Cast: Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Robert De Niro, Cameron Bright
Director: Nick Hamm
Producers: Marc Butan, Sean O'Keefe, Cathy Schulman
Screenplay: Mark Bomback
Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau
Music: Brian Tyler
U.S. Distributor: Lions Gate Films
Godsend is godawful. That's not a statement I expected to be making 30 minutes into this 102-minute motion picture. The movie gets off to a strong start, effectively establishing the characters and the setup. But when the wheels start to come loose, they fly off all at once, sending what's left of the film spinning out of control. The storyline becomes increasingly less plausible and coherent the longer it's permitted to eat up screen time, and, because the filmmakers are unwilling to do something controversial, there's no ending to speak of.
Paul and Jessie Duncan (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are the loving parents of eight-year old Adam (Cameron Bright). The young boy is the couple's pride and joy, and, since Jessie can no longer conceive, their only child. Tragedy strikes when Adam is killed in a road accident. Before his body has been consigned to its grave, in swoops Richard Wells (Robert De Niro), a "fertility specialist" who offers hope to the bereaved parents. By using a single cell from Adam's body, Dr. Wells can clone the boy. After some soul-searching, Paul and Jessie agree to participate in the illegal program, seeing only a chance to assuage their hurt. Nine months later, Jessie gives birth to a healthy baby boy. The first eight years of the new Adam's life pass without incident, but, once he reaches the age at which his predecessor died, he begins to exhibit alarming homicidal tendencies - almost as if a sinister, unseen hand is manipulating his actions.
For a while, Godsend holds out the hope that it is going to offer an intelligent, insightful perspective of the implications of cloning a child. Unfortunately, the cloning aspect of the story becomes secondary as the production turns into a sub-par slasher thriller, complete with an overkill of "boo!" moments and encounters in dark locations with dangerous individuals. Once the movie starts down the psycho killer route, it becomes clear where it has to end - except that the squeamish producers lack the guts to follow the situation to its natural conclusion.
One could argue that this is a modern take on Frankenstein (maybe with a nod to The Bad Seed or The Good Son). While it's true that the movie briefly touches on the ethical dubiousness of a man adopting a god-like role in the creation of life, this element is little more than a red herring. And, to be frank, despite its age, Frankenstein seems infinitely more relevant to recent genetic developments than anything advanced in this screenplay. Mark Bomback's writing is sloppy, and it's not helped by the equally unsure guidance of Nick Hamm, a respected veteran director of British stage productions. Hamm believes that no scene is complete without at least one attempt to startle the audience. However, when overused, this technique becomes tiresome.
I like the performances of Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, especially early in the film. You believe that they're an ordinary, loving couple trying to cope with the senseless loss of the one thing that means the most to them both. Robert De Niro continues a series of auto-pilot performances. The actor desperately needs to once again work with Martin Scorsese. Maybe then he will remind us why he was one of the best actors of the '80s and '90s. As Adam, Cameron Bright is only moderately successful. He's fine until the script forces his character to become sinister. At that point, his performance becomes cartoonish.
Godsend has all the earmarks of a late April theater dump. It's hard to imagine this movie generating much interest, especially considering how ineptly it has been put together. I'm still waiting for a movie that offers a real story about cloning; this isn't it. Yet it's not what's missing from the screen that dooms Godsend, but what's on it. Even at a time when audiences are accepting less from multiplex fare, successful thrillers need to provide more than routine scares, a dumb storyline, and an unsatisfying resolution.
© 2004 James Berardinelli