Bitter Harvest

Moments when you want to tear the videotape from its slot and jump up and down on it until it lies a shapeless, twisted mass of parts, much like the movie itself. The movie piqued my interest at the beginning, with its flashbacks to hooded figures and strange ceremonies in the main character's childhood, but these end up going (again, like the movie itself) nowhere. The director does pull off one astonishing trick. He puts two babes in bed with a young guy for a threesome, and he makes it BORING!! This takes genius of a high order. Bottom line, it's a dumb movie, with a dumb plot, dumb dialogue and dumber action.

I bought this film as I thought the cast was decent and I like Jennifer Rubin & Patsy Kensit.

First off let me say the acting is not of a high standard. Stephen Baldwin makes his character look almost retarded at times and at other times morose. Patsy Kensit is so-so but not too convincing in some scenes, and the supposed poetry she spouts in a particular scene in her Hotel Room is utterly meaningless rubbish. Ms Kensit is certainly very suggestive and sexy here but ultimately I think Jennifer Rubin is by far the best in this film. Ms Rubins Character is at first innocent, then sexy, as she plays Stephen Baldwin's Character (Travis)for a fool. The supporting cast includes Adam Baldwin(no relation to his more famous namesakes) & M.Emmet Walsh who has appeared in many films, also I noticed Art Evans who was one of John Mclane's allies in Die Hard 2. The Movie is decent and there are a few nude scenes with Rubin & Kensit, a bit of action but this is certainly not a fast moving or intelligent thriller. There is a particular scene when they are in the car about to commit a crime and Stephen Balwin's character is wearing sunglasses and when you see him again, the area around his eyes etc is painted black instead, then the sunglasses reappear later when they are leaving the crime scene and police are in pursuit, a very obvious error in editing.

If you are fans of either of the ladies or either Baldwin then you may find something to like here, but others should steer clear. This is a reasonable but unremarkable thriller and not really worth more than a couple of dollars if you want it.

Women are such cold, calculating and clever creatures. Here, Patsy Kensit teams up with Jennifer Rubin giving a lonely, troubled young farmer (Stephen Baldwin) the blackest of favours. He has vengeance, seduction, excitement but is also corrupted and eventually murdered. Meanwhile the two women acquire money, rare coins, a fall-guy for their crimes, and most importantly, they get their kicks. Its beautiful. Its provocative. But it is on the unrealistic side. There is little verbal communication between the characters. Jolene, the temptress, is the most direct in her dialogue, though she prefers codes and lies. The others communicate almost exclusively through context, body language and sex. I actually really enjoyed this film, but I can see how the general audience could be disappointed. It rents pretty well in NZ, but maybe thats because of the suggestive cover (?).

A truly masterful piece of filmmaking. It managed to put me to sleep and to boggle my mind. So boring that it induces sleep and yet so ludicrous that it made me wonder how stuff like this gets made. Avoid at all costs. That is, unless you like taking invisible cranial punishment, in which case I highly recommend it.

The first half of this "country thriller" (if I may invent a term) is slow and languid, with an atmosphere of eroticism and barely any plot progression. In the second half the pace picks up a little, but there are too many plot contrivances. Stephen Baldwin gives a pretty bad performance here - I don't know if the popularity of the same year's "Forrest Gump" influenced his acting style, but he often makes his character look like a retard. On the other hand, Patsy Kensit and Jennifer Rubin are well-cast; Kensit probably has the edge in sexiness thanks to her British accent! Fans of either of the three main actors will probably enjoy this; if you're not, you might want to keep your distance. (**)