'Eastern Promises' delivers mob scene
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, December 23, 2007
A handful of films reach the DVD market next week, but there's a gem among them. Starring Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" is figuring into end-of-the-year polls and deservedly show.
With "Promises," director David Cronenberg moves up several notches artistically, challenging some of Francis Ford Coppola's best work.
Very "Godfather"-esque, the dark drama lifts the veil on the Russian mafia. Mortensen plays a second-tier thug who wants to rise in the ranks of a family led by Armin Mueller-Stahl. The godfather's son (Vincent Cassel) lacks discipline and direction. He's not exactly leadership material (think Sonny Corleone) and he's not the man dad can trust. That puts Mortensen in a good position, but there's a "matter" that needs tending.
A 14-year-old pregnant girl has turned up at a local hospital. She dies in childbirth but has left behind a diary -- one that implicates members of the mob. When a midwife (Naomi Watts) brings it to Mueller-Stahl for translation, she's drawn into the story and the mob.
Cronenberg doesn't eliminate his trademark scenes (Mortensen cuts off a victim's fingertips so he can't be identified) but he does put them in context. That tempers the shock value and promotes some sense of understanding.
While brutal, a fight scene in a public bath is just the point Cronenberg needs to build to. Mortensen goes there to discuss business with an associate, then discovers he has been set up. Naked, he battles two attackers and figures out what he has to do to silence his opponents and please his boss.
Watts doesn't trust him but she knows he's a key to understanding what happened to the girl and what could become of the baby.
Mortensen is appropriately stoic. Mueller-Stahl is cunningly evil and Cassel is exciting to watch. The deadbeat son, though, is always a juicy role. Cassel just makes sure every drip of drama is squeezed.
Cronenberg lets several scenes play out in wide screen. He doesn't force the viewer to focus on the violence. He makes them find it. That works well and makes good on the director's recent promise as a filmmaker worth remembering.
Mortensen moves up a rung as well, proving he's more than another Ed Harris. He's an actor with range we never expected after "Lord of the Rings."
Also: 'Brothers Solomon'
Written by and starring "Saturday Night Live" cast member Will Forte, "The Brothers Solomon" seems good enough for a sketch but as tiring as "A Night at the Roxbury" when it's expanded to 90 minutes.
Forte and Will Arnett play home-schooled adventurers who have little or no social skills. They fail at "regular" relationships and face a real hurdle when they hit on the fatherhood idea. Surprisingly, a woman agrees to be their surrogate for $10,000. She has a pretty rough boyfriend (Chi McBride in a fun twist on the stereotypical) who decides he wants to be part of the experiment, too.
Because the Solomons don't know restraint, they go overboard with their preparations, making the mother (Kristen Wiig, also from "SNL") feel like an outsider.
That sets up another dilemma and, possibly, the film's best (and only) good laugh. To apologize, the two goofs hire a skywriter to deliver a message. A long message.
Director Bob Odenkirk (who knows better) doesn't know when to stop with the lingering close-ups. Forte and Arnett mug incessantly, practically begging for a laugh track.
The gimmick wears out 10 minutes in and doesn't get any better.
Also:
Movies: "American Pie Presents Beta House"; "Intimate Affairs"; "Living and Dying"; "Rush Hour 3"
TV: "Galactica 1980," the complete series
With "Promises," director David Cronenberg moves up several notches artistically, challenging some of Francis Ford Coppola's best work.
Very "Godfather"-esque, the dark drama lifts the veil on the Russian mafia. Mortensen plays a second-tier thug who wants to rise in the ranks of a family led by Armin Mueller-Stahl. The godfather's son (Vincent Cassel) lacks discipline and direction. He's not exactly leadership material (think Sonny Corleone) and he's not the man dad can trust. That puts Mortensen in a good position, but there's a "matter" that needs tending.
A 14-year-old pregnant girl has turned up at a local hospital. She dies in childbirth but has left behind a diary -- one that implicates members of the mob. When a midwife (Naomi Watts) brings it to Mueller-Stahl for translation, she's drawn into the story and the mob.
Cronenberg doesn't eliminate his trademark scenes (Mortensen cuts off a victim's fingertips so he can't be identified) but he does put them in context. That tempers the shock value and promotes some sense of understanding.
While brutal, a fight scene in a public bath is just the point Cronenberg needs to build to. Mortensen goes there to discuss business with an associate, then discovers he has been set up. Naked, he battles two attackers and figures out what he has to do to silence his opponents and please his boss.
Watts doesn't trust him but she knows he's a key to understanding what happened to the girl and what could become of the baby.
Mortensen is appropriately stoic. Mueller-Stahl is cunningly evil and Cassel is exciting to watch. The deadbeat son, though, is always a juicy role. Cassel just makes sure every drip of drama is squeezed.
Cronenberg lets several scenes play out in wide screen. He doesn't force the viewer to focus on the violence. He makes them find it. That works well and makes good on the director's recent promise as a filmmaker worth remembering.
Mortensen moves up a rung as well, proving he's more than another Ed Harris. He's an actor with range we never expected after "Lord of the Rings."
Also: 'Brothers Solomon'
Written by and starring "Saturday Night Live" cast member Will Forte, "The Brothers Solomon" seems good enough for a sketch but as tiring as "A Night at the Roxbury" when it's expanded to 90 minutes.
Forte and Will Arnett play home-schooled adventurers who have little or no social skills. They fail at "regular" relationships and face a real hurdle when they hit on the fatherhood idea. Surprisingly, a woman agrees to be their surrogate for $10,000. She has a pretty rough boyfriend (Chi McBride in a fun twist on the stereotypical) who decides he wants to be part of the experiment, too.
Because the Solomons don't know restraint, they go overboard with their preparations, making the mother (Kristen Wiig, also from "SNL") feel like an outsider.
That sets up another dilemma and, possibly, the film's best (and only) good laugh. To apologize, the two goofs hire a skywriter to deliver a message. A long message.
Director Bob Odenkirk (who knows better) doesn't know when to stop with the lingering close-ups. Forte and Arnett mug incessantly, practically begging for a laugh track.
The gimmick wears out 10 minutes in and doesn't get any better.
Also:
Movies: "American Pie Presents Beta House"; "Intimate Affairs"; "Living and Dying"; "Rush Hour 3"
TV: "Galactica 1980," the complete series
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