| Panic |
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| 1/2 |
| Rating: Mixed Distributor: Artisan Entertainment MPAA Rating: R Genre: Dark Comedy, Thriller, Drama Running Length: 1 hour, 33 minutes Release Date: January 19th, 2001 (limited) Director: Henry Bromell Cast: William H. Macy, Donald Sutherland, Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, and John Ritter. |
| Plot: Alex, a hitman, is (William H. Macy) suffering from a midlife crisis, and decides to see a therapist (John Ritter). The hitman becomes infatuated with a young woman (Neve Campbell) who comes to see a different therapist, in the same building, at the same time. Alex is a good father, but not a very good husband (to his wife Tracey Ullman). Alex works for his father (Donald Sutherland), who appears to have a larger, more complex role in crime. His father forced him to the direction of being a hitman. Although initially charming, we learn that Alex's father is a rather disgusting man who uses his son's love for his own selfish purposes. |
| Critique: Panic starts slowly, but the build up is well done and entertaining. However, in the last half an hour when the director and screenwriter, Henry Bromell, is forced to make a resolution he fails miserably. He makes sure every detail is sealed and accounted for in the film's finish, however he forgets to make it entertaining or rewarding. Panic could have probably benefited from being a little lighter. It could have taken the Analyze This approach, and thus the entertainment value wouldn't have been so strained. Then again I think Bromell wanted to make something a little different. That's fine, but he should have wrapped it up so that it could have been a furfilling drama, not a confused, ugly, dark comedy. For the most part the acting is top notch, and Bromell has a lot of help from a talented cast. Technical aspects are polished, but cinematography and score lend towards a sadder mood than neccesary. Bromell's direction is a little stale, but not terrible all and all. His writing was worse; it needed a lot of creative help. Panic is devoid of ambition, and lacks intelligence in its conflicts, as well as conviction. It poses as a dark entertainment value, but it can never fully obtain that status due to its aggresively dark ending. It certainly is far from a terrible film, it has sincere moments where it works witty magic. Those moments come mostly at the beginning, and fade ever so slowly until the film's magic vanishes at the end. In conclusion, Panic is sometimes funny, and contains some interesting build up. However, as it reaches its climax it simplifies everything. In the end it's too dark to be an enjoyable comedy, but doesn't have enough ambition or creative juice to be a furfilling drama. review by supernothingman |