"It's a shame we gotta put roofs on 'em,"
architect, builder, handsome, rich successful,
eternally nice guy, David Duchovny utters the film's
opening line as he stands atop a partially
constructed building. His sentence ends a gentle,
patiently tightening aerial shot from a blimp high
above Chicago.
It's a sweet introduction, but here's a better
one: close shot on Duchovny donning a bloodstained
white tuxedo standing disengaged and expressionless
as he peers through a hospital's emergency ward
doors. Flashback: Duchovny as teen on first date with
future wife, first kiss, first marriage, wife at her
job with great ape at the zoo, at a zoo fund-raiser
supporting wife's projects, at night in the car
afterwards - headlights jump the double yellow and
approach full speed. Back to present day: Duchovny
gets the bad news as a group of organ donor personnel
jog past toting a full thermos. Roll opening credits.
Return to Duchovny, one year later, trying to
re-start his life while grieving the death of his
wife.
That necessary background info could be filmed
creatively in three minutes (okay, maybe five).
Instead, "Return to Me" spends what seems like 25
minutes just to establish Duchovny's love of his
wife. This still isn't a great sin, the problem is
that it lacks life. Feeling more like a necessary
burden for the filmmakers than entertainment;
moviegoers deserve better. If we're going to spend a
good fraction of the film on "prerequisite
information" it should at least be compelling. This one's tragically typical
littered with the trite, example: "There's my husband
with Sidney the ape; my husband's the one on the
right." However, I quite enjoyed the conclusion of
this sequence (which ends visually as my suggestion
begins); Duchovny, bloodstained, peers blankly into
surgery ward while soundtrack continues the song
"Return to Me" but minus the music, simply acappella.
It's a chillingly lonely affect.
The real story (which is quite interesting) starts
when a sickly and dying Minnie Driver receives
David's dead wife's heart (via transplant - not the
US post) restoring her to health, much to the delight
of her loving grandfather Carol O'Connor. Driver is
an excellent actress, Duchovny is also charming with
his subtle emotionalism, and director/actress/writer
Bonnie Hunt delivers a strong performance as Minnie's
best friend. But it's O'Connor's big heart and loving
charisma that anchors the film (despite his goofy
Irish accent).
Mostly a love story (David soon enough meets
Minnie), with comic relief, (James Belushi is a lot
of fun as beer-bellied, Joe Average, dad), the
picture also relies on suspense. What will happen
when Minnie tells David about her operation? Will
they realize whose heart is where? If and when they
do, will it prompt a change of heart?
The family sequences are so warm and full, they'll
leave you sure that these writers have kids of their
own. Aside from the pale intro sequence, the film has
heart and humor.
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