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Mainstream critics criticize it on artistic rather than ethical terms. "Mandolin comes engagingly close to being the assured romantic epic you would want it to be," says The Hollywood Reporter's Mark Adams, "but there is just not enough in most departments—acting, script, direction—to push it into the 'must see' movie bracket. The lure … just like the music from that delicate instrument … is tantalizing rather than totally satisfying." Jessica Winter at The Village Voice is not as generous: "Captain Corelli's Mandolin billows in any direction that Shawn Slovo's gasbag script might blow it. The big message seems to be that tolerance is good, but since the film doesn't differentiate between politics and jingoism, it needs to demonstrate that We're All the Same Inside, right down to how everybody on the island speaks English with a similar intermittent Mediterranean accent." She does, however, applaud the film's rising star: "Ms. Cruz, apparently optimistic about her corner of Hollywood's gilded cage, once again proves her inability to give a bad performance even under the worst of circumstances."

J. Robert Parks of The Phantom Tollbooth reports the film "is worth seeing just to see Tilda Swinton's fantastic performance. She is the protective mother caught between a rock and a hard place. The Deep End is an intelligent thriller that's more intelligent than thrilling." He does, however, register a reservation others hadn't observed: "Part of the problem with each film is that it's hard to make a thriller when the sun is out. Despite The Deep End's gorgeous cinematography … and its evocative portrayal of the solitary side of Tahoe, California, the story's inherent tension is often diffused."

"Well, you see," he explains, "miners have inadvertently woken up a strange alien force lying dormant in the Martian rocks. The disease-like creature … invades our bodies, takes over our minds, and makes us dress up like Marilyn Manson. No wonder everyone's killing themselves. The movie's script is constructed as one long flashback, which makes it pretty clear which characters are going to survive and which are going to be grist for the decapitating throng. Fans of video-game violence will be disappointed … the fight scenes are embarrassingly static, as if Carpenter had forgotten how to make a swinging mace look real. And the numerous explosions are accompanied by extras jumping into the air; they look like bad gymnasts instead of people being cut down by shrapnel. The roar of the crowd was deafening. Or maybe that was just the noise of people scrambling for the doors."

Similarly, the U.S. Catholic Conference says this "pathetic survival story soon collapses under the weight of constant shootouts, beheadings and explosions as a deafening sound track fails to distract from onscreen schlock."

Perhaps moviegoers will take comfort in noting the calendar—summer's almost over. Usually that means some quality filmmaking is just around the corner. How many months now until The Fellowship of the Ring?

Next Week: Apocalypse Now … again. Why does Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece linger in our memory? Why are such memorable and challenging movies so rare? Critics share their thoughts on this classic, and respond to the revised release. Also, responses to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and the latest Woody Allen comedy, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

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August (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45