Date:07/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/07/stories/2007100758710200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

9/11 makes for a promising backdrop film review

Film: Next

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore

Director: Lee Tamahori

Count your blessings, name them one by one. Among them will be Nicolas Cage, an actor so skilful that he can breathe plausibility into the most incredible of role.

Also an actor so seasoned as to know when to impart a touch of class, when to reserve his best. This Lee Tamahori film falls in the second category, but still has enough gumption to keep the viewers in their seats till the end.

Of course, Tamahori’s task is made easier by Cage as the man better than a soothsayer, and more unassuming than any sorcerer.

He may not be able to see tomorrow but he has a rare gift: he can see the world a few seconds, no a couple of minutes ahead of the rest. And that means he is worth every drop of blood for the FBI, now desperately in need of help, post 9/11.

Gosh! How many times have the Hollywood dream merchant used the tragedy as a flimsy excuse for a movie. Now the excuse runs flimsiest. But that is for another day. Here Cage is in control of the proceedings, even if he does not dish out a performance one would call memorable. Tamahori’s film scores on another count: Julianne Moore as the FBI lady is in her element too. One moment she is commanding, next she is powerless, depending on Cage to save her life. The sound track helps and some of the scenes of devastation seem identifiable. So next time you feel inclined to spend some time at a cinema near you, you don’t have to go too far away from “Next”. Worth a visit.

ZIYA US SALAM