Clive-Owen Movie Reviews

The standard term among movie makers and their critics for the changes that have to be made to successfully adapt a stage play to the cinema is "opening it up." You have to get it off the stage and into the world. Sometimes it works, and sometimes they fall flat. But the cinematic beast is hungry for narrative and stage plays (along with novels, short stories, lesser known foreign films, and nowadays old comic strips and TV shows) continue to provide it fodder.

Everything I knew about the play BENT did not make it seem promising for film adaptation. I was wrong. Although I've never seen the stage version, one can almost envision it from watching the film. One can also pretty much guess what changes have been made, where things have been embellished and what cinematic tricks have been thrown in to spice things us. So that makes it pretty transparent, right? And therefore not such a great film.

Well, yes and no. The film doesn't achieve actual greatness, I suppose. But even though it's a bit stagey, perhaps, in some ways, it compensates brilliantly for it in other ways. First off, the cinematography is brilliant and no doubt brings a quite different perspective to the drama. The acting is also top notch. I had never seen Clive Owen in anything before--although judging from the reviews posted here, he has quite a fan base. Deservedly so, I'd say based on his performance he turns in here. His character, Max, makes the transition from callow sensualist to self-sacrificing hero believably--and in relatively few scenes. Equally good is French-Canadian actor, Lothaire Bluteau, as Horst, Max's soul-mate and (platonic?) lover. The scene in which they "make love" without touching is quietly powerful--and emblematic of the differences between the cinema and the stage discussed above. Here the actors work with close-ups and with their voices, they cannot gesture because they're being watched. Whatever the stage actors did in the equivalent scene had to be different--even if it was just as effective. They were denied the close-ups that these two actors take great advantage of.

The true test of a film's power is whether or not you'll be thinking about it the next day, or the next week. BENT passes that test. It stays with you.

"The Bourne Identity" is about Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), who is found floating in offshore waters by some fisherman, taken aboard their boat, and then recovers from two weeks at sea and two gunshot wounds. The recovery is quick, and Bourne is soon back on land, attempting to find out who he is, all the while people are trying to kill him. And he manages to hitch himself with a European drifter girl named Marie (played by Franka Potente, of "Run Lola Run" fame).

Unfortunately for us, and the reason why I say that the movie has no real "plot", is that any possibility of mystery and intrigue is zapped out of the story by a few factors. 1: From the title alone, and then a passport seen relatively early on, *we* know Bourne's identity well before he does. 2: We also are clued-in to who is trying to kill him, long before he starts to get an idea, as the action cuts back and forth to his adversaries quite often. And 3: as we know who he is, what his job used to be, who his adversaries are, and what *they* are doing to try to catch him, the potential plot of "mystery" is completely removed. All we are left with is the possibility of suspense during some of the action scenes.

Ah, but do those fulfill the purpose admirably. Even though we either already know what's going, or can pretty easily guess, once the story leads us into one of its many action scenes, all bets are off. The suspense comes into focus. The tension arises. And the fighting (Matt Damon must have taken some professional lessons) is great to watch, if a tad bloody. There is one scene in particular in which Bourne outwits an assassin, and it simply teems with nervous excitement as to how he'll resolve the conflict.

"The Bourne Identity" may suffer from an overexposure of its more mysterious elements, but it stands up well under the wonderful talents of Matt Damon and Franka Potente. They have good chemistry, and the director is smart to keep a primary focus on them. The story moves along at a strong pace, and feels sure of itself. All in all, not bad, as techno spy thrillers go.

The pacing of this movie is amazing. I wasn't bored once. It's just so gripping. You can really tell that it was adapted from a really deep and high-quality book (which I'm gonna have to check out as well now). The characters are so interesting and the action is AMAZING. Some of the scenes seemed so simple but I was clenching my fists with my eyes glued to the screen.

This is an extremely well made, well thought out movie. Better than any James Bond flick I've ever seen and probably makes close-by XXX DVDs loose all their self-esteem. I can't wait for the sequel ( The Bourne Supremacy - 2004 )

Check this superb espionage-action movie out right now.

Fans who have followed Zeta-Jones' high-profile career in movies such as 'Entrapment', 'Traffic' & 'Chicago' will be interested to see her here, long before Michael Douglas and Oscar came calling, in her debut role outside of her native UK. She displays all the beauty and cool self-possession of the star she would later become. She's had her teeth capped since, and been otherwise glammed up, Hollywood-style, but all the fundamentals are there. The setting is breathtaking (shot on location in Northern England), and the simple yet vivid costumes Eustacia wears add to her characterization. Eustacia/Catherine is dressed simply but vividly in tones of scarlet, yellow and turquoise blue, setting her in sharp relief to the browns and grays of the landscape, and the dull clothes worn by the other characters.

The entire cast does a superb job, but this is really Zeta-Jones' show. Whether you're a Zeta fan, or a student of Thomas Hardy, this production should be on your shelf.

Fans who have followed Zeta-Jones' high-profile career in movies such as 'Entrapment', 'Traffic' & 'Chicago' will be interested to see her here, long before Michael Douglas and Oscar came calling, in her debut role outside of her native UK. She displays all the beauty and cool self-possession of the star she would later become. She's had her teeth capped since, and been otherwise glammed up, Hollywood-style, but all the fundamentals are there. The setting is breathtaking (shot on location in Northern England), and the simple yet vivid costumes Eustacia wears add to her characterization. Eustacia/Catherine is dressed simply but vividly in tones of scarlet, yellow and turquoise blue, setting her in sharp relief to the browns and grays of the landscape, and the dull clothes worn by the other characters.

The entire cast does a superb job, but this is really Zeta-Jones' show. Whether you're a Zeta fan, or a student of Thomas Hardy, this production should be on your shelf.