PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998)
A Film Review
Copyright Dragan Antulov 2004
Tribal instincts can often cloud perception of certain films.
PRACTICAL MAGIC, 1998 comedy directed by Griffin Dune, was
surprisingly well-received in Croatia. Quality of the film had little to
do with it. The film was hailed as something special simply for
having Croatian actor Goran Visnjic in his first major Hollywood
role.
The plot of the film is based on the novel by Alice Hoffman. Sally
(played by Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (played by Nicole
Kidman) are two sisters who practice witchcraft. They are burdened
with the centuries-old curse - any man with whom they fall in love is
condemned to premature death. Sisters deal with this situation
differently - Sally renounces magic, marries, has children and tries to
have normal life even after her husband's inevitable death; Gillian
practices magic, travels around the world and enjoys adventurous
lifestyle. Her romance with East European immigrant Jimmy
Angelov (played by Goran Visnjic) turns ugly when seemingly
charming man reveals himself as psychopathic bully. Sally tries to
help her sister escape from such abusive relationship and that leads
to Jimmy's murder. In order to evade prison, two sister use their
magical abilities and try to resurrect their victim. But Jimmy returns
as an evil spirit. In the meantime, policeman Garry Hallet (played by
Aidan Quinn) is assigned to investigate those events.
Any chance of PRACTICAL MAGIC being successful film
disappeared when Akiva Goldsman became part of screenwriting
team. Already burdened with complicated plot, this film is going
around circles, with its screenwriters obviously not knowing whether
they are making a supernatural horror, romantic comedy or crime
mystery. Feminism, mixed with 1990s New Age sentiments, only
adds to the genre confusion. Script problems are matched by Griffin
Dune's bad direction. The pacing is bad and too many times the plot
is being carried by cheesy pop tunes and even cheesier special effects
instead of dramatic scenes. Because of this, PRACTICAL MAGIC is
overlong and not even the talent of Nicole Kidman can rescue it.
Sandra Bullock's inability to play housewife provides another
disappointment. Other actors, like Aidan Quinn, did slightly better
job. For Visnjic this film was a good move - his role would later open
new Hollywood opportunities. Most of the viewers, on the other
hand, probably won't like the two hours of their lives spent on
another soulless "high concept" product of Hollywood.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
Review written on September 7th 2004
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax
http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in
Croatian
http://www.ofcs.org - Online Film Critics Society
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