire hotel floors and targeted assassinations using high powered sniper rifles. Eventually Maggie grows tired of the killing, Bob grows tired of J.P., and a mission-gone-wrong activates The Cleaner (Harvey Keitel) to kill everyone in sight.

There are some slick moments in Point Of No Return, and with a healthy suspension of disbelief, the action sequences are entertaining in a Schwarzeneggeresque way, with plenty of high-tech weaponry, fiery explosions, an endless number of goons materializing from nowhere to get killed by Nina, and no shortage of impressive stunts. And the small portion of the film with The Cleaner starts to become funny in a good way, whether intentional or not. Fonda tackles her role fearlessly and manages to progress with the character, while everyone else around her spouts cliches with statuesque fluidity.

But there is no escaping the ham-handed approach of Point Of No Return, a point where apparently subtlety is a lost art, and where all the points need to be driven home with a sledgehammer.

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