By Ed Koch
“28 Weeks Later” (-)
This film, a sequel to the 2003 movie “28 Days Later,” is totally incomprehensible. In my review of the first picture, I stated, “I wasn’t scared nor was I amused” while watching it and called it “ridiculous.” I felt the same way, even more strongly, after seeing the sequel, which earned great reviews from most critics, who thought it was better than the first movie.
The story involves a virus epidemic in Great Britain that causes those infected with it to become rabid and seek to kill other humans. And kill they do for 28 weeks. The pseudo-scientific aspect is that Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and his sister Tammy (Imogen Poots) may have an immunity gene to the virus. Their father, Don (Robert Carlyle), is infected and would kill them if given the opportunity. American soldiers protecting the uninfected people living in a safe zone are depicted as aggressive and vile individuals.
Save your money. The movie is absurd and totally devoid of any pleasure or insight. For the $11 admission price, you can buy a good meal in Chinatown and have a far more interesting evening.
“Jindabyne” (+)
I enjoyed this film which received near-universal positive reviews. Set in the town of Jindabyne, Australia, the movie begins with the murder of an Aborigine woman. Claire (Laura Linney), her husband, Stewart (Gabriel Byrne), and their young son Tom live in the town.
Stewart, Gregory (Chris Haywood), Carl (John Howard), and Billy (Simon Stone) go on a weekend fishing trip to a location that involves a long car ride and a five-hour hike. On the first day they discover the body of a young Aborigine woman floating in the river. Rather than immediately return to town to report the incident, they tie the woman to a tree so she won’t float away, continue to fish, and wait until the following day to report the body to the authorities. When they return to town, they pay the price for their callousness. They suffer the wrath of their wives, the townspeople, and the bereaved Aboriginal community who view their callousness as racism.
Other main characters in the film include Jude (Deborra-lee Furness), who is married to Stewart’s friend Carl, and their 12-year-old granddaughter who is part Aborigine, mysterious, difficult, and perhaps even dangerous.
The script, based on a story by Raymond Carver entitled “So Much Water So Close to Home,” leaves many questions unresolved, and the Australian accents of some of the cast were often difficult for me to understand. Subtitles would have been helpful. But overall I enjoyed this film, which held my attention from beginning to end. Every scene is fraught with malevolence, fear or anger, and someone always seemed to be in physical danger. I saw it at The Quad theater on 13th Street in Manhattan.
