Screen Scenes

  New Line Cinema Robert De Niro stars in
New Line Cinema’s action thriller, "15 Minutes."

“15 Minutes” Starring Robert De Niro and
Edward Burns Directed by John Herzfeld

“15 Minutes” is a brainless action thriller that
takes a look at what happens when violence meets the media in the
Big Apple. The premise of “15 Minutes” revolves around
the power of the media and the ways it ensnares every character.
Anybody who tries to use the media to their advantage finds that
they can’t control it at all. The film takes the audience on
a fast-paced journey following cops and criminals around New York
City. “15 Minutes” runs mainly for one reason: Robert
De Niro. De Niro breathes life into his fairly one-dimensional
character, Eddie Flemming, a sardonic veteran police investigator
who’s a media sensation in New York. Flemming is also an
alcoholic who can’t pose the big question to his girlfriend,
Nicolette Karas (Melina Kanakaredes), a TV reporter. Flemming meets
young Jordy Warsaw, who is played excellently by Edward Burns.
Warsaw is an arson investigator and a principled man of few words.
The two team up to catch two Eastern European criminals, Emil
Slovak (Karel Roden) and Oleg Razgul (Oleg Taktarov). Slovak goes
into fits of rage and murders people, and Razgul captures it all on
a camcorder for his own movie. Slovak and Razgul soon realize that
their grisly footage can make lots of money. Just to emphasize the
media’s presence, the movie introduces a reporter for a
tabloid TV show, Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer), who will do
anything to get a sensational story and gain ratings. “15
Minutes” is tailored to audiences with an attention span of
about 50 seconds. When the action starts to drag, the plot suddenly
takes off in a new direction. Too many close-up camera shots
accompanied by overly dramatic music also drag the movie down. The
sequences shown from Razgul’s camcorder, however, provide an
interesting contrast to the regular camera work. Subtlety is not a
strong point in “15 Minutes.” Everything is just
overkill, especially the ideas about the media, and too often, the
movie tries to be smarter than it is. Viewers don’t need to
ponder to understand the messages here. They smack you upside the
head every 5 minutes ““ or, in this case, every 15
minutes.

Chris Young Rating: 6

“Widow of Saint-Pierre” Starring Daniel
Auteuil and Juliette Binoche Directed by Patrice
LeConte

The “Widow of Saint-Pierre” sets the passions of
love and justice against the backdrop of a remote and isolated
French colony in 1850. The film is a dark and realistic set piece
that moves slowly, especially in the beginning. The passion of the
characters, however, and the subtlety of the plot will assure that
fans of French film and especially of LeConte will not be
disappointed. On Saint-Pierre, a tiny island off the coast of
Newfoundland, a story is set in motion when two drunken fishermen
attempt to settle a dispute over whether the town hermit is fat or
just big. In the unconscious chaos that ensues, the beloved recluse
is killed. The immediately remorseful killer, Neel Auguste
(Emir Kusturica), is condemned to death at the guillotine. Patrice
LeConte, the film’s creator, then shifts the story to the
office of the shallow and decadent colonial governor. While he is
delighted that justice has been done by the colony’s first
death sentence, he is confronted with the problem of not having
either a guillotine or an executioner. The governor sends to Paris
for a guillotine, but its arrival is slow. Awaiting the arrival of
the deathly instrument, Neel is locked up in the small prison under
the colony’s military commandant, Le Capitaine (Daniel
Auteuil), whose passionate love for his beautiful, wise and
empathetic wife, Madame La (Juliette Binoche), makes it impossible
for him to deny her anything. Madame La is pained to see Neel
condemned to his cell awaiting death. During the day, Le Capitaine
grants her request to release Neel to her custody. Neel accompanies
Madame La around the island on her errands. After Neel
saves the town pub and the local barmaid in a heroic feat of
courage and strength, he becomes the town hero. As the governor and
his entourage eat food off silver, drink expensive wine and await
the arrival of the guillotine, they find that the man who was
condemned to death is not an abhorred murderer, but the
beloved town hero. This poses a difficult question for justice. How
will they handle the village uprising that will undoubtedly ensue
when Neel is eventually brought to justice? When the guillotine
finally arrives, Madame La’s passion for justice causes her
to risk everything for Neel’s salvation, and her
husband’s passion for her causes him to take a stand in
resistance to the governor. The structure of power can only lead to
tragedy, but not before LeConte makes a powerful statement about
love, justice and capital punishment. LeConte drives the film with
a carefully woven theme that portrays a realistic picture of French
colonial Canada in all its primitive brutality while also
peeling back the layers of hypocrisy in the government. He makes a
statement about the petty and unjust motives of people in power
that occurs universally.

Carolyn Brown Rating: 7