THE END OF VIOLENCE (1997)
A Film Review Copyright Dragan Antulov 2004
Non-Hollywood filmmakers often have the quality of their films drastically reduced from the second they start working in Hollywood. Even the filmmakers who try very hard to be anti-thesis of Hollywood can't escape such fate. One of them is Wim Wenders, German director whose films used to be slow and incomprehensible to general audience while in the same time worshipped by critics, film scholars and small numbers of dedicated fans. In 1990s Wenders accumulated enough prestige to afford big budgets, big Hollywood stars and "cool" soundtracks. All that corresponded with decrease in his film's quality, best seen in hostile critical reception of his ambitious 1997 drama THE END OF VIOLENCE.
The plot of the film is set in Los Angeles. Mike Max (played by Bill Pullman) is rich and influential producer of ultraviolent Hollywood films. He is so obsessed with work that he doesn't notice when his neglected wife Page Stockard (played by Andie MacDowell) wants to leave him. One night Mike is kidnapped only to see his kidnappers shot in mysterious circumstances. The incident was witnessed by Ray Bering (played by Gabriel Byrne), lonely computer scientist involved in government's secret program aimed at covering entire city of Los Angeles with cameras. In the meantime, Mike's disappearance is investigated by "Doc" Dean Brock (played by Loren Dean), police detective and huge fan of Mike's movies. During the investigation he falls in love with Cat (played by Traci Lind), stuntwoman who was supposed to be a star in Mike's next big project. In the meantime, Mike decides to seek shelter in the home of Mexican immigrant Juan Emilio (played by Henry Silva).
THE END OF VIOLENCE has excellent cast, but that can't save the film that suffers from the lack of direction. Apart from exploring the way modern technology leads to alienation, Wenders tried to use this film as a comment on prevalence of violence in Hollywood and modern media. The problem is in today's Hollywood films being significantly less violent than ten or twenty years ago. Associating human alienation with the rise of modern technology is also rather awkward in the age of Internet and globalisation. Yet, even with somewhat antiquated worldview this film looks attractive at the beginning. Pascal Rabaud's cinematography, good cast and couple of promising subplots (government conspiracies, murder investigation) trick audience into believing that they are about to see thought- provoking thriller. Instead they are going to experience almost unendurable boredom and two hours later they realise that Wenders has exhausted all of his inspiration. THE END OF VIOLENCE ends without proper closure. The very viewers who were supposed to appreciate the film for its intellectual depth are going to be utterly disappointed with the plenty of missed opportunities.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
Review written on March 25th 2004
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in Croatian http://www.ofcs.org - Online Films Critics Society
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