The following film is one of those
projects that you read about on something like the IMDB and you think
“Oooh, they're making a movie out of this? I'd watch it” but you
don't keep track of it and it's released sooner than you think. So,
right off the bat I knew this would be in limited release, if it was
even shown in cinemas here (I got it on DVD so it's kind of a moot
point anyway). Which movie am I talking about? The Woman In The
Fifth, based on the book by Douglas Kennedy (and it's a book I've
actually read, too, well before the movie was even considered. Though
please take into consideration this was about 4-5 years ago so I'm
not going to be able to remember every little detail between the
novel and the adaptation).
Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke) moves to Paris
to be closer to his daughter, Chloe (Julie Papillon), and takes a job
as a night guard for a local crime boss, hoping the isolation will
help him concentrate on writing. He soon begins a romance with the
mysterious Margit (Kirsten Scott Thomas), albeit a romance with
serious stipulations. Tom soon finds himself in a worrying situation
when people who have wronged him die suddenly, and he struggles to
piece everything together.
I've not really followed Ethan Hawke's
career and for the life of me, I can't even name anything else he's
done, he's just one of those actors to me. One of those “Oh he's
that guy with the thing who did stuff that time” actors, not a
terrible one, just someone that doesn't leave an impression on me.
Well, he was great in this film, especially whenever he got angry.
His outbursts were magnificent, channeling such rage that it wasn't
hard to be impressed. Even if I can't think of anything else he's
done right now, something tells me I will remember him for this.
Especially since he carries most of the movie.
Kirsten Scott Thomas is another one of
those names I keep seeing pop up but can't name what she's been in.
Unlike Ethan, however, her role in this film is rather limited,
though that does help keep the air of mystery surrounding her
character. She is rather good, but there's not much more to say.
If I have any problems (and I do, since
it's me), they relate to the film's relation with the book.
For example, it's never really
discussed why Tom and his wife are estranged in the first place, and
if I recall correctly, she's not even in Paris. In the book, Tom was
a teacher at a university who had improper dealings with a student
and he had to flee to Paris to avoid scandal. So, by not including
that, we don't really know what to make of the situation.
Also, the ending (do I even need to say
“spoiler alert” here?) is vastly different, but both have one
thing in common: they're both cop outs. In the book, it is revealed
Margit is a ghost, who can only appear at certain times. Considering
how nothing up to this point has been supernatural in the slightest,
this reads like a bit of an ass-pull.
In the movie, however, the implication
is that Tom made her up and is going somewhat insane, and that
everything that's happened to him that's drawn attention (his
daughter goes missing at one point, the deaths of people around him)
are being committed by him.
Yeah, because we've never seen that
before. Also, when he first meets Margit, that implies he spent time
by himself outside, talking to himself. And no one reacted to this?
No one thought to look for him and then comment “What an odd
fellow, I suspect something is quite wrong here”?
I don't know whether or not to commend
the film for not going with the contrived ending of the novel, or
berate it for choosing its own poor ending.
So, all in all, a decent film. A little
short, though, at a mere 80 minutes. Not the best adaptation I've
seen but you could do worse (the second adaptation of The Stepford
Wives, for example). 3/5
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