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cinescape.comCornell Woolrich’s novel WALTZ INTO DARKNESS previously served as the basis for Francois Truffaut’s 1969 MISSISSIPPI MERMAID. Now director/screenwriter Michael Cristofer has adapted it as ORIGINAL SIN. It’s easy to see why filmmakers would be attracted to the material – it hinges on those two cinematic fulcrums, sex and death, with lots of obsession, deception and cash fueling the plot as well. What makes ORIGINAL SIN at once problematic and shamelessly entertaining is that it seems to think it’s saying something profound about human relationships via a plot that’s like several months of soap opera rolled into two hours. It’s a whole lot of fun for someone in the right mood, but it’s unlikely to provoke serious reflection.
Angelina Jolie plays our
ANGELINA JOLIE stars as Julia Russell in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ sexy, suspenseful thriller ORIGINAL SIN.
© 2001 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
heroine/narrator who relates in flashback what has led to her present dire straits. It all starts when 19th Century Cuban coffee merchant Luis Vargas (Antonio Banderas) thinks he has found the perfect mail-order bride. Luis doesn’t care about looks – he just wants a woman who will be “kind, loyal and young enough to bear children.” In order to discourage gold-diggers, Luis has represented himself in his advertisement as a clerk in, rather than the owner of, the coffee business. When he shows up on the docks to collect his American bride-to-be, Julia Russell (Jolie), he’s got some explaining to do, but then, Julia doesn’t match the plain woman in the photos she’s sent to prospective groom Luis. Julia explains that she didn’t want to be chosen just because she’s pretty, but if he can cope with her looks, she can live with his money.
They marry that evening, but Luis – smitten and a gentleman – tells his new wife that he’ll wait until she’s ready to consummate their union. Lucky for Luis in the short term, Julia doesn’t take too long to embrace this aspect of wedded life and, moreover, proves extremely enthusiastic. Luis is so head over heels that he finds ways of rationalizing things like discrepancies in Julia’s behavior and her refusal to answer increasingly frantic letters from her sister. Then Julia cleans out Luis’ bank account and vanishes, leaving her distraught husband to track her down with the intention of killing her.
The above is the set-up. Since Julia is onscreen telling the tale, it’s a safe bet that Luis doesn’t wind up offing his senora, but what has happened? Unfortunately, ORIGINAL SIN trips over itself in this regard by being not nearly clever enough – unlike Luis, it’s not too hard for us to figure out what’s going on. We’re meant to be surprised by some of Julia’s reactions, but the film’s tone gives these away even when the story doesn’t. This is one of those instances when style and substance are virtually the same thing. If Julia’s ultimate outlook were different, there would be no point in her telling the tale.
Jolie and Banderas are both almost preposterously enjoyable to watch, because there seems to be no emotion or situation they won’t throw themselves into with absolute commitment. These are not actors who worry about whether the material might make them look silly and consequently, as goofy and over-the-top as the story becomes, they both emerge looking like complete pros. Thomas Jane as a shady private detective seems a little tentative but makes sensible acting choices overall, while Jack Thompson is sincere and hearty as Luis’ best friend. Gregory Itzin, as an ardent admirer of Julia’s, has a rather wonderful scene in which he registers a multitude of emotional changes with silent clarity.
The filmmakers have made a rather odd visual choice in keeping the film’s colors slightly de-saturated throughout. This reinforces the period quality (probably more than it needs) but the look is a bit distracting without adding to our appreciation of the action.
Cristofer’s
ANGELINA JOLIE and ANTONIO BANDERAS star in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ sexy, suspenseful thriller ORIGINAL SIN, about the dangerous and sometimes lethal power of love and obsession.
© 2001 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
dialogue brandishes a few obvious pronouncements and bogs down in exposition here and there, but nothing in it leaps out as absurd. The filmmaker is so ardent about spinning his yarn that it’s easy to become swept along with the flow of events. There’s been something of a flurry in the press about cuts in the sex scenes made to accommodate an R rather than an NC-17 rating. The insanity of trying to placate the MPAA aside, it’s hard to imagine that anything was lost that might impact the viewer’s comprehension of the characters – we get that Luis is sexually crazy about Julia. There is, however, something sweet about Cristofer’s public reaction to the cuts. The filmmaker is so ardent about the passion of his characters and about spinning his yarn that it’s easy to become caught up in the florid flow here, even if we know more or less where we’re going.
