# Myth of Fingerprints, The (1997)

### reviewed by
Vince Deehan

    THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS (1997)
    A Film Review by Vince Deehan
    Copyright 1997 Vince Deehan

Written and Directed by Bart Freundlich Cast: Blythe Danner, Roy Scheider, Julianne Moore, Noah Wyle, James LeGros, Brian Kerwin, Michael Vartan, Hope Davis, Laurel Holloman and Arija Bareikis.

When I first heard about this film I knew it was a film that I had to see. The combination of an excellent ensemble cast and the story of a troubled family coming together at Thanksgiving sounded unmissable. I first heard about this film in January when it was shown at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. How I wished I could have been there to see it ! Luckily the film was recently released here in the UK, and I went along last Wednesday (Dec 10) to the ABC cinema, next to Baker Street tube station in London, to see it. I often find that films for which I have very high expectations usually just fall short of my unrealistic hopes. This wasn't the case with THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS.

The last film I reviewed was a little known film called CROOKED HEARTS (1991) which told the story of another troubled family, and also happened to feature a young Noah Wyle playing a member of a family, called the Warren family. Is it coincidence that Noah Wyle's character in TMOF is called Warren. Probably, but I just felt like pointing this out !

I can usually tell if I'm going to like a film by the opening sequence. If the film has a poor opening sequence it often bodes badly for the film. The opening sequence of TMOF was great - wonderful music and shots of an old home movie showing the main characters as children with their parents, Lena (Blythe Danner) and Hal (Roy Scheider).

The first member of the family to come home for Thanksgiving is Warren (Noah Wyle). Warren hasn't been home for three years and his early arrival causes his father some irritation. His father Hal moans about it to his wife, who is delighted to see her son and having him home one day earlier is a joy for her - as it should be. This is our first hint that all is not well between Warren and his father. Warren is clearly a man with a lot on his mind and from the first moment we see him it is obvious he is going through mental torment. As the film progresses we get to see exactly what is eating him up inside. Warren meets up with his ex-girlfriend Daphne ( Arija Bareikis) who dumped Warren three years earlier. When Daphne explains to Warren why she left him, it brings to the surface the inner torment that Warren has been living with since the breakup.

The only member of the family who is still living at home is Leigh, played by Laurel Holloman. One review I've read described Leigh as a college student who was also returning home, but unless I missed something I got the impression she was still living at home. Leigh is a very peculiar character, at least to me, because she appears to be no younger than her brothers Jake (Michael Vartan) and Warren, but her behaviour throughout the film is that of a 15 year old - all naivete and childish giggles. I would have liked to have gotten a bit more background on this character who is quite fascinating but very hard to pin down, because of the ambiguity concerning her actual age. Was she meant to be a teenager or a very immature twenty-something ? If anyone reading this knows, please drop me a line !

The least interesting member of the family is Jake, who arrives home with his girlfriend Margaret (Hope Davis). We get little depth of character from Jake which makes it hard to be interested in him, but at least his girlfriend Margaret is very watchable. She speaks her mind throughout the film and manages to irritate Hal and Mia ( Julianne Moore). When she first arrives at the family home with Jake, she is told by Lena that she will be in a separate room to Jake. She then proceeds to ask Lena , straight out, if she can sleep with "your son" . Her forthrightness immediately impresses Lena !

Alongside Warren, the most interesting other sibling is Mia, played with typical excellence by the wonderful Julianne Moore. Our first sight of Mia and her partner Elliot is very amusing, but I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the film ! Mia is clearly a very irritable lady and takes great exception to almost everything she hears from Jakes's girlfriend Margaret, her sister Leigh, a hapless bookstore worker and especially her partner Elliot. When Elliot innocently asks Mia what the plans for the day are, she snaps back that he shouldn't need to have a schedule. It seems nothing said to Mia cannot be in some way offensive to her. When Mia finds a book, that she has taken from the family bookshelf, has had the penultimate chapters ripped out "for kindling" by her father, she is furious. She then storms down to the local bookstore and can barely hide her extreme irritation when they don't have it in stock. When the kind and helpful bookstore clerk (played by Pamela Polhemus) offers to order it for her, Mia scowls at her and asks sarcastically, "Can they have it here in ten minutes?" Of course they can't, and she storms out. You really feel for the bookstore lady who is a model of restraint and genuine helpfulness, and is faced with the customer who cannot be satisfied !

It is outside the bookstore that she meets Cezanne (James LeGros) who was also in the bookshop and recognised Mia as a classmate from kindergarten. Cezanne is his new name, having changed it from his original name. Mia fails to recognise him and only when she finds out that he has read the same book, that she so desperately wants to know the ending to, does she thaw out a bit and treat her old playmate with a bit of civility. She agrees to meet him the next day. It later turns out that her mother has found an old handmade card from the infant Cezanne to Mia , expressing his love for her. Cezanne is perhaps the most interesting character in the film, probably because we learn little about him, but his sweet and very innocent nature is a wonderful contrast to the spiky, vitriolic Mia and it is a very touching sequence when they meet again at Cezanne's house, where he tells her how the book ended. James LeGros virtually steals the film with his wonderful performance as a kind and gentle man who melts the frosty Mia.

The acting by all the cast is magnificent, but acting honours go to Noah Wyle, Julianne Moore and James LeGros. Noah Wyle gives a performance of great intensity and greatly impresses. Roy Scheider as Hal, says very little, but creates a heavy and almost menacing presence whenever he is on screen which is very effective.

This is not a happy family and an air of awkwardness hangs over the whole film which is very well demonstrated when the family and their partners, plus Warren's very charming "loser" friends , sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. The conversation is stilted and the slightest misjudged remark creates a very palpable air of tension. It's clear that as the head of the family, Hal is responsible for the horrible air of tension that pervades his family. We see clearly how his rift with Warren began, but his general coldness with the rest of the family is never clearly explained. It's obvious to me that Hal knows that he has become estranged from his kids but seems unable to bridge the chasm between them , although I'm certain he would if he thought it were possible.

Bart Freundlich's has created a wonderful film that I definitely want to see again to savour the great dialogue and powerful performances. I am greatly looking forward to his future projects.

Review written by Vince Deehan on Sunday 14 December 1997 e-mail : vince@deehan.demon.co.uk http://www.deehan.demon.co.uk

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