Innocents

This has been compared to Hitchcock but I'm not sure why. It isn't that Hitch didn't make a lot of road movies. He made a lot of them, beginning with "The Thirty-Nine Steps." But there was always a gimmick, something towards which the protagonists were heading, and the reason was clear even if the particular MacGuffin was not. This road movie has no goal, not even character development. We get the picture of character in the first few minutes: one peaceful Frenchman and two crazy sisters, an innocent and two broads. (That's meant to be a play on words. See Mark Twain.) The sisters remain pretty much the same throughout. The French musician realizes what's up but feels some vague sense of loyalty (or something) towards these women that keeps him from turning them over. He has the best line in the movie -- "You Americans, and your guns!" The film runs from one episode to the next without adding much to what we already know. Hitch's movies were filled with episodes and set pieces too, but they added up to more than the sum of their parts. The cameos here are interesting but don't change the nature of the film. The cellist and the Gold Dust Twins run into all kinds of creepy characters -- two pick-up artists in a cowboy saloon; a retired judge with a penchant for peeping (naughty!); the pick-up artists redux, this time as rapists/gunmen; the mother, a nice quick portrait by Amy Archer made more impressive by horrible makeup and compulsive use of the f word. What's there isn't badly handled. There's a nice Dakota thunderstorm. When the two gunmen get blasted, one gets it in long shot, with a distant strobe flash and puff of smoke bluish in the headlights. The acting is okay too. The Frogs have this ability to take an actor and make him inhabit a part to such an extent that we forget that he never seems a promising lead -- this guy here, Jean Reno, others. Ordinary faces in extraordinary circumstances. In its structure, if it resembles Hitchcock at all, it's late, kind of tired Hitchcock. "The Birds" maybe, without the Oedipal underpinnings, the incest theme notwithstanding.

I've never written review before but this film has stuck with me for the past four days and I had to write about it. I apologize in advance at my amateurish prose.

I was watching Showtime late the other week and this film called ÒDark SummerÓ came on. At first I was like, This is really weird. But every time I was about to change the channel something new happened on the screen. First, the women were incredibly portrayed. I work in a hospital and I recognized all the symptoms of the underlying stress and depression. I immediately felt that the actors and I guess the director really did their research. Frank Langella who portrayed the father for too short a time (I always loved him), reminded me of a patient I had lost last year, a terrible man who treated his children terribly, just like the character Mr. Langella portrayed.

I think the thing that struck me the most about the film was that it took me on an emotional roller coaster ride and constantly surprised me.

I told you I am terrible at this and I have read some of the other reviews on this site and I think those people just didn't get it and were mean spirited. I loved this movie because I find that I can't get it out of my head. The performances were absolutely terrific. Connie Nielsen and Mia Kirshner as the two sisters were unbelievable to watch and literally travel with. Anne Archer gave an Oscar worthy performance and Jean Hughes Anglade whom I had never heard of before was absolutely wonderful to watch. After seeing his performance I looked up his name on this site and I want to see more films that he has done.

To the people who did not like this film, I just think this movie just reminded you of things you did not like in yourself. I may not know much about movie making but it seemed to me that these actors and the director put a lot of effort into making a film that is not Hollywood fare and not an arty movie that is trying to be more than it is. ÒDark SummerÓ is a great ride (literally) and a very well put together film and I recommend it to everyone who wants something out of the ordinary that is very, very satisfying film.

"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)

Gerard, a French cellist, is driving across America when he sees cops investigating what looks like a car accident or a crime scene by the side of the road. He's so distracted that he runs off the highway and crashes into a field.

At the hospital, he meets Megan, a beautiful nurse. She's very distracting, too, and invites him to dinner at her house.

This guy never learns.

Megan lives with her equally beautiful younger sister, Dominique, who's infantile and seductive, and their dying father. Dad dies a few hours later and is buried apparently the next day.

Nothing like a funeral to stir the libido. That night, Gerard and Megan make love and a nude Gerard plays his cello in the dark.

The next morning, the mind-gaming sisters play a trick on Gerard, who gets a bloody nose in the process, but when they invite themselves on his road trip, he doesn't flee in terror, as any sensible person would.

About halfway through the movie, we're trying to decide what's more ridiculous: the over-the-top emoting over deep, dark family secrets; Dominique's personality; the cello-and-fiddle jam session at a country-western bar; Gerard's big, dumb puppy-dog eyes; or the fact that we're still watching.

This movie is like a car wreck or a murder scene. It's dreadful, but you simply can't take your eyes off it.

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.