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"'Guinevere'
Blossoms"
by Scott Mantz
"Guinevere"
Stephen Rea, Sarah Polley
Directed by Audrey Wells
There's a trend
going on in Hollywood these days, and maybe you've noticed. Everywhere
you turn, a movie comes out that teams a middle-aged actor with
an actress that's half his age. Check it out. Harrison Ford and
Anne Heche shacked up for "Six Days, Seven Nights", Michael Douglas
and Gwyneth Paltrow looked killer in "A Perfect Murder", and Sean
Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones got tangled up in "Entrapment".
You may be thinking, "Well, that's Hollywood", but it is a little
ridiculous and hard to swallow at times. Written and directed by
Audrey Wells, "Guinevere" finally addresses the age issue with stellar
performances across the board. It's just too bad I couldn't buy
the story.
Lost in life
and confused about her future, Harper Sloane (Sarah Polley) is miserable.
She is reluctantly smothered by her stuffy and dysfunctional family
of attorneys, and she is expected to follow in everyone's footsteps
by going to Harvard. Her mother (Jean Smart) and father (Francis
Guinan) have fallen so far out of love, it's amazing they ever got
together. At the oldest daughter's wedding, Harper meets photographer
Connie Fitzpatrick (Stephen Rea). They hit it off, and she starts
spending a lot of time at his place. She's attracted to his artistic
and bohemian lifestyle, and he sees creative potential in her. She
moves in and becomes his lover and assistant. As she starts to feel
free for the first time in her life, she discovers that she is not
the first to be courted by him.
Sarah Polley
is convincing as she plays her part with shy naivete. We can see
her break free from the monotony of her family when she dives into
her newfound hobby. As Polley's older love interest, Stephen Rea
is no Sean Connery, but that's exactly the point. He lives life
on his own terms, even if it means fighting just to pay his rent.
He may shoot a wedding here or a bar-mitzvah there, but he will
not compromise his artistic drive. He may be smitten by her physical
beauty, but he accepts Polley unconditionally and pushes her to
reach her true potential.
Let's cut to
the chase. The real knockout performance in "Giunevere" is by Jean
Smart as Polley's mother Deborah. Her scenes alone are worth the
price of admission. Her confrontational and demeaning presence at
the dinner table is so intimidating, it would make anyone lose their
appetite. When she confronts Rea and Polley about their relationship,
her disgusted and envious delivery makes you feel sorry for her
and loathe her at the same time. This is just the kind of performance
that Academy members are sure to remember around Oscar-time.
Romance dramas
and comedies may be contrived to a certain degree, but that's show-biz.
However, there's a line that shouldn't be crossed in order to maintain
some level of credibility. "Guinevere" crosses that line, and that's
where the film falls short. Situations are conveniently set up in
order for Polley to drop her law school plans, move in with Rea,
and take up photography. Since there's no hint of her desire to
be creative, I can't buy what Rea sees in her (beyond her being
a babe!). Everything that follows her courtship leaves me standing
at the bus stop unable to go along for the ride.
Maybe the whole
point is that sometimes love happens when you least expect it or
with someone you'd least expect to have it with. Love is supposed
to bring out the best in people, and that's what happens when Polley
develops the strength to branch out on her own. Maybe writer/director
Wells got so caught up in the moment that she didn't think rationally
about story structure. Love will do that to you. I guess you can't
fault her too much for that.
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