GINGERBREAD MAN, THE
SYNOPSIS:
Lawyer Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh) is separated from his wife
– acrimoniously. He sees his two little kids whenever he can
– sometimes running late, often because he is still sleeping
off his latest conquest. After one such one-night-stand with
Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz) a waitress at a corporate function
who is distressed after her car is apparently stolen, he is
‘involved’. When he discovers that her violent,
unpredictable father Dixon (Robert Duvall) is threatening her, he
brings the strength of his law firm behind Mallory, has Dixon
arrested and subpoenas her ex-husband Pete (Tom Berenger) to
testify against Dixon in court. Although sent to an asylum, Dixon
escapes and becomes a threat. When Magruder’s little kids
disappear, his instant reaction is to track down the mad old
Dixon. Events escalate as he loses control, and finally realises
there is another game that’s being played, and he’s
just a pawn.
"Best to see thrillers like this knowing as little about
them as possible, I suggest. Especially if the film has a
pedigree, and even more so if that pedigree is of an unexpected
parentage. This one qualifes: Altman out of Grisham. The
iconoclast in Altman and the schemer in Grisham make a marvellous
movie combination – wish there was more of it, actually.
(Coppola’s take on Grisham’s Rainmaker was
another….) Altman takes the basic story and tells it as
film; there is colour, imagery, music, sound, atmosphere and
acting at his command, all of which Altman uses well. Damn it
all, he’s had enough practice! The film is edgy and
constantly gripping, Altman never one to flag his moves in
advance. Together with the outstanding performances, the
storm-saturated Savannah settings and the richly observed
characters, The Gingerbread Man is thoroughly entertaining,
handsomely made, and absolutely absorbing."
Andrew L. Urban
"There’s a storm brewing in Savannah, and we’re
not just talking about the weather. Rich in textures and
atmosphere, Robert Altman’s The Gingerbread Man is quite
unlike previous John Grisham tales, in that the central character
is not a green, fledgling lawyer, but established and successful
- at the beginning, anyway. However, nothing is quite what it seems as an intriguing web of deceit is spun, and absorbing
characters leave their mark. Altman is a master at creating
multi-layered characters; characters whose quirkiness generate
space and fascination; each has more to offer than initially
meets the eye. It’s a superb cast, headed by Kenneth Branagh
whose complexity is portrayed as effortlessly as the sheets of
blinding rain that are teeming down. Daryl Hannah makes an
effective assistant, paid to keep good judgement - and she does.
All the women here are tall, slim and brunette - and each has a
strong presence, with Embeth Davidtz haunting as Mallory. Robert
Downey Jnr is wonderfully debauched, while Robert Duval shows his
versatility as the violent father who wears no shoes and emulates
the fabled Gingerbread Man - always running, and never being
caught. The Gingerbread Man is a genre film where the ambiance
and quirks elevate it beyond the average thriller, but
Grisham’s plot becomes rather far-fetched and exaggerated as
the eye of the storm hits. The tension mounts suspensefully in
tandem with the storm, while Mark Isham’s ominous score
simmers expectantly before shattering into jagged explosions of
sound."
Louise Keller
"On the one hand, it would be fair to say that as mainstream thrillers go, The
Gingerbread Man is an accomplished, above average thriller, a polished, entertaining yarn,
which keeps one involved throughout. The film has all the right ingredients: Well
developed plot, superbly executed atmosphere, some strong performances [and some not too
strong] and plenty of interesting twists and turns. On a basic level, there's nothing
wrong with the film, but for Robert Altman, it's a work far inferior to anything he's ever
done. From the director of such landmark classics as Nashville and M*A*S*H, one somehow
expects something with a greater deal of audacity, with depth, but there's none of that.
Altman is far better than this, and why he decided to do a Grisham thriller is anyone's
guess. The material is surprisingly conservative and mainstream, an engagingly atmospheric
potboiler that could have been helmed by anyone. For the most part, the film is eminently
watchable, and Branagh is surprisingly convincing, as is beautiful Embeth Davidtz. The
rest of the principal cast, however, flounders along with little to do. Robert Downey Jnr
would have to be the screen's dullest actor, and in this, he does little to alter that
perception; Daryl Hannah looks ludicrous in short brunette wig and glasses, and her
performance is as mousy as her character, while Robert Duvall, blusters and overacts his
way as an underdefined character whose actions are irritatingly implausible. It's Branagh
that holds this film together, and he does well, and it's a taut thriller, but one that
lacks the panache of an Altman film."
Paul Fischer
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 1
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed: 2
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GINGERBREAD MAN, THE (M)
(US)
CAST: Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr, Daryl
Hannah, Tom Berenger, Famke Janssen, Mae Whitman, Jesse James,
Robert Duvall
PRODUCERS: Jeremy Tannenbaum
DIRECTOR: Robert Altman
SCRIPT: Al Hayes (based on an original story by John Grisham)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Changwei Gu
EDITOR: Geraldine Peroni
MUSIC: Mark Isham
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Stephen Altman
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: June 11, 1998
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