Object of Beauty

An enervated American couple in London, Jake (Malkovich) and Tina (MacDowell) find their funds running out and their hotel bill mounting. He pressures her to sell her valuable Henry Moore sculpture, she resists, and its disappearance widens the mistrust between them. In fact, it has been stolen by deaf-mute chambermaid Jenny (Davies), who appreciates it for its beauty. This, on paper, contrasts with the futility of their values. Few who sit through the film will need the signpost, though they may wonder why Jenny, her punk brother, and their milieu seem to have strayed in out of Mayhew. Lindsay-Hogg wrote and directed this dull, static flounder, which exposes both MacDowell's limitations and Malkovich's withdrawal of labour. Shepherd, Ackland and Paterson go for little in cameo roles.