BEFORE: Edward Norton carries over from "American History X", playing a prison inmate again.
THE PLOT: A convicted arsonist looks to manipulate a parole officer into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife in the lawman's path.
AFTER: I find myself without a lot to say today, and I don't think it's my fault, I think it's because the movie gave me so little to think about. It's one of those "who's manipulating who?" kind of stories, and unfortunately it's not very clear about who knew what, and when, which would have gone a long way toward making sense of things.
I understand that the process of obtaining parole from prison may be long and complicated, but that doesn't mean it has to be in a movie. Movies are all about editing out the tedious parts of life, and showing us the more action-oriented moments. So there's a mental game going on between a convict and his parole officer - it's an interesting idea, but the standoff doesn't need to occupy 75-80% of the film.
It's especially galling when the parole officer's marriage is one of those quiet ones - where the couple has been together so long that they don't really talk any more, at least not about the important stuff, at most they're just making conversation. So the scenes with both of them aren't very enthralling either. Sure, there are probably a lot of couples who don't have heavy or heated discussion, so this may be true-to-life, but it also makes for a less than exciting film.
Things get heated between the parole officer and the convict's wife, but even then we are forced to question whether she has real feelings for him, or is just trying to secure her husband's release from jail. Since she barely is able to speak up for herself, and rarely broaches the topic, it's hard to determine her exact motive. Like she forgot to mention it, or meant to try and blackmail him, but never really got around to it.
As in last night's film, Norton's character undergoes one of those jailhouse epiphanies, some kind of spiritual awakening. But again, how are we the audience supposed to know whether the change in his personality is sincere, or just something to help his chances of parole? There's no way. It is funny how many convicts manage to find Jesus - but if God is everywhere, why couldn't they have found him before becoming incarcerated?
Tense? Sure. Exciting? Not at all.
Also starring Robert De Niro (last seen in "The Fan"), Frances Conroy (last seen in "Billy Bathgate"), Milla Jovovich (last seen in "The Three Musketeers (2011)").
RATING: 4 out of 10 cornrows
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