Some movies are a tad too cute for their own good, and Eran Palatnik’s 1993 exercise in obfuscation, “The Rook,” lands like a falling boulder smack dab in the middle of this category.
Set in the year 1801 in an unnamed country that suggests Eastern Europe, “The Rook” is in essence a murder mystery that becomes a chess game as a pompous government inspector travels to the cryptic town of Sutheridge to investigate the mysterious death of a politically active young woman who may or may not be part of an underground revolutionary group.
The detective, named John Abbott, is played by Martin Donovan, most recently seen as the lovesick cousin in 1996’s “Portrait of a Lady” but best known as the confused protagonist of numerous Hal Hartley films (“Trust,” “Simple Men,” “Amateur”).
Abbott is not your run-of-the-mill 19th Century government inspector. As his Puritan-sounding name might suggest, he has an on-again, off-again relationship with the Almighty, which is revealed in dramatic voice-over through letters to his darling wife. It is this tortured belief in God that hinders his investigation from the start, causing him to look for blacks and whites in the most gray of areas.
Complicating the investigation further is the constant presence of the cool but slimy chief-of-police, Bob Brice (John A. MacKay), who appears to be helping the detective in his search for truth but exhibits all the sneaky signs of a fallen comrade with his own agenda.
As the probe continues — through bedrooms, taverns and laboratories right out of Kafka — the story begins to whirl out of control. Not because the numerous clues are so intriguing or revealing but because writer Richard Lee Purvis piles on more and more seemingly pertinent information that ultimately will turn out to be inconsequential. Before you know it, there are spies, counterspies, shadowy figures in the night, and even a potential informant (with key information) being stabbed to death just minutes before Abbott arrives.
There are certainly positives in this film worth mentioning. Not only is “The Rook” a good-looking creation, with loads of dramatic backlighting and some terrific set pieces, but many of the supporting performances also are wonderfully creepy and quirky, including Michael Finesilver and Fritz Fox as Heller and Clark, two wormy underlings from the Elisha Cook Jr. school of acting.
But when all is said and done, and the truth has been revealed, and the final credits roll, the overwhelming temptation is to sit back and complain “Is that all there is?”
”THE ROOK”
(star) (star) 1/2
Directed by Eran Palatnik; written by Richard Lee Purvis; photographed by Zack Winestine; production designed by Sebastian Schroder; music composed by Robert Een. An Ecco Films release; opens Friday at Facets Multimedia. Running time: 1:25. No MPAA rating. Some nudity and mild violence.
THE CAST
John Abbott …………. Martin Donovan
Bob Brice …………… John A. MacKay
Donald Heller ……….. Michael Finesilver
Sean Clark ………….. Fritz Fox
Dr. Abby Trent ………. Diane Grotke
Harrison Baker ………. David P. Dawson
