FLAWLESS — ** — Demi Moore, Michael Caine, Lambert Wilson; rated PG-13 (profanity, violence)
It seems irresponsible, if not downright stupid, for the makers of any movie to call their feature "Flawless." But the most current film to sport that risky title has a number of serious storytelling flaws.
That includes the presence of some wraparound, present-day sequences that reveal the fate of at least one of this crime drama's characters and thus rob the whole thing of any possible suspense there might have been otherwise.
But even worse than that is the casting of Demi Moore, who makes such an icy and unlikable lead that you practically want her character to get caught in the act.
She stars as Laura Quinn, a mid-level executive for a London diamond company, circa the early 1960s. Laura has just been passed over for a big promotion and is feeling a little bitter toward her employers.
Of course, she been swiping a few small diamonds here and there, though now she's planning on a much bigger theft. And she's got a fellow conspirator: an aging janitor named Hobbs (Michael Caine), who's got his own reasons for wanting to steal some gems.
However, some new security cameras that have been installed recently in the facility would seem to make that impossible.
Director Michael Radford's pacing is surprisingly slack, though in its favor, at least the film is less sleazy than the recent, like-minded thriller "The Bank Job."
And the most watchable thing about the movie — as usual — is sly veteran Caine. We're more interested in finding out what happens to his wily Hobbs, and getting more about his back story. Unfortunately, he's a supporting character and isn't the real focus here.
Instead, the spotlight is on the never-married Laura, played by Moore. At times she appears to be sleepwalking, and even though her character is supposed to be an American, she affects an odd accent that recalls Madonna's faux-British talk.
She also sports some very unconvincing old age makeup in the aforementioned, wraparound sequences.
"Flawless" is rated PG-13 for scattered strong profanity (including one usage of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), and some brief violence (mostly implied). Running time: 110 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com