Rebecca Opstedahl
Throughout history, women have had a reputation of being deceitful, evil temptresses of desire out to steal a valiant man’s heart and everything he owns. In short, women are not to be trusted as they are cunning, charming creatures who, once they set their eyes upon a prize, they stop at nothing to obtain what they desire. Of course, this is not true of all women, but in Original Sin, Angelina Jolie portrays a woman so deceitful, she even deceives herself.
Julia Russell (Jolie) comes to Santiago, Cuba as a mail-order bride for Luis Antonio Vargas (Antonio Banderas) who just so happens to be a wealthy coffee-shop owner. Their first conversation consists of confession; neither is who they said they were in their previous writings and Julia warns that neither of them is to be trusted. Little does Luis know how true her words do ring.
Luis comes home one afternoon to find his wife gone along with the money in his accounts and all her clothes. She’s obviously not coming back but that doesn’t stop Luis from wanting her back. He’s so in love with this woman, that no matter what harm she causes him, his love will never die. With help from Inspector Walter Downs (Thomas Jane), Luis finds his renegade wife in the arms of her newest victim. Appearances, however, are not what they seem. It turns out Luis’ lovely wife has a dark past marred by murder and deception. After Luis discovers that Julia has plotted with the Inspector to poison him and take his money, the tables are turned.
Banderas gives his usual sexy performance with his sultry accent and Spanish charisma. Jolie gives an equal performance led by her exotic eyes and trademark pouting lips. The evident chemistry between the two fuels the story bringing the audience in firstly by seduction and then by mystery and deception. Add the exquisite scenery and the steamy beats of the soundtrack to the twist and turns of this thriller and behold a film dynamic in every respect.
STARS: 4
Dustin Hoffman, in perhaps the best performance of his lengthy and noteworthy career, won the Best Actor Academy Award for portraying an autistic man in Rain Man (1988). The film also went on to capture the Oscars for Best Director (Barry Levinson) and Best Picture. It was also the film that bought autism into light and opened up a whole new world for the general public.
Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) plays a self-centered hustler who discovers his distant father has just passed away. Charlie only goes to the funeral to claim his inheritance but to his disappointment, he receives just his father’s prized rosebushes and a vintage ’49 Buick convertible. The rest of the $3 million inheritance is put into a trust fund for someone whom Charlie does not know. Charlie does a bit of cheap sleuth work and finds out he has an older brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) whom happens to be autistic. He figures that his lawyers in L.A. can get the trust fund turned over to him so he kidnaps Raymond and takes him cross-country in the convertible.
Throughout the journey, Charlie discovers that a part of him is not self-centered, and he begins to actively care for his brother and the motives for getting the money changes. Indeed, Charlie has changed for the better all because of Raymond. Hoffman’s extraordinary performance makes not only Charlie care for Raymond but the audience learns to love him as well. The film shows a progress self-love to brotherly love in such a profound and poignant way that one can’t help but be taken into Raymond’s altered world.
STARS: 4
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