Schock-free, little suspense and a absolutely horrible performance by Faye Dunaway. This is what this movie has going for it.
A grandson fights for his racist grandfather's life. This could have been interesting but we get little to no insight about the back story which led to the event. I will reveal that it has something to do with a murder and the grandfather about to get the gas chamber. I don't think it will spoil anyones enjoyment of the film or vice versa.
The problem is that Gene Hackman as the grandfather is such a underwritten character and he is not portrayed enough as the monster he is supposed to be. Yes, he is a white supremacist and his own family resented him for it, but he comes off much too sympathetic as the plot goes along. He yells and resists at first, he mocks his liberal grandson and that's about it.
Chris O'Donnell as the grandson doesn't really register either. We know his motivation but we don't really feel his pain of learning where he comes from. Again, the script is severely underwritten on his part.
Then the worst of all. The daughter, played by Faye Dunaway. There is a scene at the end between Hackman and Dunaway that is so false, so unintentionally hilarious that I almost shut the film off.
The ending is sad but it doesn't have enough emotional power either. Because Hackman has neither been portrayed as a total monster, nor has he been portrayed as monster with a heart, we could care less if he lives or dies.
A grandson fights for his racist grandfather's life. This could have been interesting but we get little to no insight about the back story which led to the event. I will reveal that it has something to do with a murder and the grandfather about to get the gas chamber. I don't think it will spoil anyones enjoyment of the film or vice versa.
The problem is that Gene Hackman as the grandfather is such a underwritten character and he is not portrayed enough as the monster he is supposed to be. Yes, he is a white supremacist and his own family resented him for it, but he comes off much too sympathetic as the plot goes along. He yells and resists at first, he mocks his liberal grandson and that's about it.
Chris O'Donnell as the grandson doesn't really register either. We know his motivation but we don't really feel his pain of learning where he comes from. Again, the script is severely underwritten on his part.
Then the worst of all. The daughter, played by Faye Dunaway. There is a scene at the end between Hackman and Dunaway that is so false, so unintentionally hilarious that I almost shut the film off.
The ending is sad but it doesn't have enough emotional power either. Because Hackman has neither been portrayed as a total monster, nor has he been portrayed as monster with a heart, we could care less if he lives or dies.