The old saying is that sometimes brilliance can be more than the sum of its parts (i.e., by merely looking at the pieces of something brilliant oftentimes you miss that rare ability for something to become brilliant despite not having all the necessary pieces). On the surface Stone looks to have that brilliance that comes through every now and again, despite not having the necessary equipment to do so, because of its pedigree. Mix in one of the greatest actors of his generation (Robert De Niro) in a meaty role requiring him to do more than cash a paycheck, a quirky leading man masquerading as a character actor (Edward Norton) and a genre actress raising her game to match them (Milla Jovovich) into a cinematic chess match and the result should be brilliance. But there’s one problem to this: there’s no real conclusion to any of it. But it has a remarkable opening two acts, though, that make it worth a viewing.
Jack (De Niro) is a correctional officer edging close to retirement with one last case on his books: Gerald “Stone” Creeson (Norton), an arsonist looking to get out jail by doing or saying anything he can. Jack’s a religious man and devotedly married to his wife (Frances Conroy). Enter into the mix Stone’s wife Lucetta (Jovovich), who wants her husband out of prison as much as he does. Pursuing Jack, they enter into a clandestine affair engineered by her husband to get him out of jail. What follows is a love triangle of sorts between the three involving a rather clever emotional manipulation of Jack.
Jack wants to be a good man of faith and is torn by his affair. On the one hand he enjoys the company of Lucetta, on the other it does haunt his conscience. She is coyly playing on his emotions as well. Professing to be in love with him, and that her husband will do or say anything to get out of prison, Lucetta seems to be happier with her husband in prison than with him as a free man. Stone, on the other hand, seems to be a changed man inside prison walls and wants out. He knows Lucetta is trying to influence him, but how much does he actually know? It makes for an interesting drama, mainly because it allows for Robert De Niro to show that he’s still a better actor than most of Hollywood is.
While De Niro has been trading on his resume for years, spoofing his image as a tough guy to the point where the spoof is his image now for a whole generation, he’s shown every now and again over the past couple years he still is close to the actor he was at his peak. Jack is an intriguing character for De Niro, mainly because it allows him to play someone who isn’t a tough guy but doesn’t mock that fact at every chance. Jack is an aged man waiting it out until he can be home, tired of a life spent dealing with convicts, and De Niro has a weariness in his eyes that only an actor who has been around as long as he has can bring out. This isn’t De Niro chewing scenery; this is De Niro being subtle. It’s interesting to see an actor like De Niro, who has chewed enough scenery to pass a completed set out his lower intestine, command the screen with what he isn’t doing rather than what he is. It doesn’t hurt that he has Norton and Jovovich to do that for him.
That Norton would chew scenery is to be expected, but it’s noteworthy to see Jovovich in a film that doesn’t require her to spit out awful one-liners and merely look tough. It’s not a brilliant performance from her, merely a bit above good, but it’s noteworthy because she’s not known for good roles, movies or performances. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, away from retreads of Resident Evil films and the like, and the fact that she’s not embarrassing herself in a dramatic role makes the film that much more interesting. She’s not dead weight between the three principle actors and with a finale this would’ve been a brilliant film.
And that’s kind of the problem with Stone. It doesn’t have a denouement to tie things up and end on some sort of note. It just ends. While there’s no clear path how the film could end it doesn’t take any of the avenues available and just ends, rather weakly at that. It takes a rather brilliant setup and stops short of being a great story if only because it doesn’t have an ending to it. Stone just kind of ends without any real resolution, leaving it another film in the second half of De Niro’s career that he’s excellent in but doesn’t quite reach the heights it could.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital surround, this is a beautiful looking and sounding film. This isn’t a dialogue focused film but it looks and sounds quite good.
Making Of Stone is a quick six minute piece about the film’s production. It’s your standard EPK piece
The Film’s Theatrical Trailer is included as well.
Stone is a flawed film in story but not in acting. For those wanting to see a glimpse of what modern Robert De Niro used to be, this is the perfect film for it despite it not being a perfect film.
Anchor Bay presents Stone . Directed by John Curran. Starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich, Frances Conroy. Written by Angus MacLachlan, based on his play “Stone.” Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R. Released on Blu-ray and DVD: January 18, 2011.
