Benny & Joon

BENNY & JOON                                  B                     

USA  (98 mi)  1993  d:  Jeremiah S. Chechnik 

Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese.                  
—Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson)

In the charming and whimiscal manner of DAVID AND LISA (1962), HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971), or DOMINICK AND EUGENE (1988), we now have BENNY & JOON.  Made a few years after EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990) and the same year as WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993), a film this very much resembles, with Mary Stuart Masterson as Joon playing the mentally challenged Leonardo DiCaprio part, what I found especially interesting is how Masterson holds her own onscreen with Johnny Depp, and may even provide the superior performance.  Depp’s role is very showy, almost the stereotype of a Johnny Depp chosen eccentric, which is obvious from the very first moment we see him sitting alone in a tree.  While there is a nod to Buster Keaton through a shot of a book Depp is reading, there is no tribute to Chaplin, as Depp completely steals the Dance of the Dinner Rolls, “The Oceana Roll” scene from THE GOLD RUSH (1925) seen here YouTube - Charlie Chaplin- Table Ballet on YouTube (1:02).  It might have been nice over the end credits to see both performances side by side on a split screen, as Depp even copies the facial expressions and the Chaplin body language.  While many assume Depp plays the title character, actually he plays Sam, with Aidan Quinn as big brother Benny, who looks after his mentally ill sister after both parents died in a car crash.  Like the subsequent children’s story NANNY MCPHEE (2005), Joon wears out her housekeepers, going through the available list until all that’s left is a private group home that her psychiatrist (CCH Pounder) finally recommends to Benny.  Reluctant to send her away, this idea hovers over the rest of the film like an elelphant in the room. 

Joon seems to enjoy herself when left alone and doesn’t wander off or get into outside trouble, as she follows her routines faithfully and loves painting, but she has her moments when she feels suspiciously picked on and singled out, where the world is turning against her and she loses all sense of control, either striking back in an angry tantrum or feeling the heightened anxiety of a panic attack.  She is apt to throw things, which sends the last housekeeper out the door.  Benny works as a car mechanic where he gives the best cut rates in town, but otherwise is committed to taking care of his sister, always sharing affectionate moments with her every day, where the two have a special closeness, which prevents Benny from moving on in his life, as he has no life other than work and his sister.  But unlike the horrible bad guy characters Quinn has become associated with late in his career, he’s an especially nice guy here, and the well rounded cast of his poker friends include Oliver Platt and Dan Hedaya, with brief appearances from William H. Macy.  When they play poker, they don’t have money, so the stakes are things lying around the house, where Sam is an unwanted cousin given away in a poker game. 

The two oddballs quickly express an interest in one another, which becomes fascinating when it turns romantic, where Depp goes through the repertoire of silent film comedians, wearing funny suits and a hat, rarely speaking, and performing mime tricks in public which always draw a crowd.  Written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil, there are also a memorable string of one-liners in this film, making this an endearing film, perhaps overly cute in its treatment of mental illness, which gets glossed over in favor of laughs and sentiment.  But give the two stars credit here, as they are both brilliant, where Depp’s comic timing and apparent ease with the physical comedy makes him look like a natural, and Masterson is wonderfully quirky with her innocent curiosity and quick mood changes, not to mention a surprising Holden Caulfield wit on display.  Perhaps the real discovery is an early appearance by none other than Julianne Moore, absolutely adorable as a cute young waitress who dabbles in B-movies, who brings a much needed sanity to the situation, as she shows good judgment as the love interest for Benny, who’s too wrapped up in Joon’s swooning desires and sudden pangs of freedom to notice.  Without Depp, no doubt few would ever have been attracted to this film, but Masterson is a scene stealer in her own right.  However, few will forget the lunacy of Depp’s infamous window washing routine outside her window, something that would fit right into any Wallace & Gromit film.   

Unknown

UNKNOWN                          C+

USA  Great Britain  Germany  France  Canada  Japan  (113 mi)  2011  ‘Scope  d:  Jaume Collet-Serra

The film opens with a rush of energy that surprisingly gets you into the thick of the action right away, where Liam Neeson gets separated from his wife at a posh Berlin hotel once he realizes he left an important briefcase behind at the airport, heading back in a taxi without even letting her know.  Out of cell phone range and in a traffic jam, an impatient Neeson urges the driver to take alternative methods, sending a jolt of energy through the audience when the taxi spins out of control and heads over a bridge into the icy waters of the River Spree, where the driver (Diane Kruger) ingeniously manages to free herself and rescue her unconscious passenger before disappearing anonymously into the crowded city streets.  4 days later, Neeson awakes from a coma in a hospital, still forgetful of details but desperately needing to find his wife (January Jones), though she’s left no word that she’s looking for him.  When he bolts from the hospital to attend an international pharmaceutical convention at the upscale hotel where he was expected to deliver a speech, his wife doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity as her husband.  Leaving him the odd man out, none of this makes sense, yet he has no way of explaining who he is with little money and no identification, and even Google searches for his name and position have been replaced by photos of Quinn.  Who is this guy, and why all of a sudden does he suspect men are following him? 

This relatively young Spanish director does have an energetic flourish with speed and pace, accentuating the desperate straits of a man who has had his identity stolen from him, yet still has the smarts to pursue all the missing angles he can find, where a nurse at the hospital slips him the name of an underground former East German Stasi figure (Bruno Ganz) who has a way of finding people.  Ganz is terrific in the role and is easily the man of interest in this movie, as his home is lined with old Army photos and a wall filled with commendations.  He adds a well needed coherent literacy to the script about a man who is living in a muddled state of confusion.  When Neeson tracks down the taxi driver, who reluctantly agrees to help despite being an illegal Serbian worker who relentlessly avoids the cops, the paranoid mood escalates when two contract killers arrive unexpectedly at her doorstep which leads to a thrilling sequence where Neeson and the girl have to fight their way out of certain death.  At this point, the two are linked, where despite not knowing why they’ve been targeted, they are in the thick of it, followed immediately by a hair-raising car chase sequence right through the middle of Berlin’s crowded downtown streets, past historical relics such as the Victory Column and the Brandenberg Gate that leaves nothing but panic and destruction in their wake. 

Like Jason Bourne from THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002 – 2007) trilogy, Neeson continually has flashbacks, which are the only clues to his previous existence, reminders of a life he once knew, and the film is thrilling while Neeson attempts to make sense out of who he is, as Ganz pushes unorthodox secret buttons behind the scenes, but becomes all too predictable once he figures it out, where it’s literally handed to him on a platter of belated clues and explanations that really undermine the whole fun of the picture.  When it eventually comes down to just good guys against bad guys, that’s a whole lot less interesting than a throwback to the Cold War era style film presented in shattered pieces with fragmented images and delusional thoughts about a missing identity, where Neeson is constantly besieged by threats against his life while also trying to put together the missing mosaic of his apparently stolen life.  By the time Frank Langella arrives on the scene, the ending is deflated and all too contrived, like letting the air out of a balloon, but there’s plenty of fun while Neeson’s life is in turmoil, also excellent use of shots in the snow as well as ice flowing in the river.  Perhaps the thrill factor for the audience might never have diminished had the character been left “unknown” and in the dark, which also leaves open the possibility of a sequel, a concept the director has already embraced.