Wicker Park

Starring:Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Matthew Lillard, Diane Kruger, Christopher Cousins, Jessica ParÃ©, Vlasta Vrana, Amy Sobol, Ted Whittall, Isabel Dos Santos, Joanna Noyes, Kerrilyn Keith, Mark Camacho, Marcel Jeannin, StÃ©fanie Buxton, Stanley Hilaire, Zhenhu Han, Lu Ye, Christian Paul, Gillian Ferrabee
Director: Paul McGuigan
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

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No, Josh Hartnett doesn't make the most convincing corporate up-and-comer in the world, but then Matthew, his character in this pensive romantic drama, is supposed to be uncomfortable in his business costume. He's a photographer at heart, a sensitive guy who abandoned that passion when Lisa (Diane Kruger), his enigmatic other true love, abandoned him. Their romance had an oddly abrupt end after Lisa left without a word, so when Matthew thinks he sees her upon returning to Chicago, he starts lying to his fiancée and practically stalking his old flame before becoming entangled in a strange tryst with a lovesick nurse (Rose Byrne). The MGM publicity department busied itself trying to promote this remake of L'Appartement (1996) as some kind of heavy-breathing Fatal Attraction, and director Paul McGuigan certainly fills it with enough slick split-screens and MTV-soundtrack moments to hype it, yet it isn't even remotely a thriller. There are flashbacks upon flashbacks--Vanilla Sky begins to feel linear in comparison--and the screenplay insists on spelling everything out so we'll be sure to get how thoughtful it really is, but it all isn't half bad. Though Hartnett is a little out of his depth, his gentle, beleaguered masculinity works well, and the women are both compelling: Kruger redeems herself after being more wooden than the Trojan Horse in Troy, and Byrne is quite good. Even Matthew Lillard does solid work as Matthew's vulnerable, big-talking buddy. Somewhere in all of it is a surprisingly adult look at the things people do when love seems either too perilously close or too far away to believe in. --Steve Wiecking

Description

Enter the torrid and treacherous world of Wicker Park, where deception and seduction walk hand in hand. Starring an outstanding cast of Hollywood's hottest young stars, including Josh Hartnett(Pearl Harbor), Rose Byrne (City of Ghosts), Matthew Lillard (Scream) and Diane Kruger (Troy), Wicker Park is a sizzling, action-packed noir thriller that will leave you breathless. What if the woman you loved disappeared without a word? Without a trace? How far would you go to find her again? When Matthew (Hartnett) glimpses his lost love (Kruger) in a crowdedcafÃ(c), he's determined not to lose her a second time. But determination soon turns to obsession, as Matthew finds himself on a dangerous and chilling journey, where no one is who they seem and chance meetings with a sexy brunette (Byrne) might unravel friendships, careers and lives.

Customer Reviews:

A glossy jigsaw puzzle.......2007-05-17

In the commentary, Scottish director McGuigan brags about the confusion level of this film, calling it "non-linearrr" storytelling. I don't know if this was a characteristic of the original European movie (L'APPARTEMENT), but in this film, non-linear is expressed by extensively using flashbacks without clarifying the chronology. In fact, the movie is really a jumble of out-of-order scenes. It actually opens near the end of the plot.

Presumably, it all comes clear at the end. But I didn't find it clear, albeit, the conclusion was understandable enuf.

Upon re-watching the film with and eye to figuring out the timeline, I began to see how much better the film would have been in a conventional form. This had the potential to be a satisfying movie. Someone should tell the people responsible that their interest in the jigsaw puzzle structure of the story doesn't always translate to the viewer.

As for the cast, top marks go to the very lovely young Aussi, Rose Byrnes, so convincing and heart-rending as the mousey girl, and Matthew Lillard as a lively friend. Sleepy-sounding Josh Hartnett makes a solid leading man. German actress Diane Kruger and, in a small role, the Canadian Jessica Paré are very pretty.

