Dan at TIFF Review: Stone

Thanks for checking out our Stone Review

Genre: Drama / Thriller
Directed by: John Curran
Staring: Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, Milla Jovovich, Frances Conroy.
Released: 8 October 2010

THE GENERAL IDEA

Gerald Creeson (Edward Norton) a convicted arsonist has served 8 years of his sentence when he gets to a breaking point and can no longer handle being in prison anymore. Knowing his parole officer Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro) is the only obstacle in his path to freedom he strategically places his beautiful wife Lucetta (Milla Jovovich) in the unexpected lawman’s path.

THE GOOD

Stone is one of those films that you leave the theatre discussing every single frame. For me what stood out the most other then the amazing acting was the incredible Audio Design. There wasn’t a single scene where there wasn’t an intricately created ambience playing in the background which was adding to the subtext of the scene. From my knowledge there wasn’t a single song that played in this movie unless there was a radio in the scene playing music in the background.

The acting was right on mark which was expected from such an experienced and talented cast. I must admit when my eyes first laid on Edward Norton sporting corn rows and talking like a gangsta from the west side, I immediately was reminded of Jamie Kennedy from Malibu’s Most Wanted. I was shockingly surprised how well Edward Norton had nailed down this character, after the initial shock of seeing Norton in such a different role it was easy to believe him for he played the character so damn well. Some of the best scenes were when Edward Norton was sitting across from Robert De Niro and they were feeding off each-others characters and delivering their lines with perfection, they also repeatedly lightened up some of the heavier scenes by making the audience laugh with their great comedic timing.

Another actor who deserves to be mentioned for her amazing performance was Frances Conroy, there wasn’t a single moment where this woman wasn’t on her game. She played the role of Madylyn wonderfully and even though she didn’t even do that much talking there was not a minute where you didn’t know what her character was feeling, thinking, or going through.

THE BAD
There really wasn’t much to say that was “bad” about this film. The only thing that I found really took me out of the film was at the end of a mating session between two of the characters there was random laughter added to the background which was off putting, random, and seemed absolutely misplaced.

OVERALL
This film was great and I highly recommend watching it once released in theaters. The Audio design sets the mood and carries you through the film, the acting was spot on, and the script was remarkable.

Thank you for reading my review, I give Stone 8.5 out of 10

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4 thoughts on “Dan at TIFF Review: Stone

  1. Wow…..Not the movie I expected from a couple of great actors
    like these two. Milla good in her own right but over all am very disapointed in the movie, slow slow ssslllooowww.
    On the other hand I’m very happy the only cost I incurred was the 1.99 spent out of the red box rental machine and not the forty or so it would have cost me at the box office.
    Very unimpressed. Being a fan of Robert and edward and of there passed movies I just expected more action thrills and a deeper story line.

    Later

    1. Milla was fine, her character felt like a combination between her role in The Fifth Element and Natalie Portmans Role in Garden State. She seamlessly went back and forth from an adorable preschool teacher to a sexually manipulative mental case. Even though she played the character well, I still was not that impressed with her performance not saying it was horrible just seemed misplaced.

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