Movie Review : A Closed Book
A Closed Book tries hard to be a creepy intellectual thriller
. Distinguished UK actor Tom Conti is Sir Paul, a well-known art critic and writer blinded in an auto accident four years before. He comes to a decision to hire an amanuensis to do the word processing for his recent book, an autobiography. Just the employment of this archaic Latin word, which describes somebody employed to scribble what's dictated by some other person, is an indication of the fans director Raoul Ruiz was looking to attract. Ordinarily, Ruiz's fine art house fare does just that - but this film fails on almost every level.
It doesn't start too badly, with Sir Paul interviewing numerous applicants for the position. If only he had selected one of the fan boys rather than Jane Ryder ( Hannah ). Clearly it was not her long blonde hair and long legs that swayed his call, because he could not see them. The failed interviews are almost the funniest thing in the film, apart from Darryl Hannah's acting, but even they cannot measure up to the auditions in The Commitments.
Things go quickly downhill after Jane's entrance, and not just for the hapless Sir Paul. She slinks around the house doing mean things that he won't see, like turning a picture of Sir Paul ( essentially Tom Conti when he was young and lovely ) upside down, while bits of art and armor turn up in the weirdest places. To the sighted, the house starts to seem like one of those 'hidden object' photos. It's a bit jarring to hear that Madonna has been murdered by a druggie, while Jane is reading aloud the paper, but it is all her barbaric tries to play with Sir Paul's horribly mangled head.
The real issue with A Closed Book is it is a classic two-hander, and not only do two-handers work better on stage, they also work better when the actors are evenly matched. Hannah is simply no match for Conti, even if he's as bored as he looks here.
At 50, she's still a strapping lass, and her only unwarranted nude scene shows she's still in fine shape. Alternatively, the close ups of her face are less reassuring, and Sir Paul , at least, can't see the proof of plastic surgery as the spectator can. But whatever she possessed of acting abilities hasn't had any such support. Hannah struggles to engage us either as a girl looking for revenge or an once famous actress seeking a comeback.
Based primarily on a novel by Gilbert Adair, the story begs the question, why is Jane Ryder torturing an old blind man? He is a pompous twit, who has in the past abused his premier name as a skill critic, but now in his fragile old age and infirmity he seems rather pathetic. He is at the mercy of this blonde Amazon who is rearranging the furniture, and the moments that succeed best in disturbing the viewer are when he realises something is happening. Once she appears Nonetheless, all strain melts.
A Closed Book went direct to video, which looks to be the fate of all Ruiz's English films, and hardly surprising if this is an example of the others. It has been a long time since the glittering prizes of Tom Conti's youth, and it shows here, even though he manages to act the pants off Darryl Hannah - quite literally. There is an inexplicable guest appearance by Elaine Page, better known for stage musicals like Cats. As the housekeeper and the literary agent, Miriam Margolyes and Simon McCorkindale at least look as if they'd like to be there.
Where Ruiz shows his much lauded film making chops is in some of the cinematography and atmospheric camera angles. Directing planks of wood who are just waiting for their pay checks does not show off his directorial capabilities in any way, and cobbling together a unsettled ending doesn't make it worth sitting through the remainder of this interminably slow picture.
by: Hilly
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