Hey folks, Harry here... Any and all Christina Ricci movies are required viewing at Geek Headquarters. There's just something cool about her that I like in her films. I think it has to do with having watched her grow up on film and become the actress that I'd hoped she'd become after seeing her in THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Well here she is in a creepy flick and there's a chance that it could wind up being kinda fun, plus with this film not due out till October 18, there is still a lot of time for fine tuning. Beware the Spoilers...
Harry,
Caught a test screening last night in northern NJ of the new English thriller starring Christina Ricci, ‘The Gathering” directed by Brian Gilbert and written by Anthony Horowitz. It is based on the Catholic mythology that there were several witnesses to the crucifixion of Christ who were there purely for kicks. As punishment, they have been forced to roam the earth and witness tragic events throughout history (the A-bomb, JFK assassination, etc.).
The movie opens promisingly enough with a young couple sneaking off from a party and up a hill to get a better view (riiiight). Anyway, the guy falls through a hole and when the girl turns around and he is not there, she moves in to investigate. And whadda ya know? She falls in the hole as well. She’s pretty banged up, but when she comes to, she sees faces carved in the wall and a giant sculpture of the crucifixion.
Just so happens that Christina Ricci shows up a couple of days later in the little English hamlet where the unfortunate young couple met their fate. It is pretty much all down hill from there. Through a pretty convoluted series of events, Ricci ends up as the de facto nanny for a local family with two young children. Ricci and the young son share premonitions of a barking pit bull and terrible things happening to the locals
Turns out the hole with the sculptures isa first century church that was buried in the 13th century to “protect” the local inhabitants. It also turns out that the father of the family Ricci is staying with (Simon played by Stephen Dillane) is some type of religious archaeologist and is called in to investigate the sculptures by a priest (Luke) with whom he has a history (several years before, Simon debunked a myth that a piece of driftwood was a remnant of the cross Christ was crucified on).
Walking the children to school one day, Ricci runs into Dan played by Ioan Gruffuud and for no apparent reason they embark on a totally extraneous romantic sub plot with a gratuitous sex scene. Sadly, no Ricci nudity but we do get a lingering shot of Gruffudd’s ass (ewwwww!). It is later revealed that the house Ricci is staying at was once at the center of an abuse and rape controversy. Coincidences continue to pile up; revelations are spelled out by the characters as if the audience were first graders and it all leads to the supposedly twist ending that the entire theater seemed to see coming from a mile away (The Sixth Sense and The Others, this film is not). And to make matters worse, there is an epilogue that pretty much sums up everything we had witnessed for the last hour and a half.
Not much to like here. The opening was pretty solid, there is chase scene through a corn field at the end that is actually quite suspenseful, the actors playing the condemned witnesses were naturally freaky looking people (not sure much make up was needed) and Ricci’s breast are a character all their own (she is in tight shirts throughout). It seemed like a solid premise, but the film just didn’t execute. Some of the music was frighteningly bad and the story pandered to the audience by not letting them figure it out on their own. The audience I saw this with chuckled at inappropriate times and all seemed to leave with the same feelings I had. Not sure what they could do to make it better, but my advice is to leave it alone.
Call me-
The Little Lebowski
