Mortdecai
Dir: David Koepp
2015
**
Mortdecai seemed like such a fun idea but unfortunately this adaption of the late Kyril Bonfiglioli's novel 'Don't Point That Thing At Me' was directed by the David Koepp who wrote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull rather than the David Koepp who wrote Carlito's Way. I'll be fair, Koepp didn't write the screenplay, Eric Aronson did. It is Aronson's second film, his first being the box office failure, 2001's On The Line. Not as bad a film as some might say but full of serious problems. Fourteen years later and it seems that not one of those problems have been addressed. The story isn't the problem though, Kyril Bonfiglioli's novel is wonderful and its structure hasn't been tampered with too much, the real problem is the casting and the dire performances. Johnny Depp is actually quite good in the lead role but as a serious Terry-Thomas fan it did irk me somewhat, as his was at times just a cheap imitation of the great performer. I enjoyed his mumbles and he is good at physical comedy but apart from ripping off TT, he weirdly slipped into his Hunter S. Thompson impersonation and a character you'd expect Paul Whitehouse to play. Indeed, his friend Paul Whitehouse is actually in the film and I can't help but think he lent Depp a few pointers. Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor brought absolutely nothing to their characters, they could have been CGI or cardboard-cutouts and been more convincing. Sad really as I think both actors can and have been funny in the past. Paul Bettany is a great actor but he couldn't have been more miscast here and at times throughout the film I believe you can see him think as much. Sometimes you need a straight man or stooge to make the main character/Funny man stand out more but it misfires quite spectacularly here and more than once. I quite liked the script but only Depp seemed capable of delivering it right. It's a full on comedy but I only laughed once. An unfortunate wasted opportunity.