Original Sin (2001)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Michael Cristofer

Writers (WGA):

Cornell Woolrich (novel)
Michael Cristofer (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Obsession. Lies. Desire. Lust...

Plot:

A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.

Plot Keywords:

Coffee | Bank Account | Bride | Confession | Femme Fatale

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Luis Antonio Vargas
Angelina Jolie	...	Julia Russell / Bonny Castle
Thomas Jane	...	Billy / Walter Downs / Mephisto
Jack Thompson	...	Alan Jordan
Gregory Itzin	...	Colonel Worth
Allison Mackie	...	Augusta Jordan
Joan Pringle	...	Sara
Cordelia Richards	...	Emily Russell
James Haven	...	Faust - Stage
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Jorge Cortés (as Pedro Armendáriz)
Mario Iván Martínez	...	Cuban Priest
Harry Porter	...	Stage Manager
Fernando Torre Laphame	...	Wedding Priest (as Fernando Torre Lapham)
Shaula Vega	...	Dressmaker Girl
Lisa Owen	...	Margareta - Stage

Also Known As:

Dancing in the Dark (USA) (working title)
Péché originel (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and some violence.

Runtime:

116 min | USA:118 min (unrated version)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | German | Japanese | Latin | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Portugal:M/12 (R rated version) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:16 | France:U | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:III | Hungary:16 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Poland:18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (No. 37331) (edited version) | USA:Unrated | Malaysia:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, México D.F., Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The title was changed to avoid confusion with Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Julia wakes from her first nightmare, the right sleeve of her dressing gown slips off and on her shoulder as Luis comforts her.

Quotes:

Luis: Julia, I just killed a man!
Julia: I just bought a hat.

Movie Connections:

Version of La sirène du Mississipi (1969)

Soundtrack:

Havana Carnival

Should have been steamy and suspenseful-it's deadly dull.

* out of ****

Ah, the erotic thriller, a genre that now mostly exists in the form of straight-to-video or made-for-cable TV releases. But there are always the occasional theatrical releases, such as Basic Instinct (great sex scenes, sporadically interesting story), Bound (steamy sex scenes, good plot, Jennifer Tilly is annoying as hell), Wild Things (dull sex scenes, fun plot twists), and Color of Night (ludicrous story, but features one of the best sex scenes in mainstream cinema!). Original Sin can be added to the list, but it's easily the worst of the lot, giving us two stars who generate no heat, and a story that isn't ridiculously convoluted enough to be trashy fun. Really, this movie's all talk, without enough genuine passion, suspense, and not enough bare skin (and I saw the unrated version).

Antonio Banderas stars as an incredibly dumb coffee mill owner who's just been arranged to meet his mail-order bride. He's written letters to her and has seen some pictures of her, but when he meets her face-to-face, she's nothing like he expects. The bride turns out to be Angelina Jolie, whose sensuous looks and curves captivates our protagonist. It seems she sent a different picture of herself so that a man won't be looking to marry her for her looks. What a great, deceptive star to their marriage. Oh, yes, their marriage is bliss, as they continuously make love and declare their love for one another. But then it turns out she actually isn't his mail-order bride; she's taken all his money, leaving poor Banderas heart-broken and dead-set to find her. Enter Thomas Jane, whose role is obvious from the start to any semi-keen viewer.

Original Sin is the kind of film that will probably have your eyes rolling from all the overdone dialogue ("Can't you see I cannot...LIVE without you?!) and squirming in your seat as you wait for something important to happen. Story-wise, well, you'd be surprised how little plot there is. Aside from what I've described, there's hardly anything else to be mentioned. None of the plot twists are surprising or even amusingly over-the-top, so you'll probably find yourself tapping your feet out of boredom.

This might have still been a somewhat engaging venture if I cared about the situation and the characters, but no, Banderas' is too gullible to root for and Jolie is...well...I've honestly never much liked Jolie; she's always one-note with her performances and her huge lips and really creepy resemblance to Jon Voight (her dad) is a distraction that not even decent acting (which she doesn't qualify for) can account for. The fact that both actors (as well as Thomas Jane) don't even seem to realize they're starring in such a trashy film only damages the film further. They take this material far too seriously.

The only thing worthy of note in this entire film is a somewhat graphic sex scene between Banderas and Jolie. Cinema these days has grown rather tame with on-screen sex, so I guess it's nice to see nudity on display in a big-studio release (though, make no mistake, even unrated, this scene is not as graphic or even as well-directed as the sex scenes in Color of Night or Basic Instinct). Unfortunately, director Michael Cristofer manages to even screw up this scene, giving us way too many dissolves, fade-ins, and odd camera angles as if though he thought he was "spicing" things up. No, it just adds a yawn. Hard to believe, but Jolie managed to star in the two worst films of 2001, an accomplishment I don't think any other actor can boast. As far as erotic thrillers go, you'd be better off renting any of the films I mentioned above or better yet, Brian De Palma's edge-of-the-seat 1984 voyeuristic thriller Body Double.