COSTNER'S `THE POSTMAN' BELONGS IN DEAD-LETTER OFFICE.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Critic Somewhere along in the first meandering hour of ``The Postman POSTMAN, Eng. law. A barrister in the court of exchequer, who has precedence in: motions. ,'' you begin to wonder, ``What was Kevin Costner thinking when he decided to direct this film?'' An hour later, the thought starts to really nag at you. And by the time the film is lumbering its way through hour No. 3, you've amended it somewhat. It's no longer ``What was Kevin Costner thinking?'' It's now ``What was I thinking when I decided to waste my time on this silly epic?'' Silly is the operative word at work here. And ``The Postman'' isn't just silly. It's deeply silly, what with Costner's aspirations of grandeur for a film that really is just a would-be poetic variation of ``Waterworld'' set on land instead of the high seas high seas In maritime law, the waters lying outside the territorial waters of any and all states. In the Middle Ages, a number of maritime states asserted sovereignty over large portions of the high seas. . In fact, if Costner had dropped all his attempts at pretension Pretension See also Hypocrisy. Prey (See QUARRY.) Pride (See BOASTFULNESS, EGOTISM, VANITY.) Absolon vain, officious parish clerk. [Br. Lit. and simply made a straight-ahead action film - yes, another ``Waterworld'' - ``The Postman'' would have been a much better picture. (Who knew we'd ever be using ``Waterworld'' as a measuring stick?) As it is, the film stands as the work of a man who had a decent idea and then stretched it to the point where it's unintentionally laughable. ``The Postman'' is set a mere 16 years into the future, but, my, how things have changed. There are no roads, no telephones, no electricity, no Super Bowl ... no United States of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, ! Pockets of survivors - dressed like denizens of the Elizabethan era (the Gap must have been destroyed, too) - have banded together in fortresses to protect themselves against the evil marauders, the Holnists. It's not a happy time. But things start to look up when a lone drifter (why don't drifters ever travel together?) discovers an undelivered undelivered adj → no entregado al destinatario; if undelivered return to sender → en caso de no llegar a su destino devolver al, remitente undelivered bag of mail and a postman's uniform. The drifter - now rechristened the Postman - decides to deliver the letters to the nearby town, figuring that he could score a meal and a warm bed in the process. Instead, the townspeople hail the Postman as a savior, a symbol of Hope and Truth, Justice and the American Way The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "life style" of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. . Clearly, he must have been delivering some special kind of mail, not the type I usually get - bills, junk fliers, useless catalogs. Of course, the leader of the Holnists, Gen. Bethlehem (Will Patton), doesn't much like the Hope and Truth that the Postman is delivering. Unfortunately, we know a lot about Bethlehem - much more than we really need to know - because the movie spends most of its first hour with the Holnists after Bethlehem conscripts Costner into his army. We learn Bethlehem memorizes Shakespeare (as does Costner, giving much of the dialogue a faux-literary feel) and likes to paint, but is bad at it, a la another little dictator named Hitler. Bethlehem is also a violent man, something Costner seems to enjoy highlighting every chance he gets. ``The Postman'' is full of graphic brutality - men are impaled, gutted, mauled by lions (don't ask), beaten by rocks and lined up and shot by firing squads. It's not much fun to watch, particularly since, unlike other violent epics such as ``Braveheart'' and, yes, Costner's own ``Dances With Wolves,'' this film never makes good on its noble aspirations. Once Costner starts delivering the mail and, with it, Hope, he finds there are other idealists out there who want to spread a little optimism, too. (One of the film's corniest lines - and there are many - is when the heroine tells Costner, ``You give out hope like it was candy in your pocket.'' Yeah. Candy corn.) Soon, the mail's being delivered everywhere to sweeping orchestral music and patriotic drum beats that composer James Newton James W. Newton (b. Los Angeles, California, May 1, 1953) is a prominent American jazz flautist, composer, and conductor. ''Life and career From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African American music, including urban blues, rhythm Howard seems to have lifted straight out of ``Apollo 13.'' That sets up the film's final act: Mail gets delivered. Bethlehem gets mad and kills people. And meanwhile, the Postman is deeply conflicted. He didn't want to be a hero. But here he's gone and handed out hope like it was candy from his pocket, and people are getting killed because of it. Costner could have made ``The Postman'' work, but he would have had to reign in his ambitions to do it. The concept of the Postman as the Letter Carrier of Dreams is goofy Goofy bumbling, awkward dog; originally named Dippy Dawg. [Comics: “Mickey Mouse” in Horn, 492] See : Awkwardness at best, and after Costner repeatedly tries to mythologize my·thol·o·gize v. my·thol·o·gized, my·thol·o·giz·ing, my·thol·o·giz·es v.tr. To convert into myth; mythicize. v.intr. 1. To construct or relate a myth. 2. his character through gratuitous Bestowed or granted without consideration or exchange for something of value. The term gratuitous is applied to deeds, bailments, and other contractual agreements. slow-motion shots and misty-eyed cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special , it's truly laughable. And Costner saves his most ridiculous shot for last. The film's final scene shows the unveiling of a Postman statue, a monument to Costner the star and Costner the director - and an unintentional monument to a movie that takes itself so seriously that no one in the audience is allowed to have any fun. Mark this movie ``Return to sender. Forwarding address forwarding address forward n → adresse f de réexpédition : The video bin.'' THE FACTS The film: ``The Postman;'' Rated R for violence and some sexuality. The stars: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor. Born on the west side of Chicago, Tate is the youngest of three siblings (his two brothers, Larron and Lahmard, are also actors) whose family moved to California when he was nine years old. , Olivia Williams. Behind the scenes: Directed by Kevin Costner. Written by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland. Based on the book by David Brin Glen David Brin, Ph.D. (October 6, 1950) is an American author of science fiction. He is the winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He lives in southern California. Biographical timeline
Running time: Two hours, 50 minutes. Playing: Areawide. Our rating: One and one-half stars CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Kevin Costner's drifter finds an old uniform - and a cause - in ``The Postman.'' |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion