Movie Review: The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988)

Genre: Occult Horror Drama  

Director: Wes Craven  

Starring: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson  

Running Time: 98 minutes  

Synopsis: After drinking a hallucinatory potion during a misadventure in the Amazon, Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) is commissioned by a Boston-based pharmaceutical company to investigate a drug being used in Haiti to create zombies. Once in Haiti, Dennis teams up with Dr. Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson). After a spooky graveyard episode and a meeting with potion-maker Louis Mozart (Brent Jennings), Dennis becomes the target of brutal militia leader Peytraud (Zakes Mokae), who uses zombifaction to terrorize regime opponents.

What Works Well: Director Wes Craven finds an outlet for his horror passion in a unique drama (only loosely inspired by actual events) that combines gory dream and fantasy scenes within an occult milieu. The political backdrop features the unraveling of the Duvalier regime, the savagery of ruling thugs extending to torture and worse-than-death drugs. The on-location cinematography (filmed in Haiti and the Dominican Republic) captures the on-the-ground organic chaos of disintegration fueled by mystical practices and beliefs.

What Does Not Work As Well: The attempts to deliver gory shocks within nightmarish sequences unsurprisingly wear thin with repetition. In comparison, the overarching political landscape is shortchanged, particularly given the climactic narrative choices. Bill Pullman struggles to get a grip on Dr. Dennis Alan, who is less of an instigator and more a victim of wild experiences, while the romance with his counterpart Dr. Marielle fails to convince.

Key Quote:

Peytraud: Scream all you want. There is no escape from the grave.



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Movie Review: Mona Lisa (1986)

A crime drama and romance, Mona Lisa offers a gritty London milieu, but the story of an unlikely business and personal relationship lacks some texture.

In London, low-level hoodlum George (Bob Hoskins) is released from prison after serving seven years. His former associates under the leadership of sex club owner and mobster boss Denny Mortwell (Michael Caine) give him a job as the chauffeur for expensive call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson). Initially the sophisticated Simone and the excitable George clash over everything, but gradually a friendship evolves.

She confides in him about her past as a street prostitute regularly abused by her pimp Anderson (Clarke Peters), and requests George's help in finding her close friend Cathy, a young prostitute also suffering Anderson's mistreatment. George tries to mend his relationship with his daughter Jeannie (Zoë Nathenson), but is drawn into a heap of trouble and violence as he wades deeper into Simone's world.

A grim descent into London's slimy underbelly, Mona Lisa is a rough English equivalent of Taxi Driver, at least in spirit and intent if not overall quality. The story of an irrelevant and coarse man enchanted by an unattainable woman carries possibilities, and director Neil Jordan (who also co-wrote the script) teases an evocative performance out of Bob Hoskins in the lead role.

But once George falls under Simone's spell and embarks on a quest to find her friend Cathy, the film stagnates. The antagonists of this world, as defined by Mortwell and Anderson, are exceptionally poorly defined. Michael Caine sleepwalks through his few scenes, while the supposedly menacing Anderson is reduced to a generic jack-in-the-box presence, popping up to randomly chase and threaten people at designated intervals.

Much better is the core bond between scrappy driver and sophisticated call girl, and Mona Lisa draws its warmth from the emerging dynamic between them. They navigate past the hostile stage and allow an asymmetrical friendship to develop as George starts to fall hard for Simone and extrapolates potential beyond reality. Again Jordan stumbles over the final few hurdles, and once George understands his emotional misplacement Mona Lisa limps over the finish line in more common thriller land.

Newcomer Cathy Tyson has an enigmatic screen presence and adds a layer of allure to Simone's secrets, metaphorically representing the mysterious smile of the title painting.

Stylish and carrying a strong sense of place, Mona Lisa ventures through a sordid version of London and finds a mix of organic and generic.

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