Starring:
Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Brian McCardie, John Kani, Om
Puri Directed by: Stephen Hopkins Written by: William Goldman
Rated R Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
"The
Ghost and the Darkness" tells the story of two lions that
terrorized the workers of a bridge-building project in Africa
during the late 1800's. The project was helmed by Col. John
Patterson (Val Kilmer), and so, in order to complete the project
in time, he must kill these lions with the assistance of a
big game hunter named Remington (Michael Douglas). The two
men soon realize there is much more to these man-eaters than
meets the eye.
This
film is very ambitious. Perhaps a little too ambitious. The
trailer for the film clearly states: "even the most amazing
parts of the story are true." Whenever a film goes out of
it's way to say it is based on truth, there is always a danger
of the movie sacrificing good story structure for a more "accurate"
account. That's what happened here, I think. Allow me to cite
a couple of examples which I WILL discuss in detail, so be
warned.
First,
take the scene where Remington and Patterson stumble upon
the lions' lair. It is chock full of skeletal remains. As
the two men wade through the scattered bone fragments, Remington
quietly says: "Oh my God. Lions don't do this. No lair is
like this. They're doing it for the pleasure." Now, THAT is
a terrific scene. A plot point, a "whammy", call it whatever
you want - it's a great scene raises the level of curiosity
and fear in the characters involved as well as the audience.
Place that scene at the end of the first act and you have
the viewer hooked. So, what's the problem? The problem is
that scene comes about three-quarters of the way into the
movie, right at the point in the story where a scene like
that has very little impact.
Now,
take the scene where one of the lions attacks while the bridge
is being constructed. A worker is dragged off and is being
eaten alive. We see extreme close-ups of the lion chewing
away at the victim's flesh while the fully-conscious man kicks
and screams in terror. Patterson approaches, rifle in hand.
It is a very tense moment, when the horrifying thought of
being faced with a situation like that suddenly emerges into
reality. How will Patterson react? He'll only have an opportunity
to fire off one shot, and if it misses, he'll be dinner. A
terrific climax, right? The problem? That scene comes in the
film's FIRST act.
There
are many scenes like the ones I've discussed above - scenes
that are well-crafted, intense, and downright scary. The trouble
is, those scenes are at the mercy of filmmakers who don't
know how to structure their story. The more I thought back
on this film, the more I realized how jumbled it really is.
The
movie was directed by Stephen ("Blown Away", "Judgment Night")
Hopkins, who despite being talented and ambitious, has yet
to find a knack for telling his stories in the most effective
way. The overall tension the film could have achieved is botched
by his over-zealous direction and dependence on state-of-the-art
special effects. Suspense isn't generated by the sight of
a gruesome act, but rather by the mere suggestion of a gruesome
act. The trouble with some of the attack sequences is that
it is obvious we are watching a special effect. The audience
doesn't need to see someone being eaten alive by a lion to
imagine how terrifying it would be. Why try to recreate it?
The imagination of the viewer can be a valuable tool in creating
suspense. A filmmaker just needs to know how to use it - suggest
more, show less.
There
are many movies out of Hollywood that don't even try to entertain
their intended audience. This is NOT one of those movies.
The problem here is that the filmmakers tried too hard. The
look of the film is terrific - it looks like it was made by
filmmakers who were out to make a powerful, epic American
masterpiece. A simpler approach would have worked better.
You don't always have to shoot for the stars - if you concentrate
on doing the best possible work you can, the stars just might
come to you.
Copyright
2001 Michael Brendan McLarney Critically
Ill
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