Rated R - Running Time: 1:56 - Released 8/3/01
ORIGINAL SIN
Rated R - Running Time: 1:56 - Released 8/3/01
Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie would seem a perfect combination
when it comes to sheer drawing power, since both are currently
hot Hollywood commodities. Jolie's recent turn as superheroine
Lara Croft in Tomb Raider
is still unspooling in theaters as we speak, and both are well-known
for being easy on the eyes, but their pairing in Michael Cristofer's
period crime thriller Original Sin leaves something to
be desired. While the couple look terrific in 19th-century costumes
and share a sizzling sex scene (they are out of costume for that
one), they lack the romantic spark to make the story believable
and their characters are not likeable enough for us to make the
necessary emotional investment.
Banderas plays Luis Vargas, a wealthy Cuban coffee baron whose
thriving Santiago plantation has brought him everything except
that which he desires most: a wife. (Apparently he couldn't find
any local girls willing to marry a rich, love-starved plantation
owner who looks like Antonio Banderas.) Placing an ad in U.S.
newspapers, he finally succeeds in attracting a mate, but the
frumpy spinster from Delaware he expects (after exchanging letters
and pictures) turns out to be Angelina Jolie, who presumably couldn't
find any men willing to marry a beautiful, long-haired knockout
with full, luxurious lips and fabulous hooters. The couple are
instantly married and begin an idyllic lifestyle together at his
Havana estate, but a slight fissure in their wedded bliss occurs
when she empties his bank account and disappears. Not only that,
she may have killed his canary.
You see, as it turns out, she is really actress and con woman
Bonnie Castle, whose lover and lifelong actor friend Billy (Thomas
Jane) not only has complete emotional and psychological control
over her but is getting great notices as Satan in the local theatre
production. Together, the two enact a plan to take Luis for all
he's worth, but Bonnie's growing affection for the lovable lug
and his immense gullibility begins to get in the way.
The film is based on the novel Waltz Into Darkness by the famous late thriller-meister Cornell Woolrich (a.k.a. William Irish); it is adapted for the screen by director Cristofer. While the story itself could be quite intriguing, Cristofer has great difficulty translating it into believable dialogue and in generating any real tension among his good-looking but emotionally stunted cast. Jolie and Banderas never seem to really like each other, or in fact even look at each other, although she is supposed to be steadily falling for him as the action progresses. There is enough technique between them to render some adequate exchanges, but too much has been left to rest on their shoulders. Meanwhile, alongside them, Jane just looks like a hack with a fake moustache. On the technical side, the film is visually pretty, with rich period accoutrements and Hispanic atmosphere. But if you're looking for an intelligent thriller, you may be disappointed. ***½