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	Wicker Park
	Paul McGuigan Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger, Matthew Lillard, Jessica Paré 2004		His previous movies, "The Reckoning" and "Gangster No. 1," were clever, diverse and stylish, marking director Paul McGuigan as a rising talent. That makes his direction of "Wicker Park," based on the French film "L'Appartement," a greater disappointment than if it had been made by someone else. A psychodrama about obsessive love, "Wicker Park" needed a more astute script and better actors to be considered in the tradition of an influence such as Hitchcock. Set in contemporary Chicago, it stars pouty, opaque pretty-boy Josh Hartnett as Matt, a man whose life goes off track while he's searching for his lost love. She's Lisa, a dancer portrayed anemically by Diane Kruger, and she disappeared two years ago. Matt is engaged to another woman and about to leave town on business when he thinks he's spotted Lisa. He drops everything to find her, asking his friend Luke (a grating Matthew Lillard) to help. McGuigan's technique is sure-handed and visually stimulating, and the story's shifting perspectives are challenging. But the plot devices used to foster the separation of Matt and Lisa only work if neither has the connectivity provided by cell phones, voice mail and e-mail. Unbelievably, the urbanites of "Wicker Park" are not wired. In such an unreal situation, it's up to the actors to convince and ensnare the audience. Only the compelling Rose Byrne, as Lisa's confidante, does so.


	Friday, April 19, 2024





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