Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director:
Mary McGuckian
Cast:
F. Murray Abraham……….Viceroy of Peru
Kathy Bates……….The Marquesa
Gabriel Byrne……….Brother Juniper
Geraldine Chaplin……….The Abbess
Robert De Niro……….Archbishop of Peru
Émilie Dequenne……….Doña Clara
Adriana DomÃÂnguez……….Pepita
Harvey Keitel……….Uncle Pio
Samuel Le Bihan……….Dona Clara’s Husband
Pilar López de Ayala……….Camila Villegas (La Perichola)
John Lynch……….Captain Alvarado
Dominique Pinon……….His Excellency’s Fop
Mark Polish……….Manuel
Michael Polish……….Esteban
Jim Sheridan……….The King of Spain
The Movie
Even the best at their profession can take a day off on the job. From athletes to actors, salesmen to direct marketers, occasionally everyone has the desire to mail a day’s work in. When it’s one person it can be marginally noticeable in many cases but, however, when it comes to a group of people working together then it can be embarrassing.
So when Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novella The Bridge of San Luis Rey is adapted yet again, sometimes even the best aren’t convinced enough that a project is going to be a hit. And after making a mere $42,880 at the box office in a very limited release, the film is a standard for what happens when good actors mail it in.
The story itself is compelling, as it looks at the nature of fate in regards to an accident. Set in Lima, Peru in the early-1700s, Brother Juniper (Gabriel Byrne) is inquiring into the deaths of five travelers who drowned when the bridge they were crossing collapsed. The question becomes whether or not this was God’s will or random chance and centers around Juniper’s trial. It’s a great concept that has been done repeatedly and now has been one too many time.
As he tells the Archbishop (Robert De Niro), “Either we live by accident and die by accident or we live by plan and die by plan.” The trial serves as a means of framing the incidents, as Juniper has to try and reconcile the acts with theology while trying to give satisfactory answers so he isn’t killed as a heretic.
In a film absolutely loaded with talent it’s a matter of actors just not being suited to the roles they are cast in. De Niro doesn’t seem to lose his Brooklyn accent and the sheer amount of talent assembled (Byrne, Kathy Bates and Harvey Keitel, amongst others) just is awfully misplaced in their roles. Consider this two hours of life one will never be able to get back.
Score : 2.0
The Video
Presented in a widescreen format with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the film looks great at least. In a big epic time period piece, getting all the costuming and setting is key and making it look good is always a concern. The film looks good.
The Audio
Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format, the film sounds great too. The big epic score comes through loud and clear with great separation.
The Extras
Trailers for the film as well as for other New Line Films The Sea Inside, The Story of the Weeping Camel, The Assassination of Richard Nixon and The Agronomist.
Score : 1.0
