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Show THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, Friday, October Page D2 SCARLET: 13, 1995 icole Kidman shities in To Die For The religious principles of the Puritans are taken to such an exaggerated (and politically motivated) extreme as to undermine their inherent sense of morality. All but a handful of the town's women are spiteful, backbiting gossips. The protagonists are depicted as cold, hard villains, assumably to justify their respective fates. Any sense of is lost in the depth or self-doublack and white presentation of the (Continued from Page Dl) nearby tribe. Rid of his restrictive British mores, he throws himself into his adopted culture until even his captors don't want anything to him. He's kind of a cross between "A Man Called Horse" and your second cousin who comes to visit and doesn't know do-wit- characters. when to leave. His jubilant return becomes a bitter one cloaked in secrecy as he learns of his wife's betrayal and sets out to uncover the identity of her spoiler. Posing as a physician, he leads the religious tow n leaders in a moral crusade that culminates in a w itch hunt. This goes on for a few years. In the meantime, Hester aware of her husband's presence suffers in shame and solitude. Forced by the authorities to wear an incriminating scarlet "A" on her bodice, she is scorned by most of the populace. Papa Dimmes-dale- . racked by guilt, and aware of Dr. Prynne's fervent quest, suffers equally. But fear not. For this is Hollywood where classic literature is but a jumping off point, and no unjust suffering shall go unrewarded. Demi Moore and Gary Oldman give sincere performances as the lovers. In fact, most of the performances are respectable within the context of the characters and the script. Just don't look for any measure of subtlety within the loaded story. Even WINTERS Matt Dillon, wants a typical suburban life, and as he describes what he wants, the camera makes an iris dissolve, much like a silent movie, as a way of fadins to black. At that Special to The Daily Herald Gus Van Sant's latest movie is not the kind of film everyone will be dving to see, but the black comedy To Die For may become the breakout film that turns Nicole Kidman from a movie star to a superstar. Kidman gives an award-worth- y performance as Suzanne Stone, a small town girl who dreams of national television celebrity. Her chance, if it can be called that, comes when she talks a small local cable station into letting her do the weather. d Her husband, Larry Maretto, played comfortably by Dimmesdale, torn between his private feelings and his professional beliefs, is only given scant screen seconds in which to voice his confusion before the story trots off in other directions. From the beginning, Hester's position is presented as one of conscience, but the circumstances and the strawman attitude of the film reduce it to one of moral superiority neatly summed up in the final words of the film's narrator: "Who is to say what is a sin in God's eyes?" The Scarlet Letter is rated R for graphic violence, sexual content and some nudity. With the hero honor bound to remain silent and the heroine bound to suffer in silence, the film drags throughout much of its run, proving once again that be it classic literature or juvenile nihilism, producers show no favoritism when it comes to entertainment. star-cross- CH'RLENE By Movia Review moment, Larry's fate is sealed. He is top safe, boring and predictable, and his future is doomed. In a tale taken from contemporary headlines, Stone seduces a student and convinces him their life would be wonderful if Larry were not in the picture. It seems good-nature- New movie studio plans spoof of 'Pulp Fiction' By STEVEN REA Van Saul makes the fiim interesting by having Kidman appear to be addressing the audience in close-uwhich gives the audience an ideal vantage point to watch her face show from grief to giddiness and naivete to cold calculation. He also gives audiences a point of view that the characters often would not see, thus always letting the audience be aware it is watching a movie, and not being p, absorbed by the action. This is a clever technique because the medium is the message Stone is promoting. She reasons that everyone would be so much better if what they did were on television because Cluirlene Winters is a master's candidate in film theory and criticism at Brigham Young University. be seen. then it would What's the use of being good, she ing disorder, and the guys are instructed to keep her away from food. Look for a '96 release. Newspapers Knight-Ridd- it. asks, if no one knows about To Die For is a in What emerges that comes of view reality warped from the pen of gifted writer Buck it can be hilariousHenry. At times undertones are the but ly funny, dark and shocking. The sexual seductions would border on the erotic if the student involved idi(Joaquin Phoenix) were not so otic and pathetic in his desires. Apart from Kidman's performance, the film's strength is Henof society. ry's uncanny perception As demonstrated so recently with the O.J. Simpson trial, America is addicted to celebrity, notoriety and fame in other people. Henry has tapped into this obsession and lets it operate full throttle on his heroine. The surreal has become reality. she is dying for a little attention, the student is dying for his teacher's love, and her husband is dying from his dogged devotion. mid-to-la- Rhino Films, the latest media tentacle to uncoil from the Rhino universe of offbeat, wacky and archival pop stuff (recordings, videos etc.) has announced its inaugural production: "Plump Fiction," a spoof of te ever-expandi- Tarantino's Quentin Rhino is also developing a adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo classic, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"; a biopic of Texas swing king Bob Wills; a sequel to the Jacqueline Susann opus "Valley of the Dolls"; a contemporary Monkees movie; a film about Frankie Lymon, '50s teenage pop star; and an adaptation of Cliff Stoll's bestseller, "The Cuckoo's Egg." screen gangster megahit. The script, by comedian Bob Koherr (who will also direct), follows the exploits of two Jules and Jimmy, who have to baby-s- it Mimi, the boss' girlfriend. Mimi has an eat Troy Cullison studied film at the University of Southern California and has written movie reviews for The Daily Herald since 1990. tl I ' VISI0 NARY TRIUMPH. won't yield in its quest to defeat 40 neuromuscular diseases. 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