JOSEPH RUBEN
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.5.
USA, 1998. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films, Tetragram. Screenplay by Wesley Strick, Bruce Robinson, based on the motion picture Force Majeure by Pierre Jolivet, Olivier Schatzky. Cinematography by Reynaldo Villalobos. Produced by Alain Bernheim, Steve Golin. Music by Mark Mancina. Production Design by Bill Groom. Costume Design by Juliet Polcsa. Film Editing by Craig McKay, Andrew Mondshein.
Remake of Force Majeure, about two friends (Vince Vaughn, David Conrad) approached by a lawyer (Anne Heche) who beseeches them to return to Thailand where they recently vacationed with buddy Joaquin Phoenix. It seems the drugs they’d had fun with while there were found by local police on Phoenix’s person and he is now in danger of being executed for dealing, unless his two friends return to the country to share a short jail sentence. Harrowing character drama has excellent acting by all involved, especially Heche, and even manages a few surprises. A plot similar to this was revisited with women in place of men the next year with Brokedown Palace starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale, and while this one is not as glamorous as Danny Boyle’s The Beach, it’s a better movie.
