Dark Summer

Every once in a while a strange movie will come along and knock your socks off. I have always been a video store junkie looking for that odd gem that you can freak out your buddies with and I have found just such a movie. A new director named Gregory Marquette served up a tasty dish with his movie `Dark Summer'

(aka `Innocents') When I first took this home I was like `What the hell is going on..' and that feeling kept going on because this film never succumbed to the ordinary, only the extraordinary.

Jean Hughes Anglade, which any fan of `la Femme Nakita' will always

recognize, stars in this bizarre tale of lies and deception and was absolutely divine as the main protagonist Huxley. The man is a statement in

understatement. But I digress.

The film opens with an interrogation by one of the finest, solid character actor's, Keith David, interrogating Anglade's character about a series of murders and

from that point on I was hooked. Now don't get me wrong, this film is very

twisted and very very unconventional, but that is what so attracted me to the piece.

`Dark Summer', to me, is about the conflict of perception and innocence. The two antagonists, Mia Kirshner (Yummmm) and Connie Nielson, as the creepy

sisters, keep the dementia going by defying all definition. My point is the film kept fooling me (which is rare). Nothing is as it seems with this effort.

Power cameos by Frank Langella, Robert Culp, and the always excellent Keith

David, feed the twisted plot with a texture that is beyond the reach of the

Hollywood schlock machine. Anne Archer gives a bravura performance well

outside of the reach of any of the roles she has been saddled with in the past. (`Clear And Present Danger' Yuccchhhh!)

I think what really impressed me about this movie is you never know where this son of a gun is going. I do not want to give away the plot but I have rarely been fooled by plots and scripting, but this movie is the most different journey of any movie I have seen in recent history.

All in all the morality tale here is that no matter how decent you may be, the world conspires against you. Innocence is vulnerability, integrity is a liability.

Get a six pack, a good girl or friend and curl up with this movie, I guarantee that you will have a long, long talk afterward.

I hope I am not too vague but I am loath to give away the real joy of a film not being predictable and contrived. Who cares if it's not commercial, this movie made me sit on the edge of my seat and think. To the film makers, thank you. To it's critics, go ahead, make your own movie---I dare you!

In a time when most movie plots are derivative and predictable it is nice to be surprised and kept guessing like the thriller "Dark Summer" starring Connie Nielsen. Writer, Director Gregory Marquette kept the pace unpredictable and breathless. Just when you think you know where this movie is going it changes tracks on you and you are caught in the whirlwind of mystery and intrigue. Co-stars Mia Kirshner and Jean Hugues Anglade are powerful and very convincing. It was also a lot of fun when the power cameos made their appearances. Robert Culp, a perennial favorite of mine is absolutely wicked as the disgraced Judge. Ann Archer, who I cannot recall ever taking a role like the one she portrayed in this film, is worthy for a Golden Globe as the alcoholic mother. Other Cameo's like Frank Langella and Keith David are too short to be a satisfying but I give this film a solid recommend for the viewers, like myself, who are tired of the same old formulaic plots of Hollywood's recycling factory.

"Dark Summer" or "Innocents" as it was entitled on Showtime, is a journeyman B-movie about a French cellist (Anglade) driving across country who finds himself with a couple of beautiful traveling companions (Nielsen & Kirshner) who may be a lethal liability. Among the many flaws are a musical score which is as lacking in continuity as the screenplay; too many contrived situations which seems no more than weirdness for weirdnesses sake or shock value; a noticeable absence of a story arc or an emotional anchor for the audience; and a generally concocted presentation. Nonetheless, the film has some entertainment potential for the couch potato or fans of the players. (C)

This is a smart film. When I watched this film I found myself thoroughly engaged by it on many levels. But it's a very complex film, insofar as it not really about things that happen, so much as it is about what causes people to do the things they do.

The two girls, Megan and Dominique, do terrible things in this story, but what is lovely about this film is that it creates an opportunity for us to feel ambiguous about their actions. Are they justified in their actions or should we judge them harshly for their deeds? Society would judge them, the law would judge them - but how do we judge them as human beings, trying to survive the chaos and emotional turmoil of life? Is it rational to judge them? These are all good questions - and in the end, The Innocents becomes more than a simple story. The Innocents is a Greek Tragedy by any other name. Its classic issues are at the core of the fabric of humanity. It's tough material and strong and bold.

The protagonist, Gerard, who travels with the girls on this so-called "innocent" journey, is caught in a web from which he cannot extricate himself. Should he try, the girls will pin their deeds on him. It's the perfect platform for a crime. The more the innocent man objects and tries to pull away, the more guilty he will look. In the sense, there is a "Hitchcock" homage at play here, for those who know the genre.

On the surface these are very nice girls, but underneath, they are damaged, angry and in fact, given the wrong set of circumstances, very dangerous. This film leads you on an emotional roller-coaster and no matter what anyone may say, this is extremely well-written and most unpredictable. In an era of Hollywood film-making where plots are derivative and endings are known by an audience twenty minutes into the film, The Innocents (called Dark Summer in Europe)breaks the mold. There is nothing predictable about "The Innocents". Not at all.

The actors are extraordinary, including Jean-Hugues Anglade, Connie Neilson, Mia Kirshner, Anne Archer, Frank Langella, Keith David and Robert Culp. You don't see cinema like this very often in America (because this may be too intellectually and emotionally demanding)and to that extent I am positive that certain reviewers may not get this film, it's their loss.

I saw the European DVD of this movie, as well, and there are many more scenes than are in the U.S. version. It's quite interesting to see the additional scenes and definitely more satisfying.

The Innocents is a very smart, cunning, emotionally well-crafted piece of film-making and high regards to those who had the vision to back it. I hope to see many more films from this filmmaker.

I just returned from a trip with my wife to Paris. Our friends there were raving about a movie called "Dark Summer". So much so that my wife insisted (She's a huge Connie Nielsen fan).

I have to be honest my wife and I don't usually agree on our tastes in movies but the second this film started I was on the edge of my seat. The main star (Jean Hughes Anglade) was a French superstar from what i was told, but his portrayal of the cellist Huxley was sublime. The film opens up with him being interrogated by a detective portrayed by Keith David. (From Platoon, and Something About Mary, the guy is always great)

After getting in a car accident he meets Connie Nielsen's character, a nurse named Megan who nurses him back to health. In appreciation, and of course a mutual attraction, he takes her up on dinner and to meet the family.

Mia Kirschner played her crazy sister with frightening aplomb. At first the meal and their good times seems a given until he meets the father. (Played by the always- amazing Frank Langella!!) The father is sick and dyeing yet the power he still commanded over his daughters and the shocked Huxley was unmistakable.

The father dies and in an incredibly erotic interlude, Huxley makes love to Megan the whole while the sister watches!!!

I don't want to give away anymore but the cameos keep poring on and the twists and turns never stop. There are serial killers, country music and beautiful landscapes.

The main reason I am writing this review was that after I saw this film I couldn't stop thinking about it. The whole time i was on the plane i kept talking about it and my wife told me about this website and I had to tell the world.

I don't know where it is playing or if you can rent it but see this movie!!!