How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 8 April 2014
This article is a review of THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY.Seen at the Berlin International Film Festival 2014. (For more information, click here.)
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“There’s a young guy in a grey shirt staring at me,” Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) to wife Colette MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst)
‘Old-fashioned’ as a label can be a positive remark, or perhaps a sign of unwillingness to grasp modern sensibility. In DRIVE, writer Hossein Amini fashioned an invigoratingly fresh crime flick, and his Thomas Hardy adaptation JUDE had an immediacy and tension rarely captured in period dramas. Amini’s scripting pedigree thus had one eagerly anticipating his directorial debut. THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY is retro in its tale of duplicity, but not satisfyingly so.
‘Old-fashioned’ as a label can be a positive remark, or perhaps a sign of unwillingness to grasp modern sensibility. In DRIVE, writer Hossein Amini fashioned an invigoratingly fresh crime flick, and his Thomas Hardy adaptation JUDE had an immediacy and tension rarely captured in period dramas. Amini’s scripting pedigree thus had one eagerly anticipating his directorial debut. THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY is retro in its tale of duplicity, but not satisfyingly so.
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Athens, Greece, 1962, American abroad tour guide Rydal (Oscar Isaac) is working his charm on compatriot university students during their hols. At the same time, within the Parthenon, tourist couple, cutely monikered Chester and Colette, are playfully ambling in the gorgeous weather. Rydal gives off a predatory air, sexually and as a confidence trickster, someone for whom customers no longer provide sport, while a striking and rich arm-candy wife does. Isaac taking on Mortensen for the affections of Dunst is the set-up. Since the LORD OF THE RINGS, Mortensen never plays wafer-thin, so what lurks behind his surface is the question arising? Looking like he just stepped out of the V.I.P. marquee at a prestigious polo tournament, one wonders: Does Chester have the arsenal to withstand whatever Rydal has planned? THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY wrong-foots us.
Inveigling his way into the couple’s sojourn, Rydal takes them on a tour of the flea market and in return is invited to dinner. We are in beautiful Greece, in the company of beautiful people; engaging an audience so far is a no brainer. (Last year’s BEFORE MIDNIGHT utilised similar weapons.) The current Greek financial crisis is not mentioned, not even obliquely, nor any politics alluded. Devoid of substantial allegory, THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY must keep our attention through a compelling story. Unfortunately, like a protagonist about to loose their grip on a ledge, the movie gets more over-blown after the initial frisson.
As the leads circle one another the filmmakers circle them, as if trying to squeeze among the group to delve into what makes them tick. Rydal turns out not to be the complete douche we expected. He has daddy issues; avoiding his professor father’s funeral speaks volumes. A highfalutin, extremely well educated background is in sharp contrast to Chester’s self-made seemingly humble beginnings; and is meant to fan the latter’s jealousy. Dunst is under-utilised, a goddess, among ancient gods, to be fought over. After her magnetic role in MELANCHOLIA, that is a double waste.
Tables are reversed, and continue to be reversed, as revelations as to what Chester and Colette are doing in Europe, and whom they really are, come to light. Amini wrote the Henry James interpretation THE WINGS OF THE DOVE to alluring effect. THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY is tired in comparison, and runs out of steam before the anti-climactic denouement. Mortensen-Dunst-Isaac keep us looking, but is a case of quality parts far exceeding the final product.