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A Previous Engagement By Harry Forbes Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- In "A Previous Engagement" (Buccaneer), Seattle librarian Julia (Juliet Stevenson) suggests a holiday in Malta with her dull, inattentive husband, Jack (Daniel Stern), an insurance man who seems to care more for his jigsaw puzzles than for her. Julia's real motive for vacationing there is to rendezvous with the suave French lover Alex (Tcheky Karyo), with whom she had an affair 25 years earlier. Julia's a bundle of uncertainty, though, and matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of her two daughters (Claire Brosseau and Elizabeth Whitmere), one with a new boyfriend (Simon Woods) in tow, and the revelation that Alex, who edits a literary journal, has been having an affair with his young assistant, Samantha (Kate Miles). Julia's reluctance to consummate the reunion with Alex leads to his barging in on a family gathering unannounced as an "old friend" of Julia's. Jack soon connects the dots, and promptly falls under the spell of redheaded divorcee Grace (Valerie Mahaffey). "If two consenting adults who aren't involved with someone else feel that little spark, then why not?" she reasons, emblematic of the script's overall tenor. Even allowing for its often farcical structure, writer-director Joan Carr-Wiggin's story, which strives for a light, whimsical tone, never seems remotely grounded in reality as the best comedies should be. The generally capable cast is undermined by stilted dialogue and situations that rarely ring true. Stevenson uses every actorly trick to make her annoyingly vacillating character plausible. Above all, the narrative is marred by a shallow moral tone that glamorizes adultery even as it dutifully shows Julia and Jack wrestling with their consciences. The film contains adultery, rough language, crude expressions, the acceptability of premarital sex and divorce, and brief drug use. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. - - - Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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