by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
B+ Rated R 120 min.
The premise of this film could be construed as writer/director Anthony Minghella’s dissertation on modern times– told through a snap shot of his hometown in London as the forces of urban renewal clash with the Kings Cross Station’s ghetto. Minghella’s protagonist is Will, (Jude Law) an architect who has located his headquarters in the middle of a blighted neighborhood where he plans a vast urban renewal project. Will lives with his girlfriend Liv (Robin Wright Penn) and their 13-year old daughter, Bea, who has a hyper kinetic disorder and suffers from anorexia. Liv spends most of her time caring for Bea whose continual gymnastic contortions drive Will batty.
Will works with his business partner Sandy (Martin Freeman) who is smitten by the clean up woman. Suddenly, the firm’s building is burglarized by young thugs who steal laptops and other computer equipment for the Bosnian mob. The police have not been able to catch the robbers who even know how to disable the firm’s security system. As soon as Will and Sandy replace the equipment, they get hit again.
Frustrated by the police’s incompetence, Will and Sandy start their own surveillance of the building, watching from their car. One night they get lucky and see a teenager breaking into the building. They challenge him and he takes off. Will follows him back to his home–a row of low rent flats. Will becomes fascinated by his home life and knocks on the door. His mom, a beautiful Bosnian woman, Amira (Juliette Binoche) answers the door. Will makes up an excuse to gain entry. Amira takes in sewing for a living so Will has her alter his suit. He never lets on he’s onto her 15-year-old son, Miro (Rafi Gaviron).
Obviously, Will is interested in Amira. Life at home has become intolerable lately. Gradually, he and Amira start having a torrid affair. He never lets on that he knows her son is a thief working for the Bosnian mob. He’s more interested in Amira than sending her son to jail. Thus, Minghella’s script explores Will’s moral conflict, as he enters the forbidden land of cheating on Liv. For Will, what began as seeking justice evolves into a strange but compelling love affair.
It turns out, Amira’s husband died in Sarajevo where she wants to return with her son. Yes, life has turned complicated for Will who struggles to hold on to Liv’s love while seeking solace with Amira. This situation is bound to explode in Will’s face, and when it does, he is faced with telling the truth to both women. Ah yes, what a twisted web he weaves as the story twists and turns in surprising directions.
Jude Law proves again why he is in demand as one of Hollywood’s leading actors. He plays Will’s dilemma with savvy and convincing dynamics. Juliette Binoche is naturally attractive and compelling as the vulnerable woman who has her own agenda and will do anything to protect her son.
Meanwhile, Liv is at her wits end with Bea who is extremely difficult to be around. Clearly, Liv and Will should have sought family counseling to cope with Bea’s mental illness and still carry on their relationship in a loving manner. Will’s reckless affair only further complicated an already murky gumbo of emotional turmoil.
The deeply personal relationships surrounding Will’s decision to locate the business in the project’s target neighborhood serves as a metaphor for social conflicts, which ebb and flow with change. Unwittingly, by involving himself in the social fabric of the neighborhood Will learned an important lesson. What Minghella is saying in this screenplay is: All social ills originate from poverty and just dressing up the neighborhood with urban renewal will not change the people’s problems of making a living on low incomes and struggling to survive. It’s a universal truth.
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