ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Satpuday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606030127
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
In adapting novelist James Lee Burke's "Heaven's Prisoners" to the screen, director Phil Joanu gets things about half right.
Star Alec Baldwin (who also shares producer credit) probably fits most readers' expectations of Burke's alcoholic hero, Dave Robicheaux. Baldwin looks right and he makes Robicheaux's battle with his inner demons seem real and all too believable; the opening shot is in a confessional.
The film fails on simpler matters. It's far too slowly paced, and despite its leisurely exposition (two hours plus), the plot is full of holes. In fact, the central question is never answered.
Dave and his wife, Annie (Kelly Lynch), are out fishing on their boat when a small plane crashes in the ocean near them. Dave manages to rescue a little girl (Samantha Lagpacan) from Central America; the rest of the passengers are killed. The feds are interested but have little to say. When Dave and Annie unofficially adopt the girl, Dave, a retired New Orleans police detective, decides to find out more about her.
For reasons only half-explained at best, that brings gangster Bubba Rocque (Eric Roberts) and his tattooed wife, Claudette (Teri Hatcher), into the story. The rest of the action is violent, atmospheric and subtropically sweaty. (Characters have not perspired so much on screen since "Body Heat," though viewers looking for eroticism are at the wrong movie.)
As he has proved in "State of Grace" and "Final Analysis," Joanu can string together striking images. Working with cinematographer Harris Savides, a veteran of music videos and commercials, he has created a film that shimmers with seedy glamour. In that area, Roberts and Hatcher are particularly comfortable. Their cartoonish characters steal every scene they share with the leads.
With the exception of one long chase scene, the physical action tends to drag. Joanu spends far too much time flattering Baldwin with extreme closeups when he ought to be pushing the story forward. It seems that neither the director, the star nor the writers were really interested in the mechanics of the plot. Given the strengths of the novel - colorful characters, intricate conflicts, an exotic locale - a good studio screenwriter could have crafted the material into a rock solid script.
As it is, though, "Heaven's Prisoners" is a wasted opportunity.
Heaven's Prisoners **
A New Line Cinema release playing at the Valley View 6. 132 minutes Rated R for strong language, violence, brief nudity.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alec Baldwin plays former New Orleans police detectiveby CNBDave Robicheaux. color.