 |
|
|
|
|
Based on "Freak the Mighty," Rodman Philbrick's 1993 young-adult novel about the unlikely friendship between two 13-year-old misfits, the slight film adaptation from director Peter Chelsom and writer Charles Leavitt never musters enough emotional oomph to extract itself from the puddle of treacle at its feet.
Perhaps some 9- to 14-year-olds will take some comfort in "The Mighty's" would-be inspirational lessons about fitting in and acceptance, but I suspect most are already too sophisticated for its "After-School Special"-style preachiness and cartoonishly reductive characters.
More's the pity, since the "Simon Birch"-like story of an alliance between two boys-one a growth-stunted genius (Kieran Culkin), the other a painfully withdrawn giant (Elden Henson)-is a good one. Like "Simon Birch," however, its potential to stir deep feeling is blunted by a heavy-handed soundtrack (in this case, vaguely Celtic synth-rock from Trevor Jones) and characterizations that generally are either bland or hammy, with nothing in between.
As the dwarfish Kevin Dillon-"Freak," to his cruel schoolmates-Kieran resembles older brother Macaulay (circa "My Girl") wearing a miniature Quasimodo suit. The deformed spine, thick glasses and crutches are meant to elicit pity, but they never seem more organic than a Tiny Tim outfit left over from a second-rate school Christmas pageant. As Kevin's single mom, the talented Sharon Stone is wasted. Her part never calls for anything other than unmitigated goodness, and since when is that interesting? Could any real mother of a chronically ill child be this saintly?
The truest and most poignant notes are sounded by Elden Henson, a young actor who brings a simple, unforced honesty to his portrayal of Max Kane, Kevin's hulking and dim-witted friend. Using his strong legs and back to provide transportation for his crippled classmate, Max weds his brawn to Kevin's brains to defeat the local bullies. In homage to the Arthurian legends with which they are obsessed, they dub themselves "Freak the Mighty."
But the modern-day knights-errant have bigger fish to fry than the junior-high goons who torment them. In the film's overwrought climax, Max's ex-con father Kenny (James Gandolfini) returns home from prison, where he has been serving time for his wife's murder, to kidnap his son. Gandolfini's scenery-chewing performance is matched only by that of an overly made-up Gillian Anderson, who embarrasses herself with a white trash/Kabuki turn as Kenny's soft-hearted accomplice.
As Grim and Gram, the grandparents who have been raising Max since his father's imprisonment, Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands are inoffensive but unmemorable. The film's real failure to move, though, lies in its inability to anchor the fairy-tale quality of its narrative. With the exception of Henson's Max, the characters who are meant to propel the narrative forward seem no more flesh and blood than the imaginary armor-clad horsemen who ride across the screen in evocation of Kevin and Max's escapist fantasies.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMSxedKrrWirpK65pnvLqKWgrJWnunC5zq%2Bgnqtfq7alsc6sZqahl53BurvSrqOloaaWu2%2B006Y%3D