Miranda

The graphics/animation opening this picture are just great. The first twenty minutes are VERY funny, thanks almost exclusively to Mr. Simms hilarious enthusiasm. Then the film just falls apart. It could have been a good romantic comedy. But instead it thinks it creates suspense, intrigue, danger, etc., which it badly employs. John Hurt does fine but neither he nor Kyle MacLaughlin seem to now what kind of film they are supposed to be in. Hurt is deadpan drama and Maclaughlin is over-the-top zany. I'd accept ridiculous plot devices if the tone of the movie, like the first 20 minutes, remained ridiculous. Especially annoying to me, an attorney who does some real estate, is the suggestion you could con sophisticated people into accepting title to property you didn't own, a virtual impossibility no matter how gullible the Client. But I had to give it a "5" as Mr. Simms introduction is so charming.

This film is about a con woman whose life is complicated by the appearance of an obsessive librarian.

I had great expectations when the initial animation was showing. Could it be a film like "Lola Rennt"? Well, no. The plot could have been promising, but the way it is told makes the film not too gripping. It gets boring at times, because of the slow pace. Fortunately, the film is made up for by the tension between Christina Ricci and John Simm. John Simm's portrayal of an innocent man who becomes obsessive about Christina Ricci is remarkable. Christina Ricci is also great in her portrayals of a cold and passionless con woman, a manipulative woman and vulnerable victim at the end. In short, it is a little slow but still watchable.

Marc Munden's "Miranda" is a film that shows great visual style. As written for the screen by Rob Young, this movie's fate seems to have been a limited release and then directly to video. Not having seen it before, we watched it on cable recently. While this film offers a lot, most viewers seem to react against it, judging by the comments sent to this forum.

Christina Ricci, as the mysterious Miranda is perfectly intense. Ms. Ricci deserves much better. Her character is not clear enough for most people to care for her. The excellent John Simm, is Frank, the young librarian in love with this flighty woman who decides to stick to her and ultimately make her love him. Kyle MacLachlan, makes an appearance as Nailor, the man behind all the plot, and John Hurt, makes a perfect Christian.

A lonely librarian Frank(John Simm) who loves dreaming his life away suddenly meets the beautiful and mysterious Miranda(Christina Ricci) and immediately falls in love with her. As the two of them become closer, Frank starts finding out that Miranda isn't who he thought she was and that she leads a dangerous life with many different identities. I tried to like this movie because Christina Ricci is my favorite actress in the whole world but I just couldn't get into it. I really liked the first half hour or so of this movie but then the story started becoming boring and somewhat complicated. It seemed that this movie couldn't decide if it wanted to be a thriller, a romantic drama or a comedy. Everything was just kind of mixed together. I would give Miranda 6/10.

"Miranda" has nice performances, well-composed and lighted shots, snappy editing, whimsical and funny moments... so then why does it ultimately fail to make a lasting impression? Perhaps because there is so little connection to the "real world", as evidenced by the way that not a single character in this piece behaves in the manner a real person would. The entire film is an artificial construct, an abstract meditation on human nature that sadly fails to reference anything recognizable in most peoples' lives. The result is a film that bores, but occasionally rewards.

That said, the writing is clever and even rises to the inspired once or twice. Likewise, the visual sophistication of what and how things appear in-frame, the camera movements and the just-right switching between shots and angles points to something far beyond competency. Let's just say that "Miranda" was an artfully realized misfire, a "nice try" for all those involved. Let's hope they all move on to find something that suits their particular muses better.