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The Score (2001) Paramount Pictures 1 hr. 54 mins. Starring: Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Edward Norton. Directed by: Frank Oz The Score Rating:  
E-MAIL GIANCARLO DE LISI If there were a prison for unforgivable and bad filmmaking - Director Frank Oz would being there right now. Perhaps I am being a tad harsh but how is it that an inexperienced and unproven director in the field of drama/thrillers assembles an all star cast that composes Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando? Not only does he assemble this great cast, but he delivers and unbalanced, poorly written, bland piece of filmmaking that is laughable at best in terms of its' standards as a heist film. Simply put, Director Frank Oz ('Bowfinger', 'In & Out' and the voice of Yoda in the 'Star Wars' films) cannot master the fine art of suspenseful filmmaking as demonstrated in his film 'The Score'. Even the best directors have the toughest of times assembling great actors such as these in this film - yet Frank Oz does. Why him? And what does he have to show for it? Nothing. 'The Score' has a lot of negative traits that find one will find simply unforgivable. How can one assemble such a great group of actors and have an end result that is dissatisfying and brutally disastrous? The only fantastic thing about the film is its' acting. Brando has been absent from the silver screen since John Frankenheimer's 'The Island of Dr., Moreau' in which he played a barely recognizable mad scientist. In this film he displays a comedic yet brilliant improvisational style that only Brando can get away with. Although he shares only a handful of scenes with his costars they are among the most funniest and poignant scenes in the film. Edward Norton does all that he can do with an underdeveloped character whose alter ego is a mentally challenged night janitor that allows 'The Score' to happen at the Montreal Customs house. Finally, De Niro is De Niro. Bobby D's style will never be boring in my book but something tells me that even he was unhappy with the direction this film was taking during filming. Yet, no matter how superb the acting is - it is but only one of the important elements needed to deliver a great film. As for this film, there are many other elements that lack which drowns 'The Score' into a tiresome film. Once again, If I am being harsh, forgive me. Yet, let me remind you that it is not everyday that De Niro, Brando and an actor who is worthy to share screen time with these icons such as Edward Norton are all cast in the same film. Expectations were high and the result is tragic. The story sets itself in Montreal and it is great to see that for once the city is playing itself instead of standing for a New York or Chicago. These three men are drawn together to retrieve a heavily guarded ancient scepter worth millions of dollars. The film in essence is the activities that prepare these men for this daring heist. Such adventures include meeting De Niro's computer geek sidekick who hacks into computer systems and who has an eerie relationship with his mother. Or how about an exchange of computer codes on a bright sunny day in a park with a gun pointed to Edward Norton' s gut. All these activities seem pointless if they are not developed nor shot in a manner that is gripping and comprehensible. From the opening scene where we see De Niro at work in a pointless display of his kindness yet aggressiveness, the intelligent filmgoer will quickly grasp the notion that this is a poorly made film with some of the greatest actors that ever graced our screens. Director Frank Oz starts the film off with a painstakingly slow pace that the film seems never to recover from. It seems that he does not have that style that must be developed over time and through experience that is a prerequisite to truthfully capture and convey the notion of danger and deceit. Want proof - watch the climactic sequence in which an alarm goes off and witness the sheer disaster of about four minutes of film that is simply terrible to watch. Cameras are shaking as if pretending to convey the notion of fear and the editing is horrible and although our main character must elude danger - we do not care. Simply put - this film is a terrible waste of talent in terms of its' ability to gather three great actors in one film. Yet, the result is a disastrous and misfired attempt at creating a classy, elegant and stylish 'caper' film that does not score at all. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Giancarlo De Lisi © TheWorldJournal.com |
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