Touch

Elwin Worrel abuses his blind wife Virginia when he gets drunk. Bill Hill and Juvenal are present after one of his episodes, and when Juvenal puts his hands on Virginia, HALLELUJAH! She can SEE! Bill, who once had a church in Georgia with a 100-foot-cross and a blue neon sign saying "Jesus Saves", decides to take advantage of the situation. Lynn, who manages a rock band, goes undercover at the alcohol treatment center where Juvenal works. She discovers that he was a monk (born Charlie Lawson) and that he bleeds from where Jesus bled.

Standing in the way of possible success for Bill is August, a maniac who belongs to an organization seeking to return traditional Catholic mass.

This was a very strange movie, and not one that really appealed to me. It seemed to be a comedy, but a very dark one. What stood out the most for me was Tom Arnold, who often showed he had a career only because of who his wife was, but also had his good moments. In the courtroom near the start of the movie, he was very funny as he acted like he had the right to behave any way he wanted regardless of how the judge felt--his faith justified whatever he felt he needed to do. Arnold was quite convincing and respectful reading scripture (we heard him while seeing something else) and while leading a mass in place of Father Nestor, who was on one of his frequent bathroom breaks. His character had a strong faith and wouldn't back down, though he occasionally cursed and in other ways showed he wasn't "that" type of Christian. But he didn't show a positive image of Christianity; he felt using violence was justified. Hill also didn't show Christianity positively, but he was more of a joke.

Skeet Ulrich did a good job as Juvenal, but that character didn't appeal to me. Certainly the blood didn't.

There are certainly people who would like this kind of film, but I rarely found it funny.

Occasionally Elmore Leonard writes about something other than the underworld. Here his wonderful dialogue and amusing characters are centered around, not a bank robber or ex-con, but a young man who receives miraculous stigmata. The tone is stirical and the comedy is quite dark; definitely worth a look. After Get Shorty Hollywood seemed to finally get how to translate Leonard to the screen, and Touch certainly belongs in the company of Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight. The cast is perfect in this one, with Skeet Ulrich and Bridget Fonda the best they've been so far, plus Christopher Walken in full glory, and Tom Arnold (yes, That Tom Arnold) just dead on as a religious zealot. This one didn't get much of a theatrical run so go find it at the video store.

Elmore Leonard novels tend to deal with sleazy characters operating at the fringes of society. "Touch" is a strange book in that the sleaze bags are presented in a different light. They're not the obvious con men, but they are people that are trying to take advantage of a situation that is perceived as a money producing scheme.

Paul Schrader has adapted and directed, but the essence of the book is somehow elusive by what is presented to us. Yes, we realize that Bill Hill is into making a fast buck if he can sell Juvenal as the miracle worker with supernatural powers. In fact, this theme has been done more successfully in other films.

What the director accomplishes are good performances from his cast. At times the movie feels flat and without a clear direction as where it wants to go; we don't care too much about Juvenal after he loses his 'touch' and he becomes a mere mortal.

Skeet Ulrich is excellent as Juvenal; this actor is always a welcome sight in any movie he is in. Christopher Walken turns a controlled performance as Bill Hill, the man in search of a good con that will do anything to get it done. Bridget Fonda is also low key as Lynn, the skeptical woman who sees good in Juvenal and ends up falling for him. Also very effective is Tom Arnold, the man that wants to take the church into the right path and will stop at nothing to protect his own views.

`You are an odour in the nostrils of God,' jabbers religious zealot August Murray (Tom Arnold). He is damning sometime revivalist Bill Hill's (Christopher Walken) cynical marketing of Christ-like figure Juvenal (Skeet Ulrich essentially playing Edward Scissorhands minus the blades). Hill wearing a glitzy gold jacket and an enormous `Thank You Jesus' necklace sees a book deal and a slot on the awful Debra Lusanne Show (Gina Gershon superb at mimicking Ricki Lake with a snarl) for the innocent healer, who has stigmata on his rib cage.

In lesser hands than Paul Schrader, Elmore Leonard's non-crime novel could have become an overwrought toil in the evils of America's salacious media. However, Touch is actually a wryly amusing and unhurried look at faith and exploitation. The histrionics and belly laughs are bestowed upon the cameos, who obviously capture the best lines: `Do they make condoms that protect the soul' (Arnold) and `Controversy is the oxygen I breathe' (Gershon). Ultimately, best savoured on video. --Ben Walsh

Don't be fooled by the subject matter - an ex-monk, who can heal the sick by touching them, but suffers stigmata each time and gets caught up in a whirl of religious fanatics, big-business evangelists and ratings-hungry media - this is a sweet and touching romantic comedy!

Leave it to Paul Schrader to find a way to do some heavy soul-searching without getting heavy-handed, yet always remaining quirky as we know him from his dramas. A wonderful supporting cast (Christopher Walken, Tom Arnold, Janeane Garofalo, Lolita Davidovich and Gina Gershon) adds color and texture to the story without detracting from the quiet chemistry going on between Skeet Ulrich and Bridget Fonda. When Ulrich says without grandeur that he believes in God and miracles, you don't even think twice about it - you believe every word he says at face value. A rare performance.