Innocents (2000)

Why so much hype?

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I tried not to get interested in this movie but the dialog and music sucked me in. As the film progressed, I realized that the sisters were not the only ones disturbed. While the movie was well acted and the plot reasonable, the story became unbelievable. No normal person would stay in a situation like that, for any reason.I suspect love, shock and intrigue kept Jean-Hugues Anglade involved. In reality, he would have never made it -- the cops would have never reacted the way they did and the story would not have ended the way it did. I'm trying to say this was a movie worth seeing without giving away anything. My value of 7 is because I think it's okay for a comedy to be unbelievable but not a drama.

I have to say the first time I saw this movie I was left stunned.This is superbly photographed, well acted and very unpredictable road movie thriller.This is one movie where I honestly could not predict what was going to happen next. An excellent cast headed by French actor Jean Hugues Anglade (Betty Blue, Killing Zoe) the very luminous Connie Nielsen (Gladiator, The Ice Harvest) & sexy Mia Kirshner (The Black Dahlia, Mad City)play two sisters in a very unusual road movie.The supporting cast is excellent too with the likes of Frank Langella, Anne Archer, Robert Culp & Keith David.The storyline throws up one surprise after another as the three go on the road after the sister's father passes, quite quickly though things take a very dark turn and Gerard Huxley (Jean Hugues Anglade) begins to wonder if he has made a grave mistake.The music in the film is good and the locations are beautifully photographed.I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and really cannot understand the low score. I give it 7/10

Sort of a mess. There is a lot right about this picture, but it's not enough to make up for a poor plot. The direction was OK, and the photography good. There were excellent acting performances all around. Connie Nielsen was awesome. Mia Kirshner was, too. These were good roles, these actresses got to really chew the scenery. Same goes for Anne Archer in a smaller part. Robert Culp and Frank Langella were sort of slumming, but were still good, as actors of their caliber should be. Even the French guy turned in a good one. But that isn't enough to make up for a terrible plot, depending on stunning coincidences. I found the ending highly anticlimactic, as well. Just can't recommend this one.

Every once in a while a strange movie will come along and knock your socks off. I have always been a video store junkie looking for that odd gem that you can freak out your buddies with and I have found just such a movie. A new director named Gregory Marquette served up a tasty dish with his movie `Dark Summer'(aka `Innocents') When I first took this home I was like `What the hell is going on..' and that feeling kept going on because this film never succumbed to the ordinary, only the extraordinary.Jean Hughes Anglade, which any fan of `la Femme Nakita' will alwaysrecognize, stars in this bizarre tale of lies and deception and was absolutely divine as the main protagonist Huxley. The man is a statement inunderstatement. But I digress.The film opens with an interrogation by one of the finest, solid character actor's, Keith David, interrogating Anglade's character about a series of murders andfrom that point on I was hooked. Now don't get me wrong, this film is verytwisted and very very unconventional, but that is what so attracted me to the piece.`Dark Summer', to me, is about the conflict of perception and innocence. The two antagonists, Mia Kirshner (Yummmm) and Connie Nielson, as the creepysisters, keep the dementia going by defying all definition. My point is the film kept fooling me (which is rare). Nothing is as it seems with this effort.Power cameos by Frank Langella, Robert Culp, and the always excellent KeithDavid, feed the twisted plot with a texture that is beyond the reach of theHollywood schlock machine. Anne Archer gives a bravura performance welloutside of the reach of any of the roles she has been saddled with in the past. (`Clear And Present Danger' Yuccchhhh!)I think what really impressed me about this movie is you never know where this son of a gun is going. I do not want to give away the plot but I have rarely been fooled by plots and scripting, but this movie is the most different journey of any movie I have seen in recent history.All in all the morality tale here is that no matter how decent you may be, the world conspires against you. Innocence is vulnerability, integrity is a liability.Get a six pack, a good girl or friend and curl up with this movie, I guarantee that you will have a long, long talk afterward.I hope I am not too vague but I am loath to give away the real joy of a film not being predictable and contrived. Who cares if it's not commercial, this movie made me sit on the edge of my seat and think. To the film makers, thank you. To it's critics, go ahead, make your own movie---I dare you!