Cast: Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin, Ruben Blades,=20 Treat Williams, George Hearn, Natascha McElhone Director: Alan J. Pakula Producers: Lawrence Gordon, Robert F. Colesberry Screenplay: David Aaron Cohen & Vincent Patrick and Kevin Jarre=20 based on a story by Kevin Jarre Cinematography: Gordon Willis Music: James Horner U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
The advance word on THE DEVIL'S OWN was, to put it mildly, not=20 good. About a month ago, Brad Pitt went public with some extremely=20 damaging statements about how, if he hadn't possessed an iron-clad=20 contract, he would have bailed out on the production long before its=20 finish. Then there's the fact that Columbia Pictures delayed the=20 opening from late last year (during pre-Oscar nomination prime time) to=20 the dreary wasteland of March, supposedly as a result of awful preview=20 screenings. With these bits of knowledge spinning in my head, I was=20 ready for a disaster. But, while THE DEVIL'S OWN isn't going to win any=20 "best of=85" contests, it's not nearly as bad as I had been led to=20 believe.
Oh, there are problems, and some of them are fairly serious. But=20 the movie as a whole isn't a complete and utter waste of time. I didn't=20 leave the theater wringing my hands about having lost an evening. Part=20 of the reason THE DEVIL'S OWN is endurable is because, in spite of=20 various script deficiencies, both of the stars -- Pitt and Harrison Ford=20 -- have an undeniable screen presence. And, while star power can't save=20 a sinking movie, it can at least keep it afloat longer.
THE DEVIL'S OWN begins in a rousing enough fashion, with a short=20 prologue set in 1972, then a flash-forward twenty years to a police=20 action in Belfast. Frankie Maguire (Brad Pitt), a member of the=20 provisional IRA with more than 18 murders to his credit, is a wanted=20 man. When the British army, aided by the local police, corner him in a=20 warehouse, he and his compatriots fight back, and the result is a=20 bloodbath. Frankie escapes to the U.S. with the assignment to buy=20 stinger missiles from an arms dealer (Treat Williams) and bring them=20 back by boat to Ireland. =20
Frankie's "host" in the United States is IRA sympathizer Peter=20 Fitzsimmons (George Hearn), who sets him up with a bed and bathroom in=20 the suburban house of NYPD officer Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford). Tom is=20 a prototypical "good cop" -- he doesn't lie, cheat, steal, or take=20 bribes, and puts the love of his wife (Margaret Colin) and children=20 above all else. He and Frankie, who's now going by the alias of Rory=20 Devaney, become friends. Of course, Tom doesn't know about Frankie's=20 terrorist background. In fact, he doesn't suspect that there's anything=20 sinister about his guest until a group of armed, masked men break into=20 his house and threaten to kill his wife.
For much of its running length, THE DEVIL'S OWN works as a passable=20 thriller. Certain plot elements (including many of the details=20 surrounding the missile deal) border on preposterous, but that often=20 goes with the territory in films of this genre. The best parts of THE=20 DEVIL'S OWN are the quiet moments, such as when Frankie and Tom are=20 talking, or when Tom is spending time with his family. There's also an=20 effective subplot that forces Tom to examine his moral outlook on life=20 when his partner (Ruben Blades) accidentally shoots a fleeing suspect in=20 the back. =20
Unfortunately, THE DEVIL'S OWN goes downhill fast in the final half=20 hour. Suddenly, it's as if every significant character in the film has=20 undergone a frontal lobotomy. Otherwise-intelligent men start doing=20 extremely stupid things, and the entire "dumbing-down" process becomes=20 frustrating to observe. The final scenes are solid, but the stuff that=20 leads up to them is a problem.
As is always the case in a film featuring the IRA, murky Irish=20 politics are addressed, although veteran director Alan J. Pakula (ALL=20 THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, PRESUMED INNOCENT) does his utmost to make THE=20 DEVIL'S OWN approach these thorny issues in a non-judgmental, evenhanded=20 fashion by depicting good and evil on both sides. The most interesting=20 facet of the political side of the script is how Irish views are easily=20 distorted in America, an ocean away from the strife and violence. It's=20 easy to classify oneself as a "patriot" when all that's on the line are=20 a few dollars.
Pitt and Ford do credible jobs as Frankie and Tom. Despite his=20 character's brutal, bloody past, Pitt manages to capture our sympathy,=20 in large part because, aside from the killings, Frankie seems like a=20 likable sort of guy. Ford, in a role that's a far cry from the cocky=20 Han Solo, recalls Jack Ryan, the protagonist of PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR=20 AND PRESENT DANGER -- a hero whose armor is just a little too shiny. =20 Supporting players include Margaret Colin (INDEPENDENCE DAY) as Tom's=20 wife, Natascha McElhone (SURVIVING PICASSO) as Frankie's girlfriend, and=20 a nasty Treat Williams as a gunrunner in a suit. =20
While THE DEVIL'S OWN doesn't do a spectacular job of fulfilling=20 the promise of its cast or its complex politics-and-guns premise, it is=20 nevertheless reasonably well-paced. The less intently you watch this=20 movie, the greater the chance that you'll be pleased by it. =20 Unfortunately, if you're paying attention, it won't take long to notice=20 that very little of the last act holds together. That sort of high- tension, mind-numbing climax makes it difficult for me to retain more=20 than token enthusiasm for the production as a whole.
