A Universal (Germany) release of a Barefoot Films presentation of a Barefoot Films, Erfttal Film, Rheingold Films, Universal Pictures Germany (Germany)/Manifesto Entertainment (Canada)/Indigo Motion Pictures (U.S.) production, with participation of Swiss TV. Produced by Klaus Dohle, Ingo Vollkammer, Shannon Mildon, Tom Zickler, Til Schweiger. Executive producers, Reto Salimbeni, Josef Steinberger, Julie Ruthenbeck-Mittweg, Dirk Lisowsky, Klaus Hefele. Directed, written by Reto Salimbeni.
With: Til Schweiger, Lauren Lee Smith, Stefanie von Pfetten, Sebastien Roberts, Art Hindle, Sonja Smits, Eric Roberts, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kenneth Welsh, Daniel Kash, Allan Royal, Ned Bellamy, Elisa Moolecherry, Sandra Hess, Jennifer Steele.
(English dialogue)
Co-producing through his own shingle, Barefoot Films, German hunk Til Schweiger gives himself his first English-language leading role in "One Way," a Gotham-set drama-thriller shot in Canada and Cologne, with a heavy dose of Canuck actors in the other leading roles. Slickly shot in wintry colors, but with characters and dialogue straight off the U.S. telepic conveyer belt, this is functional ancillary fodder in Anglophone markets that rarely lives up to its flashes of promise. Given Schweiger's popularity, pic opened disappointingly in Germany Jan. 25, taking the No. 6 spot on its first weekend.
Schweiger plays cocky, go-getter ad exec Eddie Schneider, who's engaged to Judy (Stefanie von Pfetten), daughter of his boss, Russel Birk (Art Hindle), but still can't keep his hands off other women. When an old friend at work, Angelina (Lauren Lee Smith), is raped by Judy's sicko brother Anthony (Sebastien Roberts), Eddie puts his career first and helps get Anthony acquitted.
It doesn't do him much good. When Judy reveals she knows all about his fling with a neighbor, Eddie is fired. Meanwhile, Angelina, who has a history of mental disorder, turns into Ms. 45 and takes brutal revenge on Anthony. When Eddie is accused of the murder, he finds he now needs Angelina's help to prove
his innocence.
At the halfway stage, pic shows signs of turning into an interesting, extremely dark psychodrama when Angelina ritually gives Anthony some of his own medicine. But thereafter the movie returns to safer tracks, climaxing with a standard U.S. courtroom finale.
In the later stages, Schweiger, who can act convincingly in English, lets shine through some of the boyish charm he's known for in his German romantic comedies. But his essentially weak character is difficult to like, and the cold efficiency of the whole picture, scripted and helmed by Swiss-born Reto Salimbeni (1996's "Urban Safari"), doesn't help. Schweiger's own directorial outings ("The Ice Bear," "Barefoot") have been much better than this.
Von Pfetten has her moments as the only sympathetic lead, and Eric Roberts brings some human heft to the final reels as Eddie's defense lawyer. Other perfs are pro, though Smith is saddled with a character that hardly makes psychological sense.
Aside from a few actual shots of New York, interiors look patently German and exteriors Canadian, though the widescreen lensing, heavy on ochres and whites, is always good-looking and well composed. Other production values on the $9 million pic are fine.
Camera (color, widescreen), Paul Sarossy, Mark Willis; editor, Charles Ladmiral; music, Dirk Reichardt, Stefan Hansen; production designers, Matthew Davies (Canada), Christian Schaefer (Cologne); art director, Pete Emmink; costume designer, Noreen Landry; sound (Dolby Digital), Stefan Busch; stunt coordinator, Bryan Renfro; casting, Robin Cook. Reviewed at CineStar Sony Center 1, Berlin, Jan. 28, 2007. Running time: 116 MIN.
Contact Derek Elley at
derek.elley@variety.com