It's a glossy looking film with fancy split-screens and pretty images of Montréal in the dead of winter (!) substituting for Chicago. (Did you know it gets really cold in Montréal in the dead of winter?!)

Just be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you watch this one.

What more in the name of love?.......2007-04-27

Before his smart, mistaken identity crime-noir `Lucky Number Slevin' (also starring Josh Hartnett), Paul McGuigan directed this diamond-in-the-rough, a twist-filled romance mystery of obsession and love unrequited. With flashbacks cleverly thrown in at strategic points of the movie that gradually peels away the mystery like the layers of an onion, the viewer is led to a shocking revelation that is well worth the wait. The non-linear style of storytelling is effective in building suspense and should be familiar to those of us who have seen such excellent films as `Crash,' `Babel,' `Memento' and '11:14.'

Poignant and thoughtful, `Wicker Park' revolves around three key characters, Matthew, Lisa and Alex, played by Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne, respectively. The story starts out simply and sweetly enough: Boy sees girl, falls in love at first sight, gets obsessed to the point of following her to dance class, gets girl. However, just as boy summoned the courage to make a `commitment,' the love-of-his-life disappears abruptly for no apparent reason. Two years later, after boy gave up his happiness and moved on, he sees a fleeting glimpse of her and his obsession is rekindled once again. Things get complicated as a third girl, in a bravura performance by Rose Byrne with the perfect blend of deviousness and vulnerability, enters the picture in the love triangle and the pieces to the puzzle start falling into place.

For all its unlikely coincidences, `Wicker Park' is a superbly told tale of love and loss, obsession, and how far some people will go in the name of love.

Chi-Town.......2006-12-21

So I basically went to see this movie because I love Wicker Park, and I was in San Diego when the movie came out and felt like I was representin the CHI!!! Anywho, I actuall enjoyed it a lot, the plot twists and turns. I never would have thought Alex was the sick puppy that she was if the flashbacks had not been included. I liked the who split screen, artsy thing this movie had going. I also like to believe it's romantic when a man becomes obssessed enough with you to ask you out on a date. I don't think it's cool if you have a lovesick nut job for a friend who basically ruins your relationship....I liked this movie enough to buy myself a copy....

Wasn't predictable like most movies and I enjoyed that........2006-12-19

Some movies you know the ending right after it starts. Took me nearly 30 minutes to figure this one out, although it still twisted me some more near the end. It was a pleasure to watch and re-watch looking for clues!

More like a 3 1/2 than a 4...........2006-11-13

I walked away from this movie wondering if I liked it or not. I'm still not really sure. All during the movie, I was thinking to myself, "This is really dragging...." But when it was all over, I kind of liked the entire story all put together.

Personally, the acting in this movie was poor, in my opinion... was a bit disappointed with the cinematography too... and I'm pretty sure there's a few places where there are plot holes pretty large... The flashbacks became confusing, with the first part of the movie making the transition from present to past pretty clear, but the line between the two became a lot less clear toward the end of the movie. Character development was a bit weak too, and I found that all three of the major players, and the one minor player in the movie occasionally slipped out of their personas and did things out of character.

All that being said - the story itself is kind of sad, kind of sweet, and a bit scary, when you really think of how sometimes what might appear to be fate may really be someone else controlling what is happening in your life and you never know it.

I think our 'Alex/Lisa' character got off a bit too easy after all she had done, and the ending was a bit too pat for me, but then again, we are seeing movies after a time period of having unhappy endings be the norm, move back to that 'happily ever after' ending we used to see in movies. This movie does just that - sums it up with a happily ever after that just isn't as realistic to the plot as I would have liked.

Yet, with all these negatives, I still find I walked away from this movie satisfied in general with the story, and I have to say, it wasn't a waste of my time... it wouldn't be my first choice, but I feel it is worth watching for those who like a bit is a suspenseful love story.

DVD:

DVD

Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 3 [4 Discs] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: TNT Jackson

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