Review of The Mosquito Coast (1986) by John A — 17 Sep 2008

The soft sounds and tranquil essence of the natural setting combined with a droll and plodding narrative make it all too easy to fall asleep during Peter Weir's 'The Mosquito Coast', a film desperate to ascend some high aspirations but hampered by a mediocre script with almost zero tension and atmosphere. Films about finding yourself usually make for insightful moments and compelling viewing, but the dreary underlying truths of 'Mosquito' are thrust upon the audience with a beating hand and monotonous voice; the conclusive resonance is little more than an imminent, predictable and entirely inevitable thud.

Allie Fox is a tired inventor sick of a consumerist America; on a spur of the moment decision he ups his family from their country home and takes them to settle in the paradise of the Mosquito Coast, in a town previously uninhabited. The group encounter a number of trials and tribulations, but none captivate or inspire; it seems a dull unfolding of events rather than an exciting journey of self-discovery.

The major problem of the narrative is the character of Allie Fox. He is a man so self-involved, so obsessed with a half-baked dream of adventure, so utterly boring in how he attempts to explain and justify his ambitions you can't help but try and block out most of his dialogue. It is usually the mark of a well constructed persona that the audience respond to them, but I felt nothing for Allie; I didn't hate, like or admire him, he just bored me. Harrison Ford plays the role fantastically, but it doesn't make the character - or the film - any more likeable or less tiresome.

Helen Mirren plays Allie's strangely passive wife, and I wish she contributed more to the emotional crux of the story; annoyingly, even Ford only refers to her as 'Mother'. Phoenix is the son providing the narration, but he is too shoved to the sidelines; if it is his recount of their tale, why did Weir not use the character more in highlighting the boy's change in feeling towards the degenerative father?

But if there is something to be praised, it is the direction. Weir holds the stuffy screenplay together somehow, and while 'The Mosquito Coast' is far too long the director makes the extended epilogue seem part of the same story. Issues of religion and race are touched upon quite spiritedly, but alas, the focus forever remains of Allie. It's unfortunate to watch all this potential dissipate into a vacuum of disinterest.

I think in my rating, I am being generous. But you witness these actors putting in their all, know Weir is blameless in how the screenplay fans out the story, and all things considered an adequate picture is made, so I admire their efforts. Plus there is the added benefit of some beautiful scenery. Lush greens, flowing waters, misty mountain peaks...trust me, you'll find the exotic backdrop is more worthy of your time than the lifeless and muddled drama of 'The Mosquito Coast'.