Cast: Vince Vaughn, David Conrad, Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Heche, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Anna Kathryn
Holbrook
Director: Joseph Ruben
Producers: Alain Bernheim, Ezra Swerdlow, and Steve Golin
Screenplay: Wesley Strick
Cinematography: Reynaldo Villalobos
U.S. Distributor: Polygram Filmed Entertainment
Consider this situation: what if, by surrendering yourself to foreign authorities and agreeing to spend three years in a prison hellhole, you could save the life of a friend? That admittedly- fascinating dilemma lies at the heart of Joseph Ruben's new morality play, Return to Paradise, a U.S. remake of the 1989 French feature, Force Majeure. And, while there are times when this movie gets bogged down in melodramatic cliches, it nevertheless represents an intriguing exploration of conscience, friendship, and sacrifice.
Return to Paradise opens during the mid-'90s in Malaysia, where three friends, Sheriff (Vince Vaughn), Tony (David Conrad), and Lewis (Joaquin Phoenix), are spending a five-week vacation sampling the pleasures of "God's own bathtub": rum, drugs, and girls. At the end of their stay, Sheriff and Tony head back to New York, but Lewis, a Greenpeace activist, decides to stay behind to participate in a "Rescue the Orangutan" project. As a result, Lewis is there alone when a police raid uncovers a brick of hash that sends him to jail with a death sentence hanging over his neck.
Two years in the future, a young, persistent lawyer, Beth Eastern (Anne Heche), tracks down Sheriff and Tony to apprise them of the situation. Lewis is a week away from the hangman's noose, and the only thing that will save him is if his two accomplices agree to return with her to Malaysia, turn themselves in, and spend a term in prison. If one of them goes, it's six years. If both of them go, it's three apiece. If they refuse, Lewis dies. The dilemma for both men, who have established lives in New York City, is clear.
Thankfully, Return to Paradise does not cheat the audience when it comes to examining all of the ramifications, both pro and con, of making the crucial decision. It would have been easy for director Joseph Ruben (Sleeping with the Enemy) and screenwriter Wesley Strick to simply use this conundrum as a plot device. But, while there are complications -- a love story, a sketchy look at the power of the press, and a Red Corner-ish appraisal of Malaysian law -- Sheriff and Tony's decision (and the agonizing process of making it) remains at the forefront. Therein lies Return to Paradise's strength, and the film makers recognize this.
There aren't any easy answers to the questions asked here, and the film doesn't pretend that there are. For both men, the decision to go or stay is arrived at only after a lengthy, agonizing process. Sheriff, who presents the facade of a man without a conscience, is reduced to tears while alone watching a videotaped plea from Lewis. Tony, who is apparently "softer" on the outside, is engaged to a woman who might not wait for his return. Sheriff is just as reluctant to give up his life, even though he doesn't have a great one (small apartment, dead-end job, no girlfriend), as Tony is to surrender his promising future. It's proof of how desperately we cling to what we have, even when it's far from perfect.
To further complicate matters, in a melodramatic twist that raises the stakes, Sheriff and Beth fall in love. Now, she's caught in an unexpected tangle of emotions. She needs Sheriff to turn himself in so that her client's death sentence will be commuted, but, if he agrees to go back, she loses him. Meanwhile, an overeager reporter (Jada Pinkett-Smith) is anxious to write a story on Lewis, even though Beth cautions that such a public action could wreck the carefully-constructed deal she has arranged with the Malaysian court officials.
The best performance in the film belongs to Anne Heche, who continues to impress with her range. Her work here is passionate, and she effectively conveys the inner conflict of a woman whose divided loyalties tear at her soul. Vince Vaughn (Swingers) and David Conrad (The Last Days of Disco) are solid as Sheriff and Tony, and both have scenes in which they shine. The third member of the male trio, Joaquin Phoenix (Inventing the Abbotts), gives a moving portrayal as the sickly, imprisoned Lewis. This is a death row character who isn't facing his end bravely -- he desperately wants to live, even if it costs his friends years in prison. ("I feel guilty for even asking, but I'm asking anyway," he admits.)
The film's ending is a little unanticipated, and, although there are a few too many surprise revelations in the last 20 minutes, they all work reasonably well to enhance, rather than diminish, the central theme. Ultimately, while Return to Paradise can be regarded as a suspense film (will they or won't they go back?), it is far more effective when viewed as a drama. I'm glad I don't have to make the decision from which Tony and Sheriff cannot escape (in this case, ignorance would be bliss), but I appreciate the involving and intelligent manner in which Return to Paradise chronicles how they make peace with themselves and with Lewis.
© 1998 James Berardinelli