The Simian Line

The New York papers hacked this poor film to bits this week. A friend dragged me in, and I expected it to be terrible.

Wrong! This is a beautiful, funny, romantic film. "Ghost" for grown-ups who watched the WTC towers crumble to dust.

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS: People on a date who are mature enough to like "Ghost"; adults in their 40s and up who want to see a film that's intelligent without being grim. Probably not for kids under 16 (unless they really like the Turner Movie Classics channel.) Has an R rating, but suitable for most people who aren't too sensitive, because most of the cussing takes place in one short scene. The only other R-type material is a few tasteful shots of couples in bed together.

THE FILM: The main characters are three couples, two roommates, and a fortuneteller who talks to her dead husband who live in Weehawken, New Jersey. The film follows the struggle of the couples to stay together; the roommates to avoid coming together; and the fortune-teller to hold to her belief that she can talk to her dead husband.

THE SCRIPT: The script is a little loose, but there is actually a plot, the characters all have real jobs (no professors, detectives, prostitutes or starship captains) and the dialogue is subtle. Moreover, all the main characters have excellent parts. The writers also got the Weehawken details right.

THE CAST: The cast includes William Hurt, Tyne Daly, Lynn Redgrave, Harry Connick Jr., Eric Stoltz and Cindy Crawford. Cameos? No. They all have real parts, and they all do a great job. (Yes, even Cindy Crawford. )

THE REAL HEROES:

• Patrick Seymour wrote a gentle, moving score, and he or someone else worked it into the film at the right moments without letting it overpower the other elements.

• The cinematographer, David Bridges, made the people and houses look haunting. He also made excellent use of the fact that Weehawken sits on a cliff across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Bridges took a lot of shots of the characters walking in front of the Manhattan skyline -- including eerie glimpses of the WTC towers. He also took lots of shots of the New York Waterway ferry boats -- the boats that spent Sept. 11 ferrying thousands of people to safety -- and corpses to morgues -- in places like Weehawken and Jersey City.

Of course, a lot of the people who died lived in houses just like the ones in this film.

The Simian Line is a sweet, peaceful film. But, without knowing what would happen to the WTC towers, the filmmakers made the first film released after the tragedy that cherishes the spirit of what was lost.

It's not surprising that my expectations were a bit inflated with such a terrific cast of actors assembled, regardless of the story. I would say that the movie has some good moments, but overall, missed an opportunity and really should have been much better. There's some interesting themes introduced in the FIVE story lines/relationships that go mostly unexplored, and things are tied up quite neatly and abruptly at the end, which I found unsatisfying and frustrating. This film isn't a waste of time, but is likely to be enjoyed only if you approach it as the light fairytale that it is, and don't expect anything more.

This film is a credit to writer/director Linda Yellen's hard work. The story was unique and heartwarming and the performances were great! Tyne Daly's character was so great and unexpected, Redgrave was unbelievable, as always, and who knew Cindy Crawford and Harry Connick were such great actors. I would recommend this movie to anyone!

THE SIMIAN LINE kinda intrigued me for a while. It has a cast full of known names and yet so few reviews, so for me it could have been some sort of must-see. Well, I was wrong and after I finished it I could see why it has been forgotten.

It begins during an Halloween party thrown by Katherine (Lynn Redgrave) when a psychic named Arnita (Tyne Daly) predicts that one of the couples at the party will break up by the end of the year, but nobody believes her. Arnita doesn't tell her that she can see a fourth couple, the ghosts of Mae and Edward (the late William Hurt). Days pass and Katherine becomes jealous of her lover's flirting with gorgeous neighbour Sandra (Cindy Crawford), and the lives of the other two couples are shown but at this point, who cares?

In the beginning it looked ok, but as it progressed it took a detour to Stupidville and never went back. The acting was lazy, and only William Hurt and Eric Stoltz looked like they were trying, but all the others? They just went through the motions. Most of the characters were bland or annoying, and this is a major strike for any movie (not just this). The plot looked boring and I am amazed I didn't feel asleep during the viewing.

Not a really bad movie but something close thanks to sloppy direction, lazy editing and hard to believe situations. Only of interest if you love to see beloved actors in low points of their careers.

THE SIMIAN LINE (2000) ** Lynn Redgrave, Cindy Crawford, Harry Connick Jr., Tyne Daly, William Hurt, Samantha Mathis, Jamey Sheridan, Eric Stoltz. Unusual romantic comedy with a twist: set in present day Weehawken, NJ three couples undergo some serious navel gazing after a kooky medium foretells their future that one pair will ultimately break up thanks to some meddling yet friendly ghosts with mixed results. At its heart is an improvisitory feel throughout and if the plotting seems half-baked consider filmmaker Linda Yellen's 12 day shooting schedule (!) on location.

She gets the most for her dollar in her unlikely cast who all seem to be in their own little movie.