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"Original
Sin" is based upon a novel written by Cornell Woolrich
called "Waltz into Darkness. He is also the novelist
responsible for a list of film classics such as Rear Window and
Phantom Lady. You can erase "Original Sin" off that
list.
The film is written and directed by Michael Christofer, and
stars Antonio Banderas and Anjelina Jolie in the title roles.
Banderas plays a wealthy Cuban businessman named Luis Vargas,
who isn't looking for love or even looks. He just wants a woman
young enough to bear him children, which leaves an astonished
look on his face when Julia (Anjelina Jolie), his mail order
bride, steps off the boat.
The two are married quickly, but soon Luis realizes that Julia
is not who she says she is. She is actually a con artist who has
cleaned out his bank account and left him angry for revenge. The
rest of the film ranges from improbable to laughable as these
two again form a bond, which could become tarnished with a
second robbery.
"Original Sin" has been in postproduction for quite a
while now. It was pulled back late last year for more
editing and earlier this year it was held back again for even
more re-working. But something I don't think
anybody involved with this film realized is that it was nothing
but a lost cause. You can strap firecrackers, noisemakers,
whistles and horns onto this thing and it will still be one of
the most sleep inducing movies of the year.
This is less of a movie than an endurance test. If we can make
it through the lifeless acting, zero chemistry, incomprehensible
story telling (you can tell much of the film has been cut), and
predictability, we should get some kind of prize. The key reason
why "Original Sin" doesn't work is that we just don't
care about either one of these two characters. Jolie handles her
sexually deviant role well but is limited with an off and on
sort of
character, while Antonio Banderas is playing such an
obvious idiot that its almost painful to watch. I was too busy
wondering how this character could even keep
trusting her after she has robbed and tried to kill him to
figure out where love (Jolie begins with narration "this is
not a love story, but it is a story about love") comes into
play here. Not only that but their sex scenes are limited, and
surprisingly for such an attractive cast, they only elicit sighs
and yawns. The chemistry here is absolutely awful, and making us
sit through their dialogue is utterly pointless.
The editing has all apparently been done to make up for the
serious lack of tension. Michael Christofer, who after doing a
flop called Body Shots, makes this an unbearably dull experience
and the best he can do to keep the audience awake is edit in
these annoyingly abrupt camera changes in almost every scene.
"Original Sin" will serve as his second "Natural
Flop". Let's hope Banderas and Jolie can escape with their
careers.
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