Fragments

    Some films have great success in spite of themselves. This is very rare. Most films try to stress a point, an issue; communicate a series of thoughts, and bridge the gap between artist and patron. This can be entertaining as well as illuminating.

    The picture, Fragments, did many of the right things to bridge that gap, but did not find its footing on the other side and crashed and burned in the chasm of my antipathy. That's right, I lost interest in the characters, and with the actors of this movie, Forest Whitacker, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce, Dakota Fanning, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Jackie Earle Haley one would have to consider that this film about shattered spirits and redemptive souls would have a chance, but it did not.

    The film, like its title would suggest, was fractured and hard to follow and I just did not buy into the sorry lives, even the doctor, of everyone affected by the mass murder / suicide down at the local diner. Director Rowan Woods took a Roy Freirich story for a spin around the block, but continued driving that puppy until he drove it into the ground, and when it came time for the resolution of all the too many conflicts, I just did not care anymore.

    This picture; way too long at 100, many of them wasted, minutes, taught me nothing, did not make me consider the alternative lives of others, and certainly did not entertainment me in any way. I am truly sorry about the struggles of others, but this one time, I just did not really care.

    Rated PG. Released on DVD July 21, 2009.