This* one lost me at “From the Writer-Director of ‘Michael Clayton,'” a film I found dreadfully dull and completely illogical. (Of course, Tilda Swinton’s intelligent, savvy high-powered lawyer would fall for the old taping-you-without-you-knowing-it trick — not everyone saw “Wall Street.” And who knew you could so easily fake your death by tossing a wallet and watch into a burning car? The coroner must have been relieved to find identification in good enough shape to name a body burnt to nothing.) Suspending disbelief is not the same as suspending intelligence.
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To be honest, anything with Julia Roberts** pretty much loses me from the start. She was never a great actress female actor, but before Diva-dom struck about 40 minutes into “Erin Brockovich (2000),” she had a remarkably warm and accessible screen presence. That’s gone now. Even the famous smile feels calculated. Roberts can’t do “empowered” without coming off as cold and distant. Kate Winslet*** and Naomi Watts can play ’em tough without losing the important undercurrent of vulnerability and tenderness. In her day, even Sharon Stone could pull this off on some level.
Clive Owen, on the other hand, is the real deal but this thriller looks and feels an awful lot like his previous thriller “The International,” which flopped pretty hard just a few weeks ago. How many people will confuse the two? The trailer tries to strike a jaunty vibe with that already-tired “Oceans 11-12-13” score, but even I was surprised (pleasantly) when Naomi Watts showed up for “The International” instead of Roberts.
*The original plan was to write about “Terminator Salvation,” but Christian Bale and I are done professionally.
**Eric Roberts, on the other hand, rawks in way too many ways to count. “Charlie! They took my thumb!”
***Embarrassingly bad Revolutionary Road performance excepted.
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