SYDNEY POLLACK
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.5.
USA, 1999. Columbia Pictures Corporation, Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG, Mirage Enterprises, Rastar Pictures. Screenplay by Kurt Luedtke, adaptation by Darryl Ponicsan, based on the novel by Warren Adler. Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. Produced by Sydney Pollack, Marykay Powell. Music by Dave Grusin. Production Design by Barbara Ling. Costume Design by Bernie Pollack. Film Editing by William Steinkamp.
Valiant but unfortunately disastrous effort to bring out the more serious side of Harrison Ford, with director Sydney Pollack also trying to recapture the mellow romanticism of his stunning Out of Africa with minimal results. Ford’s wife dies in a tragic plane accident, the aftermath revealing that the man she was sitting beside was her longtime lover. Meeting with the lover’s wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) brings Ford a turbulent but necessary friendship that courts possible romance but is doubtful of reaching full fruition in that regard. The bulk of the film’s massive running time is spent watching Ford wander from place to place discovering new and more volatile information about his wife, but with so little dynamism in his face that experience is pretty flat. Supporting performances by Charles S. Dutton and Edie Falco look to be going somewhere and then never come full circle in this film based on the celebrated novel, a project Ford pursued for years and sadly became one of his worst critically-rated fiascoes. On the plus side, there is gorgeous photography, first-rate production design and the magnificent Scott Thomas, who wipes up the floor with her co-star.
