There is one performance in “Wicker Park” that justifies the entire foolish enterprise, an accomplishment so exciting and fresh that it keeps the second half of this romantic mystery story cooking.
It’s provided by an Australian actress named Rose Byrne, who was seen earlier this year as Brad Pitt’s companion in “Troy,” and garnered a cultish following after appearing in a small role as Natalie Portman’s handmaiden in the second “Stars Wars” installment.
It’s difficult to describe Ms. Byrne, especially because her features seem to change radically from film to film. And it’s almost impossible to talk about her role in “Wicker Park,” because this is a puzzle film, meant to be unraveled a little at a time.
The actual star of the picture is Josh Hartnett, the beetle-browed heartthrob from “Pearl Harbor.” As usual for this put-upon actor, he suffers a great deal.
As the complicated scenario opens, Hartnett is preparing to leave Chicago for China on a business trip. He’s also preparing to marry the boss’s daughter. Life is set.
Then he becomes convinced he has seen the love of his life (Diane Kruger), a dancer who vanished from his life two years earlier. He never understood why.
Now, having only barely glimpsed her in a restaurant, he postpones his important business trip and goes on a berserk search to find her. The China thing functions in an interesting way; he keeps almost leaving and then missing his flight – if you’ve ever had an anxiety dream about getting to the airport on time, the film perfectly captures that surreal feeling.
In fact, for a long time I was convinced the movie was going to be revealed as a dream. That might explain why Hartnett’s behavior is so illogical and stupid. He behaves like such an ass during his frantic search that he comes off more as a boor than a lovesick hero.
Kruger, the German actress who played Helen of “Troy,” does nobly as the lost lady, and Matthew Lillard provides some much-needed lightness of touch as Hartnett’s buddy. Then Rose Byrne enters the story and the second half perks up.
Until that point, “Wicker Park” is rather dull, although the first half of the film is mostly set-up for the explanations and revelations that follow. Paul McGuigan, the Scots director of the jazzy “Acid House,” does his best to distract us, creating a shifting, busy style that works for the central mystery.
The plot is taken from a French film, “L’Appartement.” It leaks. There are so many holes in this story, I thought I could see trucks driving through while the movie was still on screen. It relies on contrivances that might have been possible, say, in the 1940s; but in the age of instant global communications, it could never happen.
Nevertheless: I will confess that I enjoyed “Wicker Park,” or at least the second half of it. It’s in a genre I like, and did I mention I was impressed by Rose Byrne? As a pass-the-popcorn-turn-your-brain-off movie, it should do just fine.
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