Solace is a sad story, and I am not referring to the title, plot or premise of the film. Billed as a supernatural thriller, it boasts an impressive cast, beginning with Antony Hopkins, now 77. Joining him is Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell and Abbie Cornish. Cornish, perhaps best known for her moving portrayal of the doomed poet John Keat’s girlfriend Fannie Brawn in Bright Star is the only noteworthy female in the cast. So why is Solace such a dud?
One reason is that the film was originally supposed to be a sequel to David Fincher’s influential neo-noir thriller Se7en, and resembles it enough to seem derivative, but not sufficiently to make it worth watching. Morgan plays veteran FBI detective Joe Merriwether whose young, blond, buxom and heavily made-up partner is Special Agent Katherine Cowles (Cornish).
She is not just a pretty face, however, but a brainy doctor and renown criminal profiler. Despite their combined credentials, the Merriwether and Cowles cannot solve a series of puzzling, seemingly random murders, believed to be the work of a sick serial killer.
Just when you are thinking we are in Silence of the Lamb territory, the pair seeks out a retired civilian analyst, Dr John Clancy (Hopkins) who bears an uncanny resemblance to Hannibal Lecter. Clancy, who has disturbing visions, has been a recluse since his daughter died in mysterious circumstances and his marriage ended. He is persuaded to help the team when he ‘reads’ Cowles’ future and feels a paternal urge to change it.
Clancy leads the FBI agents to a suspect named Charles Ambrose (Farrell), but that’s the easy part. Clancy, whose powers to read people’s past and future appears unsurpassed, realises he has met his match with Ambrose and is about to abandon the project.
It is always a problem when an A-list lead actor, in this case Hopkins, is one of the film’s executive producer, and when the top billed writer, Walt Disney executive Sean Bailey, is another executive producer, but has not written a script before. There is no one who would dare submit ‘notes’ or suggest a rewrite.
Hopkins plays a caricature of himself and really looks as though he took on the job to pay the mortgage on some new beachfront property. Bailey’s co-writer, Ted Griffin, has written some decent scripts (if we forget the dire Tower Heist) such as Ravenous and Matchstick Men, but this is not one of them.
Brazilian Director Afonso Poyart’s only previous feature, 2 Coelhos (Two Rabbits), is not exactly an art house gem, and he does not do his actors any favours. Cornish is so bad you would never know she is the same actress who dazzled us in Somersault and Candy and was destined for greatness.
Solace takes itself and its ridiculous, cheesy plot so seriously that you begin to worry that it’s a parody of the serial killer genre and that you were supposed to be laughing. If only.
by Joyce Glasser
