First Hit: At times interesting and other times aimless.
Directly, indirectly and poorly connected stories about desire, life and love.
The film begins with Michael (played by Jude Law) married to Rose (Rachel Weisz) wanting to hook up with a prostitute named Mirka (played by Lucia Siposova) while on a business trip. All the while Rose is having an affair with a photographer who is cheating on his Brazilian girlfriend.
The hurt girlfriend heading back to Brazil, runs into an older recovering alcoholic man (Anthony Hopkins) and their spontaneous meeting and possible interlude is interrupted by her meeting a convicted sex offender (played by Ben Foster) who is trying to find the right path, yet she puts temptation in front of him.
There is also a Russian mobster who’s driver becomes smitten with the prostitutes sister while his wife wants out of their marriage and longs to have a relationship with her boss a Muslim dentist, who is conflicted about his feelings because she is married.
Does this film sound confusing and a mixed up? It is but is tied together enough to follow the disparate plots. What didn’t work is a cohesive story on which an audience member could become interested in.
There were moments of possibilities, but the way it is shot there is a distance between the director, the story, the camera and the audience.
Law seems only slightly engaged in his role because there isn’t enough meat for him to fully expand the role. Weisz is in the same predicament and her talents were wasted. Hopkins made the most of his role as did Foster whom I thought provided a powerful edginess and an unpredictable component to this film. Peter Morgan wrote a partially disjointed screenplay. Fernando Meirelles didn’t create a compelling film but more of a light comment on relationships.
Overall: Promising cast was let down by the script and direction.