It used to be that men played the villains in movies -- after all, historically and statistically they've always been the more likely of the genders to be murderers, thieves, or psychotic stalkers. While women have often played the femme fatales -- the sexy seductress who lures men into their eventual downfall -- not many women have gone full-out looney tunes on the big screen.
Then along came Glenn Close in 1987's "Fatal Attraction." Playing a jilted lover who obsessively stalks Michael Douglas, Close's Oscar nominated performance was widely talked about and spurred a round of similarly psychotic characters. There was Oscar winner Kathy Bates as an obsessed fan in Stephen King's Misery (1990) and Rebecca de Mornay as the crazed nanny in 1992's "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle."
Now, six-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Lange joins that "esteemed" group of actresses who have thrown all caution to the wind to play a psychotic character. Of course as noted above, some of those performances have generated critical acclaim for the actresses, so it's actually surprising that more women aren't looking for such roles, particularly when any "good" roles for older actresses are in high demand but short supply.
Lange, who's always had a mysterious side to her performances, no matter what kind of movie she's appeared in, seems perfect to play a lunatic. She's got that sultry Southern mode down pat as well as a tough, determined streak in her that play well here in creating a slow-burning psychotic character. Of course one has to be careful not to go too far with such behavior so as to keep from "hamming" it up, but Lange does a decent job in that balancing act.
It would have been nice, though, if the filmmakers hadn't made her so obviously evil from the beginning. As she slithers around like a coiling snake, we never have any doubt as to her intentions. It would have been nice -- at least early on -- if things that aroused Helen's suspicions could have been explained in a variety of ways to keep both the characters and the audience off guard about what was really occurring. While Lange's one-track character makes it easier for the audience to root against her, it would have worked better had we not always been one hundred percent sure that she was behind all of the "evil" that transpires during the story.
It's also too bad the script isn't a lot better. While it should please audiences who thrill at having superior position (knowing ahead of time what the character's don't) and who groove on such films, it eventually gets downright preposterous, especially during the last twenty minutes or so. Of course it's pushing out the adrenaline pumping, manipulative qualities that should keep many moviegoers from noticing such problems during the fact, but afterwards all of it will probably leave a bad aftertaste in one's mouth.
The laughable parts come when a very pregnant Paltrow -- who's expected to give birth any day now -- makes her escape attempt from Close's deranged mother character. Along the way she four-wheel drives through massively bumpy terrain and then, once stuck, gets out -- barefoot and pregnant -- and runs through the woods and finally up a steep hill to get to the highway. There's also the implausibility that Jackson would leave his wife -- who is due to deliver at any moment -- to go to a horse race, or that Helen -- in the middle of artificially induced labor, wouldn't just call 911 instead of tromping around looking for her mother-in-law whom she can't stand.
A conveniently placed, plot revealing locket (that doesn't come as any surprise, except for its absurd location) and some well-noted newspaper articles that would prove everything about Martha but are inexplicably never used, are just a few of the other ill-conceived moments in the film. Most of those elements work for generating the suspense, but the problem is that they're just not believable. While they easily could have been fixed with some script changes -- Martha has severed the phone lines to prevent Helen from calling for help, etc... -- they weren't.
Then there's the ending -- that we won't give away -- but suffice it to say that Paltrow's character, who nearly died from blood loss and other atrocities during childbirth, looks remarkably better a mere twenty-four hours later. Not only does she miraculously look radiant -- one must remember, of course, that she is a Hollywood star after all -- but she's also surprisingly physically fit and mentally able to take care of her wacky mother-in-law in the big conclusion.
Up until those points the movie is okay -- and again it tremendously works if you turn off your brain -- but anything built up to that point it thrown out the window by the ridiculous ending. At least they don't blow away Lange's character at the end (you obviously know she's going to get her comeuppance in some fashion), which is a welcome change from the stereotypical endings of most stories dealing with psychotic villains.
Paltrow is okay in her role as the nervous and then defiant daughter-in-law, but doesn't get to shine as she's done in previous roles such as "Emma." Johnathon Schaech, the uptight but talented musician in "That Thing You Do," plays the stereotypical character who's torn between his mother and wife and also does an okay job, but isn't able to deliver anything outstanding due to the limited way in which his character's been drawn. The best character by far is played by Nina Foch who inhabits Jackson's feisty grandmother. Given the best lines in the movie, she's a delight to watch and gives the movie some much needed comic relief.
This is co-writer/director Jonathan Darby's first theatrical feature, and his lack of experience shows. While he and co-writer Jane Rusconi have fashioned a moderate crowd pleasing thriller, there are just too many easily contrived and/or ridiculous moments to make this a film that will be long remembered in the genre. Although this movie will have some people yelling out to the characters on the screen to "Watch out" (as they did in our screening), it will later have many people thinking back to the implausibilities through which they just sat.
If you can manage to watch this without thinking logically at all about what's happening, or by getting a hoot out of Lange's occasionally over-the-top performance, then you might just enjoy it, but nothing will come as a surprise. Otherwise, you might be better off renting one of the "older classics" in the genre. That way you can yell "Watch out!" in the privacy of your own home and not worry about people sitting near you telling you to "hush." We give the similarly titled movie a 4 out of 10.