This could have been so much better. The story had great potential, the three leads are all fine actors (and all do decent jobs here), and the cinematography and period features are faultless. Sadly, the heavy melodrama detracts from what was meant to be the poignancy of the situation, and the music is oppressive and at times just ridiculous (particularly in the church scene, which plays like something out of a horror film).
Interesting in that many of the same faults attend "House of Sand and Fog" from about fifteen years later, in which Ben Kingsley plays a similar role.
Interesting in that many of the same faults attend "House of Sand and Fog" from about fifteen years later, in which Ben Kingsley plays a similar role.