Directed by Mark Rydell. Starring Richard Gere, Lolita Davidovich, Sharon Stone, Martin Landau, Jennifer Morrison, David Selby, Ron White, Scott Bellis. (R)
On the verge of a traffic collision, Gere reflects on his troubled relationships with his frigid wife (Stone) and spirited mistress (Davidovich). Bulk of running time is spent in dreary flashbacks (timeline often unclear) where these three characters mope and sulk at length; they're largely unappealing, and not in interesting ways, so it's a drag to spend so much time in their company (the actors do their best, but they're no magicians). The conclusion strives to turn the whole thing into a weepie, but it's unearned and ultimately unmoving. A remake of a French film called "Les Choses de la vie" (adapted from a book of the same name), which is warning enough that this movie won't work--European films of this persuasion tend to have plots that follow the whims of the characters, while their American counterparts tend to have characters that follow the whims of the plot.
33/100
On the verge of a traffic collision, Gere reflects on his troubled relationships with his frigid wife (Stone) and spirited mistress (Davidovich). Bulk of running time is spent in dreary flashbacks (timeline often unclear) where these three characters mope and sulk at length; they're largely unappealing, and not in interesting ways, so it's a drag to spend so much time in their company (the actors do their best, but they're no magicians). The conclusion strives to turn the whole thing into a weepie, but it's unearned and ultimately unmoving. A remake of a French film called "Les Choses de la vie" (adapted from a book of the same name), which is warning enough that this movie won't work--European films of this persuasion tend to have plots that follow the whims of the characters, while their American counterparts tend to have characters that follow the whims of the plot.
33/100