Ages of Man

Then She Found Me great for grownups; Zohan, Panda aim younger

(June 12, 2008) Previews

Apparently fans of movies made from comics like their fare solidly in the mainstream. As a result, the somewhat brooding, arty take of Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk sank faster than a blueblood at a bar brawl. So, a mere five years later from director Louis Leterrier (the Transporter films) comes The Incredible Hulk, opening Friday, June 13, starring Edward Norton (who also co-wrote) as Bruce Banner/Hulk and supported by an A-list cast that includes Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt and an uncredited Robert Downey Jr. Is this enough to unseat the incredible panda? Good to see Tyler getting roles again. Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images and brief suggestive content. 114 m. At the Broadway, Mill Creek, Fortuna and the Minor.

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Perhaps aimed at a somewhat different audience is the quirky M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, not to be confused by us more mature folks with the free-spirited theatrical events of the 1960s. This happening is in an apocalyptic mode as disaster strikes the country following the release of a deadly neurotoxin that causes those that inhale it to commit suicide. Mark Wahlberg stars as a science teacher who attempts to outrun the toxin in the company of his estranged wife, played by Zooey Deschanel (last year’s The Assassination of Jesse James, which no one went to see). Much is being made of the fact that this is Shyamalan’s first R-rated film. Anything for publicity. Rated R for violent and disturbing images. 91 m. At the Broadway, Fortuna and Mill Creek.

Reviews

THEN SHE FOUND ME:How nice, and how unfortunately rare, to see a film that has characters that I care about and whose problems actually seem to exist in the same universe that I live in. The film is no masterpiece, but it is a solidly acted, moving and honest film that centers on April Epner (Helen Hunt), a woman approaching 40 whose life is threatening to unravel.

The central theme of Elinor Lipman’s 1990 novel, from which the film is adapted, is a familiar one: A woman who has depended on others, often a husband or long-term boyfriend, is unexpectedly abandoned and realizes that she must now take control of her own life.

In Then She Found Me, April suddenly faces a host of problems. Coming home from a day of teaching, her husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) abruptly announces he is leaving. Shortly thereafter, her ailing adoptive mother dies, and then someone named Bernice (Bette Midler) turns up claiming to be her biological mother. On top of that, she really wants to become pregnant before it’s too late, not wanting to adopt. She also begins to date Frank (Colin Firth), the father of one of her young pupils, who has trust issues due to his previous failed relationship (his wife slept with other people).

Throw in some “breakup sex” with Ben and you might think this is all too over-the-top. But Hunt, as director and actor, assiduously avoids easy ways out at every turn. As April, Hunt’s performance is both painful and a joy to behold; her face, in particular is incredibly expressive, a feature Hunt exploits in her direction.

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