Not as original or compelling a film as his 1997 prize-winner "The Sweet Hereafter", Atom Egoyan's latest Cannes contender is still a well-crafted, superbly acted work of restrained horror as a young Irish woman on a sad quest is helped and then threatened by a sinister Englishman played brilliantly by Bob Hoskins.
An upcoming Artisan Entertainment release domestically, "Felicia's Journey" was greeted enthusiastically by the press in general, but with such big expectations -- and with the 1994 source novel by William Trevor widely admired -- the critical reception will be mixed and it's doubtful the movie will go far commercially.
Expect Egoyan to take flack in some circles for making key alterations to the book, such as in the character of Hoskins' mother and the truncated final coda, but the film is nonetheless satisfying. Indeed, such an unsensationalistic take on a grim subject, with no violent scenes and a repressively evil lead, calls for the biggest effort on Hoskins' part and the actor comes through with one of his best efforts.
With perhaps too much emphasis on portly caterer Hilditch (Hoskins), a congenial chap to his employees but living alone in his family home/museum, Egoyan dilutes a great deal one's sympathies for pregnant, lovesick Felicia, although Elaine Cassidy ("The Sun, The Moon and The Stars") is just fine in the role.
Daughter of a Republican (Gerard McSorely) who curses her for sleeping with a local boy turned British soldier (Peter McDonald), Felicia is naive but determined to find her lover. She travels on her own from Ireland to the English midlands where she believes he's gone to work in a lawnmower factory.
In a ploy that brings some crowd-pleasing laughs to the otherwise uneasy atmosphere, Egoyan has mild-mannered Hilditch cook gourmet meals with the help of videotapes of his TV chef mother (Arsinee Khanjian). With a horrid French accent, she even employs the youngster in her shows, but these preserved moments are not always pleasant for Hilditch, a serial befriender of needy girls on the road.
He is also a lonely planter of corpses in his backyard, as becomes apparent. Hilditch has more tapes in his collection -- of his past victims -- which provide some of the usual half-dozen narrative threads that Egoyan cuts between in his trademark non-linear style. But more often than not, Egoyan is more literal than he's been in the past and the results are less complex characters and motivations and more predictable cinematic flourishes than in his best works.
The scenes in Ireland with pre-journey Felicia cooing over her handsome beau and then getting the cold shoulder from his mother (Brid Brennan) are more expedient than evocative. Likewise the interlude where Felicia seeks shelter with a Christian mission headed by Jamaican zealot Miss Calligary (Claire Benedict) does not contribute much until the somewhat botched climax.
Paul Sarossy's widescreen cinematography is striking and the sound work is superb, but Mychael Danna's score is often oppressive and the use of songs by Malcolm Vaughn and Kate Bush is disappointingly mundane.
FELICIA'S JOURNEY
Artisan Entertainment
An Icon production
In association with Alliance Atlantis Pictures
CREDITS:
Writer-director:Atom Egoyan
Producer:Bruce Davey
Executive producers:Paul Tucker, Ralph Kamp
Director of photography:Paul Sarossy
Production designer:Jim Clay
Editor:Susan Shipton
Music:Mychael Danna
Costume designer:Sandy Powell
Color/stereo
CAST:
Hilditch:Bob Hoskins
Felicia:Elaine Cassidy
Johnny Lysaght:Peter McDonald
Gala:Arsinee Khanjian
Felicia's Father:Gerard McSorley
Mrs. Lysaght:Brid Brennan
Miss Calligary:Claire Benedict
Running time:114 minutes...
An upcoming Artisan Entertainment release domestically, "Felicia's Journey" was greeted enthusiastically by the press in general, but with such big expectations -- and with the 1994 source novel by William Trevor widely admired -- the critical reception will be mixed and it's doubtful the movie will go far commercially.
Expect Egoyan to take flack in some circles for making key alterations to the book, such as in the character of Hoskins' mother and the truncated final coda, but the film is nonetheless satisfying. Indeed, such an unsensationalistic take on a grim subject, with no violent scenes and a repressively evil lead, calls for the biggest effort on Hoskins' part and the actor comes through with one of his best efforts.
With perhaps too much emphasis on portly caterer Hilditch (Hoskins), a congenial chap to his employees but living alone in his family home/museum, Egoyan dilutes a great deal one's sympathies for pregnant, lovesick Felicia, although Elaine Cassidy ("The Sun, The Moon and The Stars") is just fine in the role.
Daughter of a Republican (Gerard McSorely) who curses her for sleeping with a local boy turned British soldier (Peter McDonald), Felicia is naive but determined to find her lover. She travels on her own from Ireland to the English midlands where she believes he's gone to work in a lawnmower factory.
In a ploy that brings some crowd-pleasing laughs to the otherwise uneasy atmosphere, Egoyan has mild-mannered Hilditch cook gourmet meals with the help of videotapes of his TV chef mother (Arsinee Khanjian). With a horrid French accent, she even employs the youngster in her shows, but these preserved moments are not always pleasant for Hilditch, a serial befriender of needy girls on the road.
He is also a lonely planter of corpses in his backyard, as becomes apparent. Hilditch has more tapes in his collection -- of his past victims -- which provide some of the usual half-dozen narrative threads that Egoyan cuts between in his trademark non-linear style. But more often than not, Egoyan is more literal than he's been in the past and the results are less complex characters and motivations and more predictable cinematic flourishes than in his best works.
The scenes in Ireland with pre-journey Felicia cooing over her handsome beau and then getting the cold shoulder from his mother (Brid Brennan) are more expedient than evocative. Likewise the interlude where Felicia seeks shelter with a Christian mission headed by Jamaican zealot Miss Calligary (Claire Benedict) does not contribute much until the somewhat botched climax.
Paul Sarossy's widescreen cinematography is striking and the sound work is superb, but Mychael Danna's score is often oppressive and the use of songs by Malcolm Vaughn and Kate Bush is disappointingly mundane.
FELICIA'S JOURNEY
Artisan Entertainment
An Icon production
In association with Alliance Atlantis Pictures
CREDITS:
Writer-director:Atom Egoyan
Producer:Bruce Davey
Executive producers:Paul Tucker, Ralph Kamp
Director of photography:Paul Sarossy
Production designer:Jim Clay
Editor:Susan Shipton
Music:Mychael Danna
Costume designer:Sandy Powell
Color/stereo
CAST:
Hilditch:Bob Hoskins
Felicia:Elaine Cassidy
Johnny Lysaght:Peter McDonald
Gala:Arsinee Khanjian
Felicia's Father:Gerard McSorley
Mrs. Lysaght:Brid Brennan
Miss Calligary:Claire Benedict
Running time:114 minutes...
- 5/18/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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