Shadowboxer

Movie has its flaws like the blonde wig that lasts for years and then disappears without comment but I have to admit that generally the movie was well crafted. It moves at a clip that supports its gory and odd characters. Some of the pairings are fabulous .. are there really people walking among us that are like that? I prefer to believe they only exist in screenwriters minds. Mirren is her usual superb self and Gooding shows he really can act. The question is were they in love or was he simply controlled by her. I did not look forward to a nude scene with a woman her age but it was handled extremely well. Also the music choices were excellent. I haven't seen any comments about that aspect of the film.

I saw this film last night and find myself returning to it quite a bit. This is always refreshing since so many movies fly out of your mind the moment the credits roll. I've always loved Helen Mirren since her Prime Suspect series and found her terrific as always. Cuba Gooding was the surprise. I have a new found respect for him as this role was complex and he pulled it off. I really enjoyed their relationship as lovers with a complicated history. It was refreshing and authentic. Stephen Dorff is good at playing bad and he doesn't disappoint here. Macy Gray played a similar role in Training Day and is very good. I didn't really buy Mo'nique - her performance felt contrived. The doctor, her lover was just too pretty, young and sweet and felt miscast. This movie is sooo worth seeing. It's dark, rich & leaves an impression.

Shadowboxer Mr. Black's Grade: B Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren.

First-time director Lee Daniels, producer of two challenging projects, Monster's Ball and The Woodsman tries his hand behind the lens. Mirren plays a female assassin who is diagnosed with cancer, and decides to carry out a final killing assisted by Gooding.

Shadowboxer certainly is a dark film - think Prizzi's Honor but with a very different tone - but Helen Mirren handles this 'unique' relationship with tenderness and dignity. I thought the ending wasn't terribly suspenseful, and it should have been. I kept trying picture how a different, and more experienced director would handle it. A number of crew members were there for the Q/A, including the director. Heck, even a PA came in from Philly (you keener!) Wes Bentley was scheduled to co-star but dropped out.

His role was filled by Cuba Gooding Jr., who succeeded in erasing Snow Dogs from my memory. He is very good here, playing it straight and very cold. In the Q/A afterwards he talked about the differences between doing comedy and drama. He said that he is pursuing roles that allow humor to come from the actions of the character - like in this film - and not obvious comedy. He enjoyed the laughter that his character got from the crowd at the screening, when his character was reacting to situations within the plot and not 'trying' to be funny.

** out of ****

For those confused about the summary, let me explain. This is a high quality film. Only talented people could have possibly made this movie. It has good actors, a pretty neat plot, some really creative set design, and some very effective moments and lines. But it is a film filled with some much excess, so many inconsistencies, and so many moments of implausible character choices and results that the overall tone of the film suffers from it.

the film is basically about a stepmother son assassin lover team who get involved with one of their victim's lives. They change her identity and move her out of the country. she has a baby and they help her raise it. Meanwhile, her really sleazy husband is tearing up his associates trying to find her and do whatever he needs to do. Add to the mess an interracial couple who are his only other contact and connection with his wife. it's just a matter of time before they become rats.

Oh, and while all of this is happening, the stepmother(Helen Mirren) has cancer of some sort, their victim appears to fall in love with her son(Cuba Gooding Jr.), the victim's son seems to have some sort of assassin thing going on, and the son wants to quit the killing lifestyle because he doesn't want to hurt anymore parents, i guess. It's really quite creepy.

In all honesty, it's a disgusting film. the violence is way too gratuitous. I actually almost shut it off at the beginning during a scene where a man was about to be impaled through the rectum with a pool cue. I also found all the sex to be distracting more then ever. I never mind sexuality in movies and actually prefer it to violence, but in this, all the sex scenes are so joyless and so graphic, almost violent.

Aside from these, the major flaw in the film is the fact that, despite all the character development, there wasn't a single likable character in the whole film. It's good for a recent Cuba Gooding Jr. film, and there were a couple of good suspense scenes, but it's too uneven.

Rated R for strong graphic violence and sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use.

I just saw this film in the directors cut version on Friday night. I have to say I really enjoyed it. Lee Daniels was at the screening and it was a screening for the investors so nobody was going to pull punches because they had money involved. It took a little while to get into the plot but I was totally sucked in after a while. It will supposedly be released in December and hopefully won't be cut down too much. There were some sex scenes that will probably go because some people in this country can't handle it, but nothing that I felt was gratuitous or just sex for the sake of showing some nudity. Some may also find the violence objectionable but nothing close to SinCity or any war movie ever made. I hope the film does well and the public enjoys it. Who cares what the industry has to say. They promote absolute garbage with a full wallet all the time. Check this one out and form an opinion for yourself.