A-listers in a B Movie? (Twisted (DVD))

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Twisted (DVD)
Date:	30/08/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All star cast.

Disadvantages: Outcome feels meaningless. Poor dialogue. Cliched.

This 2004 movie is directed by Philip Kaufman and stars a host of A list actors. It is a crime thriller involving the case of a killer who seems to be targeting the life of newly promoted homocide detective Jessica Shepard. The movie stars Ashley Judd in the main role with supporting roles from Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia.

I have always been impressed by Ashley Judd and I believe her to be one of the best actresses in Hollywood today. Whilst she doesn't dissapoint in giving a passionate and honest performance, the character she plays raises feelings of ambivilance in me. On the one hand I admire Jessica for being a successful woman in what appears to be a male dominated occupation. I also admire her physical strength, focus, intelligence and her humour. On the other hand Jessica is promiscuous, bad temprered, alcoholic and even violent towards her fellow colleagues. If it was a male actor displaying the same character traits I'd feel just as turned off by the bahaviour, although I do feel that it would have been less shocking and unusual to see a guy in this role.

However, I believe the fact that Jessica is difficult to love from an audience perspective bolsters one important and central thread in the movie - that Jessica herself might be a suspect in the murders. Jessica is reckless and mean enough for us to always feel unsettled by her behaviour. She is a character who can't be trusted and whose next move is far from predicatable.

Samuel L. Jackson plays John Mills, Jessica's foster father and mentor at work in the precinct. He plays a no-nonsense, dedicated cop who adopted Jessica, his partner's daughter, after she was oprhaned following his murder. Although he dotes on his former partner's daughter he drives her hard and is a tad overbearing. The relationship between Jessica and John is not written well enough to allow us to feel their intimacy is genuine though. I have seen Jackson in many roles and working with much better scripted material than this. I feel, however, that he does his best here and is at least a memorable character in the mellee of faces.

Andy Garcia plays Delmarco, Jessica's new partner and a subsequent love interest to our protagonist. Their relationship seems strange and strained from the outset, their mawkish love scenes unpleasant to watch. Delmarco is another viable suspect and his constant pawing and fawning over Jessica makes him seem like a shady, obsessive wierdo. Apart from his lust for Jessica, Delmarco is someone we never really get to know thanks to the holes in the script.

There are plenty of other suspects to point the finger at too. Among the most important of these is Mark Pellegrino's character Jimmy Schmidt, an ex-boyfriend of Jessica's who can't take 'no' for an answer. Pellegrino plays the creepy thug very well and his unreasonable and threatening behaviour around Jessica actually made me sympathetic towards her. As well as Jimmy, there are several testosterone-fuelled fellow cops who bait and torment Jessica (because she is a powerful woman?) and who are also possible suspects as the murderer.

There is a lot of sex and violence throughout the movie which is more off-putting than exciting, however. There, infact, seems to be more scenes involving physical behaviour and altercations than there are of people discussing anything. When characters do manage to talk the dialogue is weak, empty and heartless. There are also lots of instances of characters indulging in male chauvenist behaviour which I find cliched and insulting.

I managed to guess the killer's identity well before the film's finale. The reveal is underwhelming and although there is a little twist in the tale it feels meaningless and emotionless. I feel that this is caused by the fact that all of the characters are so difficult to like. It may also be that the ending is something like a sense of deja-vu - haven't we seen this movie before, didn't they play the killer last time around too?!!

Ultimately I feel that there are a lot of superb actors in this film who perhaps have been let down by a poor script. Judd's performance is well worth watching though and is perhaps the only saving grace of the whole movie. Watch this for the cast but don't expect to like any of the characters in the film or to feel anything other than boredom and frustration at the predictable outcome.

Summary: A stellar cast in a predictable thriller.