Well the Domino Man is back, this time to review Ang Lee's latest. A while back I believe I read a negative review over at Garth's site, but this time out it gets a better nod. But from the sounds of things from Mr Man here, it looks like Ang is using the ol test screening process the way you are supposed to.... honing your film to a sharp edge.... and with the amount of time between now and when this movie hits screens in the fall... you better believe he has all the time in the world to nail it. Or at least we hope..... Though I've never known Ang to make a bad film yet...
The DOMINO MAN has once again sneeked his way into an impressive new film in the test screening phase called Ride With the Devil. It is directed by Ang Lee of Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm fame with a great ensemble cast headed by Tobey Maguire(Pleasantville), Skeet Ulrich(The Newton Boys), Jeffrey Wright(Basquiat) and Jewel.
This is the second time I had the opportunity to see this film.The first time I witnessed a cut close to 3 hours,and if you remember a while back on the site- a spy had confessesd to many black folk walking out of the screening due to the ratial overtones that run through the film. On 2nd viewing the cut was down to just under 150 minutes and the overtones seem to have been notched down a level, but not by much.
It is essentially a drama set during the civil war and follows a group of young bushwackers-Southern guerilla fighters who roam the countryside.As the war progresses,two of the fighters-a former black slave(Wright) and the son of a German immigrant worker(Maguire) find they have more in common with each other than their fellow guerillas, who begin to suspect them of treason.
Although a period peice, this is a different type of Ang Lee film.There are many bloody battle scenes. He handles them with a gritty,balls to the wall reality- not unlike SPR though a little less frenetic.The performances are solid across the board. Tobey Maguire along with Ed Norton are slowly becoming the actors of their generation. Maguire portrays Jakob Brodel who early on gets his pinky finger blown off. This pays off hansomely toward the end when he uses this stubby finger to put Jewel's baby to sleep. Skeet Ulrich is surprisingly rather damn good considering the lack of emotion in his previous films. He dies halfway through the film though!..Oops-sprang that spoiler on you. Geoffrey Wright as the black slave is near perfect and balances his growing relationship with Brodel effortlessly. Jewel, I'll have you know, may have found a new career outlet in acting-better than poetry I assure you. Plus you get to see her breasts-be it for a few seconds-which I should think is worthy for the price of admission alone. Jonathon Rhys Meyer also shows up in a supporting role. I hated his character-in fact I literally wanted to leap into the screen and beat him senseless. However,this was the nature of his character-so all is forgiven. Tom Wilkinson has a 5 minute came.Surely he should be getting better opportunities to star in bigger roles since his comedic performance in the Full Monty(Rush Hour anyone?).
Apart from great dialogue and plot, there is also some gorgeous scenic shots of the forrest and brush-dominated with vivid shades of green and brown. Looks like Universal are finally pulling some rabbits out of their collective hats-what with this, American Pie, and The Mummy. Now all they need to do is market them. Deja-vu perhaps?
THE DOMINO MAN
