Grass Skirts

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 2008)

I've missed the last few films from this guy. He started out doing clever things and has ended up just sketching the supposedly spooky. The only thing he has to offer now is some novelty in the threat. Here it is the plants that surround us. Actually, this is a pretty wonderful idea, rich in cinematic possibilities. It has the ability to link to a rich tradition of noir, the kind of noir where fate sweeps out of the environment and plays with innocent, ordinary people. Here, the effect is that the innocent people kill themselves within seconds of being infected.
Thus we have an almost perfect setup where great forces are unseen and discovered by observing their effect on humans. This is the small sister to the narrative technique of illuminating human dynamics (usually love) in the context of great world changes (usually war or oppressive rule).
So much could have been done, even with the detective thread. But neither the director, nor his detective (Wahlberg) understood the opportunities and seem to have intuited something spooky leading to an environmental message.
You know how some movies are deeply engaging because when you watch them, you are thinking about how you could do it better? This is a great case.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.