Reckless

(Black comedy -- Color)

A Samuel Goldwyn Co. release in association with Playhouse Intl. Pictures. Produced by Amy J. Kaufman. Executive producer, Lindsay Law. Directed by Norman Rene. Screenplay, Craig Lucas, based on his play.

Rachel - Mia Farrow
Lloyd - Scott Glenn
Pooty - Mary Louise Parker
Tom - Tony Goldwyn
Sister Margaret - Eileen Brennan
Tom, Jr. - Stephen Dorff
Game Show Emcee - Giancarlo Esposito
Trish - Deborah Rush

If weird were automatically wonderful, "Reckless" would be a nonpareil delight. But this twisted fairy tale, adapted from the stage, is a grossly misfired entertainment that squanders the talents of all involved. Unlikely even to attract a cult following, its domestic prospects as a specialized theatrical release are modest, with dubious overseas appeal.

One magical Christmas eve, Rachel (Mia Farrow) is told by her repentant husband, Tom (Tony Goldwyn), that the noise downstairs isn't Santa but a contract killer. He pushes her out the window, and in flight she hooks up with Lloyd (Scott Glenn) and his crippled, mute companion, Pooty (Mary Louise Parker). They take her in and line her up with a secretarial job.

But as strange as Rachel's circumstance is, her new family and town are equally bizarre. Pooty can actually speak, and makes the fugitive wife swear to keep her secret. Lloyd has a dark past that's in sharp contrast to his present gentle ways, and the office turns out to be a den of corruption.

Rachel basically remains above it all until Tom recognizes her on a quiz show and tracks her down. But before he can express contrition, he, Lloyd and Pooty succumb to poisoned champagne, a gift from an office co-worker.

Though Rachel continues on her journey, the senseless deaths are the last straw in terms of sustaining audience sympathy. Rachel's naivete becomes progressively more irritating, and the oddball encounters are simply not amusing.

The single-note performance from Farrow proves tiresome. The most interesting characters are those played by Glenn and Parker, who disappear midway through the film. Eileen Brennan then pops in as a defrocked nun, but she can't compensate for their absence in pic's later stages.

The director-writer team of Norman Rene and Craig Lucas couldn't get the material to work onstage, and celluloid proves to be an equally inhospitable medium for this quirky fare.

Filmed as if it were a make-believe world, pic's heightened sense of unreality only serves to remind of "Reckless's" stage origins. It is simply mystifying that such stellar talents found something compelling in the material and believed they could make the unpalatable pap comprehensible and entertaining.

Camera (DuArt color), Frederick Elmes; editor, Michael Berenbaum; music, Stephen Endelman; production design, Andrew Jackness; costume design, Walker Hicklin; sound, Michael Barosky; casting, Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith, Kerry Barden. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival, Sept. 13, 1995. Running time: 91 min.

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