Jack Mawbry, an officer that is instrumental in granting early releases according to the United States penal system, is a man with a past. It involves his wife and a tragedy they lived years ago. Having turned to religion, and booze, they are living quietly in a suburban home. They have not much to say to one another. Jack will be retiring from the force shortly, so instead of calling it quits, he decides to stay at his desk and finish the cases he has been working until he has to go.
One of the men being considered for parole is Stone, a loose cannon. This man who is serving time for a crime involving arson, is not an easy man to deal with. He is nasty, stubborn, and has a mean streak, something that, by right, will be a strike against him. Stone sees in Jack as a man with a weakness, even though in pleading his case, the prisoner is going the wrong way.
What Stone has is Lucetta, a woman that will do anything to help him get out of prison. She is willing to do come to Jack with the offer of sex in exchange for leniency for Stone. Lucetta goes about her own way until she gets Jack to the point where she and Stone wanted him to be in the first place. Lucetta comes on to Jack in a way he cannot refuse. He has long repressed sex himself, hiding his true feelings in religion. Falling for Lucetta is the worst thing he will do, but once bitten by her youth, he is smitten forever. The subtle blackmail will have terrible consequences for Jack and his wife.
"Stone" is a film that had the potential of being better, but somehow, it did not live up to fulfill its promise. The director, John Curran, tried to give some excitement to Angus MacLachlan's screenplay, but in the end, in spite of casting two of the best actors working in films today, that potential did not translate in the finished product.
It is still not a bad film, by any means. The pairing of Robert Deniro and Edward Norton shows some excitement in the first part of the film. These two men, coming from two opposite sides of the law can still get the viewer riveted to the screen. Frances Conroy, a good actress, goes through the film in an almost sleepwalking state, part of it, because of what had happened in her youth. Mila Jovovich plays against type in a role that offers her some good opportunities to stretch artistically.
One of the men being considered for parole is Stone, a loose cannon. This man who is serving time for a crime involving arson, is not an easy man to deal with. He is nasty, stubborn, and has a mean streak, something that, by right, will be a strike against him. Stone sees in Jack as a man with a weakness, even though in pleading his case, the prisoner is going the wrong way.
What Stone has is Lucetta, a woman that will do anything to help him get out of prison. She is willing to do come to Jack with the offer of sex in exchange for leniency for Stone. Lucetta goes about her own way until she gets Jack to the point where she and Stone wanted him to be in the first place. Lucetta comes on to Jack in a way he cannot refuse. He has long repressed sex himself, hiding his true feelings in religion. Falling for Lucetta is the worst thing he will do, but once bitten by her youth, he is smitten forever. The subtle blackmail will have terrible consequences for Jack and his wife.
"Stone" is a film that had the potential of being better, but somehow, it did not live up to fulfill its promise. The director, John Curran, tried to give some excitement to Angus MacLachlan's screenplay, but in the end, in spite of casting two of the best actors working in films today, that potential did not translate in the finished product.
It is still not a bad film, by any means. The pairing of Robert Deniro and Edward Norton shows some excitement in the first part of the film. These two men, coming from two opposite sides of the law can still get the viewer riveted to the screen. Frances Conroy, a good actress, goes through the film in an almost sleepwalking state, part of it, because of what had happened in her youth. Mila Jovovich plays against type in a role that offers her some good opportunities to stretch artistically.