MORALISTIC `CLOSET LAND' PUMMELS WITH ITS TEDIUM

By Philip Wuntch

(Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1991)

 

"Closet Land" is noble and pure and true. But, oh, how tedious those traits become when unlightened by humor.

There's not much to smile about in "Closet Land," an exercise in tedious nobility that offers fine dramatic workouts for its stars, Madeleine Stowe and Alan Rickman. For the viewer, it simply offers a workout.

Despite its admirable spirit, its commitment to artistic expression and political amnesty, the movie resembles a two-character play that is best left to student acting groups - but only if Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" is unavailable for production. It succeeds at making you grateful you live in a free country, where you can leave the movie theater at any moment you choose.

Stowe eloquently plays the unnamed heroine, a writer of children's books in an unnamed country, who is awakened in the middle of the night to be "interrogated" by the government. Her writings, particularly a manuscript named "Closet Land," have been deemed subversive because they urge children to think for themselves and, even worse, to question authority.

Rickman, with the manner of a coldblooded businessman planning a corporate takeover, is her interrogator. His methods include slugging her, beating her, forcing garlic into her mouth, depriving her of food and water and, finally, pulling out a toenail with pliers. Ouch.

"You never know if I'm going to hurt you," he says silkily. "It's the suspense, not the pain, that will drive you mad."

That's what he says, anyway. To most viewers, the pain will be more than enough.

He demands her signature on a statement renouncing her supposed subversiveness and praising the government. But as the severity of the interrogator's methods increases, so do the writer's resolve and integrity. Ultimately, she must confront the closeted secrets of her youth. And, in a mildly surprising twist, her torturer explains his own part in her early childhood. In the end, he comes to admire her enormously, but that doesn't mean he won't do his presumed duty.

Despite the film's dreariness, you'll cheer the cast of two. Stowe, whose career went into limbo after her striking debut in "Stakeout," proves she can deliver an outstanding performance if given the opportunity. Rickman, whose character never removes his tie even when reaching for the pliers, creates credibility and an unfocused compassion for his character. You realize that, years ago, he might very well have been the oppressed rather than the oppressor.

The film is directed with painstaking diligence by Radha Bharadwaj, an Indian filmmaker making her debut. It includes fanciful animation that depicts the unfortunate heroine's writings.

"Closet Land" is as earnest as the day is long, and it seems like a very long day indeed.

 

 

 

Originally on KelClancy's Page