Whatever Happened to Ridley Scott?
By Skip Sheffield
Whatever happened to the Ridley Scott who scared the dickens
out of us with “Alien” in 1979; who dazzled us with “Blade Runner” in 1982 and
who confused us, but still maintained our interest in “Prometheus” in 2012?
That noted British directed is nowhere to be found in “The
Counselor;” a misbegotten mystery-thriller if there ever was one.
The same could be asked of Michael Fassbender, who roused
our emotions in Inglourious Basterds” in 2009 and shocked and provoked us in
“Shame’ in 2012.
And most ingloriously, whatever happened to the sweet Cameron
Diaz we all fell for in the irresistible “There’s Something About Mary” in
1998?
Granted, Diaz has one indelible screen moment in “The
Counselor” that will go down in cinematic infamy. It involves a Ferrari owned
by another wasted talent, Javier Bardem (with more bizaare hair), the windshield of said Ferrari, and a
spread-eagled actress acting slutty but looking silly.
We could go on and on. When did Brad Pitt stop being a hunk?
When was Penelope Cruz de-sensualized?
Perhaps the biggest question is how can a script by Cormac
McCarthy (“No Country for Old Men,” “The Road”) be so bad and banal?
“The Counselor” of the title is played by German actor
Michael Fassbender. He is never given a proper name; just Counselor.
The Counselor goes into hock to buy a huge diamond for his
fiancée Laura (Penelope Cruz). He can’t be a very smart lawyer, because he
thinks he can make some quick, dirty money dealing with drug baron Reiner
(Javier Bardem) and his treacherous girlfriend Malkina (Cameron Diaz).
It’s a bad idea that keeps getting worse and worse. The
setting is El Paso , Texas
Evidently the Counselor must need remedial training in this
obvious lesson. It is neither entertaining, uplifting nor educational to endure
this brutal, sadistic exercise. I did so you don’t have to.
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