Review of Code 46 (2003) by Jennifer A — 07 May 2008

In this entry: The Kite Runner, The Great Debaters, Reign Over Me, Panic and Code 46.

[b]The Kite Runner (2007) - 5.4/10[/b].

Director - Marc Forster.

Starring - Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Zekiria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, Shaun Toub, Atossa Leoni, Nabi Tanha.

Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are young boys growing up in Afghanistan during the late 1970's. Hassan and his father (Nabi Tanha) are servants for Amir's father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi) but the two boys are inseperable friends, spending much of their free time flying kites. The two are often bullied by older boys, and one day Hassan is brutally raped while Amir watches. The Taliban soon takes over Afghanistan, and Amir and Baba flee Kabul for America. A now adult Amir (Khalid Abdalla) makes a new life as a writer, marrying the beautiful Soraya (Atossa Leoni) but his past still haunts him. Amir attempts to "make things right" by returning to Afghanistan to find the son of his old friend Hassan.

Based on a hugely popular novel, [i]The Kite Runner [/i]definitely had potential as a film, but despite some fine moments never materializes as it should have. The first act featuring young Amir and Hassan is fairly effective, although some of the kite scenes are overlong. The second act, which establishes more of Amir's relationship with his father, is probably the strongest part of the film. The third act felt manipulative and forced. Overall not enough to recommend.

[b]The Great Debaters (2007) - 5.3/10[/b].

Director - Denzel Washington.

Starring - Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, John Heard.

Set in East Texas in 1935, [i]The Great Debaters[/i], chronicles the debate team of a small black college. Denzel Washington directs and stars as Professor Melvin Tolson, head of the debate team. He's also trying to unionize local workers. Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker and Jermaine Williams star as the debate team, and Forest Whitaker co-stars as James Farmer Sr., the college president and father of 14 year old student James Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). The students overcome odds to become one of the nation's top debating schools, breaking color barriers by debating all white schools.

I hate giving non-positive reviews to film's with good intentions, but [i]The[/i] [i]Great Debaters [/i]is cut from the same cloth of countless other inspirational films. Yes it has a positive message but it's not done in a fresh way so it pretty much blends in with the rest. It does address some of the racial injustice of the time period, but this has been done better in other films. For me the best part of the film was Nate Parker, an actor that definitely bears watching. Otherwise you pretty much should know what to expect the minute you rent this DVD, and I guess for most that's plenty good enough.

[b]Reign Over Me (2007) - 3.5/10[/b].

Director - Mike Binder.

Starring - Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Robert Klein.

Set in post 9/11 New York City, [i]Reign Over Me [/i]stars Adam Sandler as Charlie Fineman, a widower who lost his family on 9/11. Charlie becomes deeply depressed, totally withdrawing from life until a chance encounter with his old college roommate Alan (Don Cheadle), now a successful and happily married dentist. Alan tries to help Charlie, spending so much time with him that he puts his own marriage in jeopardy.

I remember seeing the trailers for this in theaters and thinking wow this could be very good. The story of a man still grieving over the loss of his family during 9/11 ought to be perfect material for a truly meaningful and heartfelt picture. Mike Binder manages to muck it up in the worst possible way. He makes Charlie so distant, at times even cartoonish, that we have trouble even empathizing with him. And that's only the beginning of the film's problems. We have unbearably bad subplots and a film that just meanders until it reaches a rather ridiculous climax. How can you possibly screw this up so badly? I surprised this film wasn't panned even more, I can only think that people are still so sensitive to 9/11 that it's hard to criticize even the weakest effort to address the loss we all felt that fateful day. Hopefully another director tackles this subject soon. It deserves better treatment.

[b]Panic (2000) - 6.4/10[/b].

Director - Henry Bromell.

Starring - William H. Macy, Neve Campbell, Donald Sutherland, John Ritter, Tracy Ullman,.

Alex (William H. Macy) is in therapy. He's going through a mid-life crisis, is havig problems with his wife (Tracy Ullman) and he constantly worries about his young son. Most of all he wants to get out of the family business. He's a hitman working for his father (Donald Sutherland) but he doesn't know how to tell him he wants out. So he enlists Dr. Josh Parks (John Ritter) to help him out. However when his father finds out he's in therapy, Dr. Parks becomes the next hit.

A competent indie film featuring a nice story and some fairly good performances. Nothing I want to see again though.

[b]Code 46 (2004) - 4.5/10[/b].

Director - Michael Winterbottom.

Starring - Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar, Essie Davis.

[i]Code 46 [/i]is set in the not-so-distant future where cloning and in-vitro fertilization have become so common that the government has to monitor all pregnancies. American Will (Tim Robbins) is sent to Shanghai to investigate fraud within the Sphinx corporation. The company manufactures papelles, which are a form of identification necessary to travel abroad. Equipped with an empathy virus that allows him to read minds, Will knows the culprit is Maria (Samantha Morton) but he falls in love with her instead of turning her in. The affair, a Code 46 violation, could ruin his career and his marriage.

An interesting premise is completely wasted in this uninvolving film. The problems are many but start with the total lack of chemistry between Robbins and Morton, two actors that have a rather impressive resume. In a highly structured, highly controlled environment like the one presented here you would at least expect some emotion, passion and chemistry to contrast an environment totally devoid of emotion. So what's left? Not much. Oh you can wax poetic about the philosphical and political questions it raises, but really how effective is it at this? Honestly that can be better done through a documentary film, or even a better drama/sci-fi film! The film looks nice enough I guess, but the whole thing left me rather empty, and worse bored.