THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY 3.5 stars A suspense thriller set in 1960s Greece and Turkey based on a book by the writer of The Talented Mr Ripley can never be a bad thing. Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst are Chester and Colette a married American couple hiding from creditors in Europe and Oscar Isaac (known for playing the lead in the Coen brothers latest film Inside Lleywn Davis) is Rydal a charming, cocky but callow American tour guide living in Athens who is also avoiding America, but for different reasons. When the creditors private detective confronts Chester and Colette in their hotel room Rydal unwittingly becomes involved in an international police investigation with fatal consequences. Despite the depth of characterisation in Patricia Highsmiths novel, first time director Hossein Amini (whose Oscar nomination for his Wings of the Dove screenplay is surely counter-balanced by his 47 Ronin screenplay...) delivers a film that, while enjoyable, is a slight affair; we saw the obligatory shots of the Acropolis, and of Grecian sunlight on linen-suited New-Worlders but his screenplay never allow us to truly ever understand the motivations of, or invest in, the characters. Anthony Minghellas Ripley film succeeded because, despite Tom Ripleys predeliction for murder, we did. Mortensen is very good as the suave but spiralling Chester and Isaac continues to impress with every performance. Dunst is out of her depth; shes great in Dick and Bring It On but she is no longer the ingenue and, despite praise for her work in Lars von Triers Melancholia, it is arguable that her acting has not matured to match the depth required by the roles now available to her.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 03:21:30 +0000
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