Return to Paradise Review
by Craig Roush (kinnopio AT execpc DOT com)August 27th, 1998
RETURN TO PARADISE
Release Date: August 14, 1998
Starring: Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad, Vera Farmiga, Jada Pinkett
Directed by: Joseph Ruben
Distributed by: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R (violence, language, sexuality)
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/return.htm
The release date listed for RETURN TO PARADISE might be interpreted as a typo, considering the fact that it's in release at the same time as multimillion dollar blockbusters made for the masses. Certainly, this deep and engaging drama might be more at home in late fall or early winter, when films of this quality see limited but noteworthy release and usually catch our attention several months later at Oscar time. There is no doubt that this movie will be pulled under against more glamorous products, but as was the case with earlier-this-year's TWILIGHT and last year's NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN, sometimes there are diamonds in the rough.
Strictly speaking, RETURN TO PARADISE (directed by Money Train helmer Joseph Ruben) is not at the peak of its genre. It's a typical drama in most ways: believable characters thrown into a plot with at least one heart-wrenching or tearjerking event. But in other ways, it's atypical in its subtle workings of these elements. Scenes do not scream of plot development, and characters are larger than they originally appear to be. Though Ruben cannot be credited with this - his delightfully star-free cast is the power behind that plus - he manages to weave everything together into a sturdy mold that does not fall apart upon inspection. Simple and to the point, with a running time of less than two hours, PARADISE is an enjoyable drama.
Most of the premise is laid out in the first thirty minutes, which tends to make the last eighty minutes not as fun as they could be. Three friends spend a summer in Malaysia, accumulating during their stay 104 grams of hashish. At the end of the summer, two of the group - Sheriff (Vince Vaughn) and Tony (David Conrad) fly back to the US with promises to keep in touch. The other friend, Lewis (Joaquin Phoenix), will stay at their condo a few days before moving on to Borneo to help a wildlife preservation program. Before he can do that, however, police officers find him and the hash. Lew, in possession of over a hundred grams, is tried and convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death by Malaysia's strict justice code.
Back in the States, two years later, a young lawyer named Beth Eastern (Anne Heche) approaches Sheriff and Tony and informs them of the situation. Lew is set to be executed in eight days, but if the two of them go back and accept their share of the responsibility, the government will grant Lew clemency. There will still be prison time involved, but not without compensation, Beth promises. Then, predictably, for the greater part of the rest of the movie, both Sheriff and Tony turn their options over in their heads. Though somewhat slow, this middle section builds to a final twenty minutes that is some of the most powerful drama in recent memory. RETURN TO PARADISE is not always on the mark, but it hits more than it misses and you're sure to find it worthwhile, at the very least.
FINAL AWARD FOR "RETURN TO PARADISE": 3.0 stars - a good movie.
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Craig Roush
[email protected]
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Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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