Review of Stone (2010) by Arturo M — 20 Feb 2011

John Curran's intriguing new drama is a fine showcase for two great actors. It's a psychological duel of wits and wills between two men with terrifying secrets in their pasts. Robert De Niro is an old pro at playing cagey man battling inner demons.

Edward Norton is cast against type and superb as an thug trying to do what he can to get out of his long prison sentence on parole. Frances Conroy plays a damaged woman who has fallen into mindless ritual to escape her endless unhappiness.

Milla Jovovich is too aptly cast as a slinky temptress with a seductive smile, a magnetic stare, and slippery charm. Compare this to her interminable work in junk like the 'Resident Evil' series and you'll see the actress beneath the model.

Norton's patter is familiar in its slang and urban rhythms, yet strangely provocative and thoughtfully poetic. Despite the Michigan setting this would fall nicely into the label of Southern Gothic--that taboo blend of sex, religion (the film is set to a soundtrack of hysterical Christian conservative talk radio rants), crime and violence that can either be tantalizing or pedestrian.

Luckily for viewers, Curran and his cast don't disappoint and deliver a moderately gripping, challenging film.