Original Sin
**
Cinema
Releases - October 5, 2001
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 18. 112
minutes. Written and directed by Michael Cristofer; from the novel by Cornell
Woolwich. Starring Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas, Thomas Jane, Jack
Thompson.
"Original Sin" is an overlong and
stolid melodrama for which MGM clearly had no confidence. The movie stars
Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie, two of the sexiest and most high-profile
actors of our time, and yet it has not been released on the back of any kind
of publicity campaign -- it arrives on our screens with a limited release
after sitting on the shelf for a year.
The story takes place in late 19th Century Mexico.
Banderas plays a Havana coffee tycoon who has found a bride by advertising
in the American press. He goes to meet the woman, who he only knows through
letters, and is shocked to see the glorious Jolie step off the boat. "You
do not look at all like your picture," Banderas declares, to which Jolie
responds that she sent the picture of another woman, so she could be sure
that her future husband would not just be interested in her
looks.
We can tell that there's something funny going
on, but Banderas seems content. He marries Jolie, gets to know her and, of
course, has lots of sweaty sex with her. The love scenes are the high point
of "Original Sin" -- not because they're done with much style or eroticism,
but simply because they feature two gorgeous actors and no
clothes.
After the shagging comes the shamming, with Jolie
cleaning out her husband's bank account and skipping town. Shattered and
still infatuated, Banderas goes on a quest to find his woman, and so begins
a journey of mysteries, lies, complicated truths and passion both amorous
and violent. The screenplay offers a lot of twists, all vaguely predictable
but somehow still needlessly complicated and annoying, but what's really
amazing is how all these developments happen without ever raising the energy
level.
The movie has flashes of style and colour, and
every time Jolie appears onscreen we men in the audience have something to
daydream and fantasise about. On the other hand, there are long stretches
in which "Original Sin" feels like a TV movie, with unconvincing tropicality
and lifeless atmosphere.
COPYRIGHT©
2001 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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