Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise, Dennis
Farina, and Donal Logue
Talent isn't everything.
In that short statement lies one of the most interesting
mysteries of filmmaking, indeed all art forms. From a logical
standpoint, bringing a number of talented people together should
produce a work of superior artistic quality -- but there's something
else, some ephemeral element hard to put a finger on, something
that makes great artists able to make great art. A secret ingredient.
Perhaps that element is timing, perhaps it's organization, perhaps
it's just the cosmic ether. Whatever it is, it has to be in the
artistic mix as well...or the effort is doomed to fail.
For an example of such a failure, look no farther than
REINDEER GAMES, a quiet action film that, on paper, would
seem to be a perfect combination. The film is directed by John
Frankenheimer, a Hollywood veteran who has helmed some of the
best pictures ever made, including THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Paired
with him is Miramax's hot young property, screenwriter Ehren Kruger,
who is also in theatres with the very successful SCREAM 3. The
cast includes rising star Ben Affleck (one of the more talented
young actors working in Hollywood), solid supporting players Gary
Sinise and Dennis Farina, as well as recent Sundance award winner
Donal Logue. It even boasts the physical charms of Charlize Theron,
the South African supermodel-turned-actress who, if lacking a
bit in the acting department, more than makes up for it with her
breathtaking beauty.
All crucibled together, REINDEER GAMES should
have been excellent, an action comedy just enough off the beaten
track to intrigue a mass-market audience. The film's premise follows
a recently released convict (Affleck) who falls for a woman his
cellmate had been writing to while in prison (Theron). Pretending
to be his former cellmate in order to sleep with her, Affleck
gets caught in a weird triangle of deceit. She, in turn, has a
bad apple brother (Sinise), who wants Affleck to help him rob
a Native American casino..and plans to kill him if he doesn't
cooperate.
At best, it can be said that REINDEER GAMES
isn't predictable. But neither is it surprising. Frankenheimer
has made a few fatal errors in direction which pollute the entire
film: blue lens filters which make everything dank and dark, dreadfully
slow pacing in the exposition, and allowing some of his more thespianic
cast, especially Sinise and Logue, to chew every inch of scenery
in overblown, underrehearsed performances. Furthermore, the story
makes enormous leaps which are illogical and hard to follow...one
can only wonder how much of the narrative got left on the cutting
room floor.
Screenwriter Kruger, on the other hand, seems to be
unable to take what is essentially a good idea for a film and
translate it into a workable screenplay. As REINDEER GAMES
begins its final sprint towards the end, Kruger (perhaps sensing
that the audience hasn't, after almost two hours, even begun to
care for these people) engages in enough 'surprise' twists and
reversals to keep your head spinning for days. When the film arrives
at its final showdown, the situation is so ludicrous that audiences
will have to fight the urge to get up and leave. "Contrived"
would be the polite word..."desperate" might be more
accurate.
And what to make of poor Ben Affleck? He's one of the
most engaging, earnest, endearing young stars around. His role
in REINDEER GAMES, however, is ill-suited to him. Ben is,
like Jack Lemmon or Kevin Costner before him, the living embodiment
of good-hearted Americana (a quality which he mined to great affect
as the affable lugs he played in ARMAGEDDON, CHASING AMY and GOOD
WILL HUNTING). Believing Affleck as a convict and petty thief
is about as difficult as believing Costner as a pimp or drug pusher...he's
just too nice. Affleck nails most of the comedic moments in the
film (his botched escape from a hotel room is a high point), but
dramatically, he isn't able to grasp the amoral complexities of
his character's plight.
It's not hard to see why REINDEER GAMES was
greenlighted by Dimension Films (the action/horror wing of Miramax).
On paper, it had to look like a can't miss proposition. In actuality,
however, it needed more than the sum of its impressive parts.
It needed that elusive ingredient...movie magic. And that's simply
wasn't in the cards.
