Average players, the necessary filler guys who allow you to field a full team, are generally low ceiling, high floor. Keep your expectations in check because what you see is what you get. Stone has nothing to do with sports, but I couldn't help feeling that I was watching a film with a low ceiling. It's a small story without much promise of being more than what it presents in its first half. I wasn't in the least bit surprised to discover that it was originally conceived as a play.
None of which is to say it was bad. Actually, I'm not really sure if it's a plus or a minus in the ultimate Distillery sense of things (not that director John Curran is anywhere near the front of the Big D queue). I admit I lost interest during some of the slower scenes, particularly when it became apparent that nothing "bigger" was going to happen. I do think movies need that extra something. Not a car chase or an explosion, but some bump up in tension.
The actors, though, are in top form. Robert DeNiro does his best work in a decade, probably since The Score, also not about sports, but also with...Ed Norton, who plays a white trash con trying to get parole. For the record, Ed Norton should not be playing a white trash con, especially one with corn rows. He's just too Ed Nortonish, too smart-looking. But he committed and I stopped being bothered by it by mid-movie (though seeing him in prison made me think of American History X.) Finally, stealing the movie from these two titans is none other than Milla Jovovich, getting the chance to show off some thespianic chops after years of kicking ass on screen. As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan, and not just because she's gorgeous (a word that feels oddly outdated to use, but also seems to fit perfectly). That said, let's just leave it with how it's a shame her nipples didn't receive some sort of Academy recognition this year. Travesty.
