Great story. Nice plot line but the whole thing falls on its butt because of Melanie Griffith's weak acting. Truth is, she's a beautiful woman with a fine china fragility but simple doesn't know how to create another persona using her body, her voice or timing. Eric Thal comes across nicely as a young Haddic rabbinical student steeped in tradition and torn by the feelings that any young male would feel in the presence of someone as sexual attractive Melanie Griffith. The writing is fine and yes, it does repeat the story line of Harrison Ford's Witness. So what? They were both good stories about marginalized communities within our great society, one rural (the Amish) and one urban (The Haddidim). In both films, the internal richness of the social bonding within these closed communities is shown in contrast to the helter-skelter on and off relationships in our self-confessed "liberated" society.
It's too bad that Melanie Griffith, whose films I keep going to see in hopes she will eventually learn to act, does not have what it takes. Maybe her relationship with the Spanish Actor, Antonio Banderas, will lead to some improvement. My heart goes out to her.
It's too bad that Melanie Griffith, whose films I keep going to see in hopes she will eventually learn to act, does not have what it takes. Maybe her relationship with the Spanish Actor, Antonio Banderas, will lead to some improvement. My heart goes out to her.