The Gingerbread Man (1998)

Directed by Robert Altman. Starring Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr., Famke Janssen, Daryl Hannah, Tom Berenger, Robert Duvall, Clyde Hayes. [R]

Branagh stars as a disreputable lawyer (redundancy?) in Savannah, GA who begins a sexual relationship with a catering staff waitress (Davidtz), and he quickly discovers that her mentally-unbalanced and vindictive father (Duvall) is an ominous threat to her life. Director Altman wades (literally) into unfamiliar territory with this serpentine thriller from Al Hayes’ script, which was revised from an original manuscript by novelist John Grisham; quirky Altman-esque moments pepper this potboiler in the early-going, but he can’t do much to elevate energy or suspense during the exploitative final act when the body count rises alongside the flood waters as a hurricane hits town. Performances largely underwhelm, and it’s tough to hold interest in the plot or its characters when dealing with scenes that can’t possibly be believed (e.g., an army of crusty old hobos springing Duvall out of a mental hospital during a late night raid) and twists that can be seen coming well in advance. All the pieces, good and bad, simply don’t add up or satisfy.

41/100