|
| • Advanced Search • Help |
The Mosquito Coast | Year: 1986 Classification: Drama Directed: - Peter Weir Actors/Actresses: - Harrison Ford - Helen Mirren Harrison Ford's best work Peter Weir's under appreciated masterpiece draws a striking comparison between religious zealotry and the utopian fantasies of technological imperialism. The smarmy Reverend Spellgood heads south into Central America to spread the Christian faith. Paranoid inventor Allie Fox does likewise, but his mission is somewhat different though no less religious in its intensity - he wants to bring ice, and by his logic 'civilization', to the locals. Both men are 'missionaries', both equally blind to the personal and social costs of the 'salvation' they bring. The cast is universally excellent. Helen Mirren is flawless as the devoted but cautious mother, and River Phoenix really impresses as the coming-of-age son through whose eyes the story unfolds. But Ford is absolutely perfect as the father. This was truly inspired casting, as it uses our latent feelings for the actor to put us in precisely the same position as his on-screen family: we want to love him - this quintessentially paternal hero - despite his destructive obsession. But in the end we have to accept that he gets exactly what he deserves. I'm surprised Ford doesn't seek out more roles like this one, rather than settling for repetitive action fare or trying to reinvent himself as Bogart. Adapted with considerable skill by Paul Schrader from an exquisite novel by Paul Theroux, this film is a rare find: a powerful, gripping, moving story with something important to say. No Buzz for the Mosquito Coast. After reading several reviews, the consensus is that the movie MOSQUITO COAST strays far from its original source..the book from which it is based upon. It seems those who are familiar with the book hate this movie and there is a hate it or love it attitude towards this film. With that aside,Harrison Ford gives one of his best performances as Allie Fox, a crackpot inventor disillusioned with society, particularly the American landscape. He moves his family to the rain forests of Central America to create a utopia so he can live in peace and build a ice-making machine (which he thinks would be the central core of his vision). Things are fine in the beginning, but Allie becomes obsessive and egotistical, and his family begins to become disillusioned by the whole concept. In this viewers opinion the movie is great for the first three quarters as Allie's ideas and dreams come to fruitition. He seems a little unstable, but his dreams are coming together. Then,the final phase of the film echoes the sentiments from an episode of the Twilight Zone called "Elegy" where in the final scene of this classic story, a character (an android named Mr. Wickwire) says "...because you are men, and you are here. And where there are men, there can be no peace!"; the results are almost identical in both stories. This is where the movie falls and where it will turn off most audiences. This is a tour de force acting vehicle for Ford, but the story, plot and somewhat downbeat ending will alienate audiences especially those who are used to seeing Ford playing strong and heroic characters. Good all around support cast with Hellen Mirren (CALIGULA),and the late great River Pheonix (STAND BY ME) who plays Charlie, Allie's(Ford) son. (Pheonix went on to play a young Indiana Jones in a flashback sequence in THE LAST CRUSADE; perhaps because of this role of playing the son of Ford's character.) Where was Oscar? Say about this movie what you want, if you like Harrison Ford because of his acting ability, this is the movie to watch. Ford gives an enticing, complex, and multi-facetted performance as Allie Fox, a man with a vision of utopia, blind to the reality that binds him. With his vision and inventions, Fox takes his family into the rain forests of Central America, where he sets a chain of events in motion that soon eludes his control and --in the destructive devastation released on man and nature-- the scope of his imagination. Mr. Ford's portrayal of this driven, and in the end obsessed man is not that of a simple villain. Through Allie Fox, Mr. Ford brings to the screen a range of emotions no other character has ever allowed him to explore and does an amazing job with. This is the kind of performance that desrves an Academy Award. A great, albeit less popular follow up to 'Witness,' 'The Mosquito Coast' reunites Ford with Australian director Peter Weir. This is a great movie, visual and character driven. Finally, it is available in the grand widescreen format it deserves! Buy The Mosquito Coast at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Mosquito Coast Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Mosquito Coast This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
|
