THE TRIAL * * - Kyle MacLachlan, Anthony Hopkins, Jason Robards, Polly Walker, Juliet Stevenson, Alfred Molina; not rated, probable R (violence, sex, profanity, nude photos and drawings); exclusively at the Tower Theater.
JAMON JAMON - * 1/2 - Penelope Cruz, Anna Galiena; in Spanish, with English subtitles; not rated, probable R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity); exclusively at the Tower Theater.THREESOME - turkey - Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles; rated R (sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity); Century 9 Theaters, Cinemark Sandy Movies 9, Cineplex Odeon Broadway Centre and Holladay Center Cinemas.
Three new "art" films opened Friday, though all are rather disappointing. Most notable perhaps is the new version of Franz Kafka's "The Trial," an ambitious but slow and uninvolving adaptation of the paranoia parable.
- "THE TRIAL" also gives Anthony Hopkins second-billing, though he has only one scene. That scene is certainly a show-stopper, however.
The central role of innocent bank clerk Josef K. goes to the somewhat stiff Kyle MacLachlan, best known for his portrayal of agent Cooper in the TV and movie versions of "Twin Peaks." And his stiffness actually suits the character to some degree, though it also keeps the audience at arm's-length from what is already a strongly detached effort.
For the unfamiliar, the story has Josef K., who lives in an unnamed European city, rising for breakfast on the morning of his 30th birthday to find that he is under arrest. He is never allowed to understand why, however, and what follows is a series of encounters with vague characters in dark corners, as he attempts to acquit himself . . . though defending oneself against the unknown is difficult at best.
Full of atmosphere and filmed in Prague, where gothic architecture assists the ambience, the film has an interesting look. But the film is academic, a faithful but faithless adaptation that gets all the details right but doesn't invest them with any energy or wit.
Still, there is a wonderful parade of British performers that almost make it all worthwhile, including Hopkins, who is quite wonderful as an enigmatic prison priest offering up a convoluted parable; Polly Walker and Alfred Molina (both of "Enchanted April"), as, respectively, a seductive maidservant and a strangely knowledgable lawyer; David Thewlis ("Naked") as an overly emotional agent of the state; Juliet Stevenson ("Truly, Madly, Deeply"), as a woman who lives in Josef K.'s building, and others. Jason Robards also shows up as a sly bedridden attorney.
The screenplay is by noted playwright Harold Pinter ("Betrayal," "The Caretaker"), and the film is directed by David Jones (the movie version of "Betrayal," "84 Charing Cross Road," "Jacknife"). But despite their credentials, "The Trial" remains a plodding, sadly aloof work, one that will doubtless become merely a footnote in the careers of those involved.
Though unrated, it would doubtless receive an R for violence, sex, profanity and some nude photos and drawings.
- "JAMON JAMON" is Spanish for a type of ham, and the film is subtitled "A Tale of Ham and Passion." That sets the satiric tone for this dark, sexy comedy, which very much wants to be in Pedro Almo-do-var territory. Perhaps a bit too much.
The story has a young woman (Penelope Cruz, who is enchanting) from the wrong side of the tracks in love with the wimpy son (Jordi Molla) of the local power family. When she becomes pregnant, he asks her to marry him. But he's afraid of his mother (Anna Galiena, also very good), who is obsessive and domineering.
Mom tries to halt the affair by paying the town stud (Javier Bardem) to seduce Cruz - but things, of course, do not happen precisely as planned.
There are some amusing bits of business here, but mostly "Jamon Jamon" is half-baked and overripe. It wants to be sexy, funny and incisive, but instead it is more overheated and silly.
"Jamon Jamon" is not rated but would get an R for an abundance of violence, sex, nudity and profanity.
- "THREESOME," yet another film that was featured in the Sundance Film Festival this past January, is a minor exploitation flick gussied up as an important piece of commentary on sexual politics. In truth, any discussion of serious social issues is superficial at best.
The story here has a sexually ambivalent college student (Josh Charles) finding that his new dorm roommate is a self-centered, womanizing slob (Stephen Baldwin, also in the current "8 Seconds").
But, for some unknown reason, they hit it off, and Charles learns how to party.
Soon, however, their bliss is interrupted by Lara Flynn Boyle ("Twin Peaks") who finds herself, through a computer error, assigned to room with them.
Though she is reluctant, eventually she allows the film's title - "Threesome" - to become literal, as Charles loves Baldwin and Baldwin loves Boyle and Boyle loves Charles. Actually, it seems more like they just love themselves.
Ridiculous from its opening moments, "Threesome" isn't funny enough or smart enough to be anything but exploitative. And it actually doesn't do that very well.
These folks should take a look at Francois Truffaut's "Jules and Jim."
Or maybe they shouldn't.
"Threesome" is rated R for abundant sex, nudity and profanity.