Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageA Closed Book (2010)
Director: Raoul Ruiz
Movie review
From Time Out London
Raoul Ruiz apologists have got their work cut out with this musty ‘Sleuth’ imitation which goes right ahead and commits film school no-no number one: never let a blind Tom Conti and Daryl Hannah loose around a stately home together then just sit back and wait for the sparks to fly. It’s the third film that Ruiz has made in collaboration with author/critic Gilbert Adair, though it displays precious little of their vast individual talents. With its unlovely DV aesthetic and cheesy midi-synth score, the film has clearly been put together on the cheap. Yet it’s also severely lacking in the fundamentals, with its leaden script (sample dialogue: ‘You can hear me… smile?’) delivered with nuance-free torpor from Hannah and hysterical thesp showboating from Conti, and free-floating direction which manages to bottle none of the intensity this wicked game of cat and mouse purportedly generates. That and the fact that its final-act reveal appears to have nothing to do with the preceding film means you might want to cross the road to avoid this one.Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London Issue 2061: 18-24 February, 2010
Cast & crew
Director: Raoul Ruiz
Cast: Daryl Hannah, Tom Conti, Miriam Margolyes, Simon MacCorkindale full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 88 mins
UK Release: Feb 19 2010
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now