“Only the most ridiculous parts of
this story are true,” opens
The Hunting Party’s
first act, which loses itself by indulging in all of the
conspiracy-theories and liberal-guilt-trips that you’d expect to
find in a politically-themed film starring Richard Gere. Despite
functioning as a rather introspective look at wartime broadcast
media, the movie’s first half-hour can’t find its footing
because it seems so desperate to prove itself ideologically. As
I watched this act flounder as it set the scene to
semi-biographically tell the story of a team of journalists’
attempts to confront the criminal-mastermind behind the Bosnian
War, I was prepared to dismiss the film entirely. To my eyes,
director Richard Shepard’s implementation of
historical-parallels used to bash the Bush Administration’s
current view of foreign policy was proving entirely
preposterous.
Color me surprised when The
Hunting Party was actually able to settle itself down and
end up an engrossing film. After the first act-break, Shepard
realizes the need to tell a worthy story and, accordingly, tones
down the abundance of political rhetoric in his film. As the
trio of journalists—Gere’s washed-up Simon, Terrence Howard’s
high-profile Duck, and Jesse Eisenberg’s youthfully-deluded
Benjamin—inches closer to its subject, the movie’s narrative
becomes progressively more interesting. During The Hunting
Party’s final hour, I found myself consistently engaged by
the film’s suspense-ripe plot. Because this aspect of the
picture was able to function effectively, I alas begun to
understand its political discourse, which I had previously been
utterly indifferent towards. All in all, The Hunting Party
establishes itself as a worthwhile and mostly-riveting effort,
even if it suffers from a shaky start.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 9.9.2007
Screened on: 9.8.2007
at the Edwards San Marcos 18 in San Marcos, CA.
The Hunting Party is rated R and runs 104 minutes.
Back to Home |