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The director’s cut of Ridley Scott’s (BLACK HAWK DOWN, BLADE RUNNER GLADIATOR) cult classic breathes new life into the film. The longer version benefits from a better narrative flow. The motivations of the characters are clearer and the entire story takes on a more mythic quality.

The story is a classic fairy tale where the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW) kills the last of the unicorns so that the world will fall into darkness forever. A young forest boy (Tom Cruise) has to save the princess (Mia Sara, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF) as well as the last unicorn.

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There are films that people think are good that are so average that they infuriate me even more — this is one of those films. They anger me like TV psychics anger me. They manipulate people’s feelings. They pretend to be about something, but know nothing about the subject they speak about. They are frauds.

This story follows Sam (Sean Penn, DEAD MAN WALKING), a mentally challenged man who fathers a daughter named Lucy (Dakota Fanning, FATHER XMAS). Sam gets help with taking care of her from eccentric hermit Annie Cassell (Diane Wiest, LOST BOYS). Then the evil, uncaring child services come and want to take the child away. In comes big-ticket Beverly Hills lawyer Rita Harrison Williams (Michelle Pfeiffer, WITCHES OF EASTWICK), who finds Sam the perfect case to do pro bono and prove that she isn’t a bloodsucking lawyer. For a time Lucy is placed with foster mother Randy Carpenter (Laura Dern, JURASSIC PARK), who seems good for the child, but is portrayed as an insensitive snob.
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What a powerful film this is. The story is gritty, painful, honest and unflinching. The characters feel like they came from a novel. The performances from Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry are great — Berry’s Oscar is well deserved.

The story follows the tragic events in the lives of Hank Grotowski (Thornton) and Leticia Musgrove (Berry), which lead up to them forming a relationship that transcends their pasts because all they really need is someone to comfort them. I simply love the way the film builds their relationship. Nothing is forced, even though their coming together means they must cross huge huddles. Hank is a cop who works death row. Leticia is the wife of Lawrence Musgrove (rapper P Diddy), a man on Death Row where Hank works with his son Sonny (Heath Ledger, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU). A lesser film would be centered on the fact that Hank keeps his connection with Leticia’s husband from her, but this film is more real about it.

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