Return to Paradise Review
by Edwin Jahiel (e-jahiel AT uiuc DOT edu)September 4th, 1998
BY EDWIN JAHIEL
RETURN TO PARADISE *** Directed by Joseph Ruben. Written by Wesley Strick and Bruce Robinson. Photography, Reynaldo Villalobos. Editing, Andrew Mondshein & Craig McKay. Production design, Bill Groom. Music, by Mark Mancina.Cast: Vince Vaughn (Sheriff), Anne Heche (Beth), Joaquin Phoenix (Lewis), David Conrad (Tony), Vera Farmiga (Kerrie). A Polygram release. 109 minutes. R (physical and psychological violence)
There was a l953 love story in the South Seas of that title, and a runner-up title, Return to the Blue Lagoon in 1991. Return to Paradise is not a remake of either, even though the innocent filmgoer could easily think it is a romance in the Tropics, especially since the female lead is Anne Heche who was so recently in the cutely sentimental Six Days Seven Nights. Here the title is used as very black irony.
Three twentysomething American men spend some weeks together in Malaysia whooping it up with wine, women and hash. Two of them, old pals, return to New York: limo driver Sheriff and architect Tony. The third one, Lewis (whom the others did not know before that trip) stays behind to help save the orangutans. Two years later, in New York City, Sheriff is approached by lawyer Beth with terrible news. After their departure from Asia, the authorities, investigating a missing rental bicycle that the trio had high-handedly thrown away, had found hashish used by the men. Lewis had been arrested. Possession of drugs in certain countries can be punished with utmost severity. The large amount found by the police called for the death penalty. The only way Lewis can be saved is for the other men to return to "paradise," share the blame. If both New Yorkers do this, each of the trio gets three years in jail. If just one shows up, the imprisoned men get six years.
Lewis is eight days away from execution. Beth, who represents him, tries to persuade the two men to sacrifice years of their lives. Much of the film follows Beth's efforts and the men's quandary, with the main stress on Sheriff and to a lesser extent, on Tony who is about to get married. The moral dilemma is unbearable. The process is both slow (the men's reactions are detailed) and urgent. Beth pleads persistently, in fact with too much dedication and humanity for a lawyer. (This is elucidated later, but too neatly and for some in the audience, too predictably). The clock is ticking, as the story uses a countdown (" 7 days left, five days left..."), a familiar device but in this context without the predictable ending of pictures about, say, atomic bombs, where, as a rule (and with serio-comic exceptions like Dr. Strangelove) the world gets saved at the very last minute.
The countdown is a gimmick, but it works, except for making one wonder why Beth waited so long to approach the men. Though explained, this still feels like a an artificial device. So does a sexual relationship between Beth and Sheriff. No matter. The slowness of the passing days keeps raising the situation's tragic level. So, warts and all, the movie is overall a most gripping work.
Where all this leads us, I cannot possibly disclose, except to say that one crucial aspect of the plot is the irresponsibility of the press.
The Malaysia of the movie, obviously unfilmable in the real country, was shot in Hong Kong, Macao and Thailand, standing in for the island of Penang, one of the 13 states of the Federation of Malaysia. The photography and the sets are exquisite, with both urban scenes and landscapes made enormously appealing, a true paradise for the three companions. But no doubt, in Malaysia this movie will be banned as (I cannot say why) its national pride, shown as excessive, is bound to upset that country.
The movie is a remake of a 1989 French film I had never heard of, Force Majeure (Uncontrollable Circumstances) directed by Pierre Jolivet whose work I know very little. His cast included solid French actors as well as Kristin Scott Thomas as the female lead.
>From what I gather, Return to Paradise is not doing well in theaters, which is what would expect, since this is not "entertainment" but as far from a feel-good movie as can be. All the more reason to catch it now.
" Le mauvais gout mene au crime" (Stendhal)
Edwin Jahiel's movie reviews are at http://www.prairienet.org/ejahiel
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