| [BACK]
HIGH CRIMES by Tom McCurrie
What works for Aesop works for the silver screen: Familiarity breeds
contempt. Why? Because familiarity leads to predictability, which is the
kiss of death for any script.
HIGH CRIMES, written by Yuri Zeltser & Cary Bickley, based on the novel by
Joseph Finder, is a perfect example. Ashley Judd plays a lawyer who
defends her husband against a war crimes charge. But our sympathies
towards the characters are repeatedly undercut by an over-reliance on
formula. Everything about this movie seems second-hand, Xeroxed from
other, usually better films.
(Warning: Spoiler Alert!)
We have the perfect husband who's actually a murderous creep. DOUBLE
JEOPARDY anyone? We have the washed-up drunk of a lawyer seeking
redemption. Sounds like THE VERDICT to me. We have a sinister conspiracy
reaching to the top levels of the military. I guess someone saw A FEW
GOOD MEN. We have a man accused of a wartime massacre. RULES OF
ENGAGEMENT. We have a client who beats a murder charge but turns out to
be as guilty as hell. JAGGED EDGE. The list goes on and on and on.
With so much recycling going on, every plot point seems preordained. And
when that happens, the suspension of disbelief a writer needs to keep his
audience emotionally engaged disappears, leaving nothing but a boring dud
in its wake.
The by-the-numbers quality of the script also bleeds into the direction
and performances. Carl Franklin stages one of the most lackluster car
crashes in recent memory, while the usually reliable Morgan Freeman seems
especially tired, as if he's about to nod off from the predictability of
it all. It's no surprise he delivers most of his lines sitting down.
Of course, some might say you can't avoid formula. After all, there's
nothing new under the sun. This may be true, but as a writer your job is
to take what's old and make it new, at least if you want a successful
screenplay.
Look at MISS CONGENIALITY. It starts out as a thriller about the search
for a terrorist bomber. Not too fresh, is it? But set it in a beauty
pageant and make it a comedy and you get a domestic grosser of 100 million
plus.
Remember, recycling may be good for the environment, but it's not so good
for your screenplay.
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to
gillis662000@yahoo.com.
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked
as a development executive and a story analyst. He is currently a
screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
|
