THRILLER
CRITIC'S CHOICE
Most times when Hollywood remakes a classic film, you leave the theater scratching your noggin and asking, "Why?" But with director Jonathan Demme's bold do-over of a 1962 nail-biter, you'll emerge exhilarated (the opposite of one's reaction to The Truth About Charlie, his dead-in-the-Seine reprise two years ago of 1963's Charade). This intelligently updated and tweaked Manchurian Candidate is as breathlessly gripping and gloriously convoluted now as the original was when first released. And just as much sly fun.
Maj. Bennett Marco (Washington, in the part played by Frank Sinatra) and U.S. congressman Raymond Shaw (Schreiber, in Laurence Harvey's role) served more than a decade ago in the same Army unit during the Gulf War, for which Shaw won the Medal of Honor. Now Shaw's mother (Streep), a powerful senator, is bulldozing a pathway for her hero son to gain a vice-presidential nod. Standing in the way is Major Marco; he's making a stink over his growing suspicion that both he and Shaw were brainwashed during the war. When Shaw defends Marco by saying, "He's a good man," his mother snaps back, "That's what the neighbors always say about serial killers."
Washington (see story, page 71) and Schreiber both contribute first-rate performances, but the movie belongs to Streep. True, she never attains quite the lethal level of evil Angela Lansbury boasted in the original, but Streep's curdled form of mother love is its own tasty treat. (R)
Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard
COMEDY
Having reluctantly returned to his suburban New Jersey hometown for his mother's burial after her suicide, a young Hollywood actor finds himself adrift in the detritus of his past. Andrew Largeman (Braff, who also wrote and directed) is numb; he doesn't want to feel anything and, thanks to the prescribed pharmaceuticals he has been gulping since he was a youth, he hasn't for years. Now, among old friends and haunts, he goes cold turkey and starts to find out what it feels like to feel.
The appealing story of a melancholy young man finding himself, Garden State echoes The Graduate (right down to the inclusion of a Simon & Garfunkel song on the soundtrack) without slavishly imitating it. Shot in a largely deadpan style and featuring a talented cast, the film makes most of its comic points with a light touch, though it falters slightly in the end when it overreaches for meaning. (Hint to filmmaker: Next time go easy on mentions of the "infinite abyss.")
Triple-threat Braff, a regular on TV's Scrubs, moves up on Hollywood's most-promising list with this entry. His performance is moving, while his direction shows an eye for the telling moment. He gives his actors room without letting them overdo it. Portman, as Largeman's new girlfriend, is a likable live wire, and Sarsgaard—is this guy ever bad?—is aces as an underachieving buddy. (R)
The Bourne Supremacy Matt Damon (above, with Franka Potente) returns as ex-CIA assassin Jason Bourne in a suspenseful, entertaining sequel to 2002's The Bourne Identity. It's a throwback to the clever spy thrillers with adult appeal that Hollywood used to make, but it's set in the contemporary post-Cold War world and shot with a jumpy visual style that's cutting edge. (PG-13)
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle Two recent college grads (John Cho, below left, and Kal Penn) with a case of late-night munchies spend an eventful night seeking an open White Castle in sub-urban New Jersey. A dumb buddy comedy with smarts, this one revels in the clichés of the genre while satirizing them. By casting two Asian-Americans as its leads, Castle plays on stereo-types but turns them inside out as well. Directed by Danny Leiner (Dude, Where's My Car?). (R)
Intimate Strangers
In an intriguing French film, a woman (Sandrine Bonnaire, below) visits a shrink in Paris and begins telling him her most intimate secrets. When he turns out to be a tax lawyer—she mistakenly entered the wrong office—she continues to unburden herself to him. Patrice Leconte (Man on the Train) directed this winning comedy-drama. (R)
- Contributors:
- Leah Rozen.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
