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 In Cinemas Thursday Aug 28 [PG]
Director: Christopher N. Rowley
Runtime: 93min
Bonneville is a film that has been gathering dust on the shelf for the past two years, with the studio waiting for the right time when they thought the most mother-daughter pairs would be scouting for a film to see. Essentially it’s Thelma & Louise for retirees, and while I’m sure this film must resonate for first-time screenwriter Daniel D. Davis, who based the three main characters on prominent women in his life, one can’t help but feel puzzled as to the misuse of talent and potential within the film.
Set in the small, Mormon-populated town of Pocatello, Idaho, the film depicts newly widowed Arvilla (Jessica Lange) embarking on a road trip with close friends Margene and Carol (Kathy Bates and Joan Allen). The trip is in her late husband’s 1966 Bonneville and it’s in order to reluctantly deliver his ashes to her – let’s face it – bitch of a stepdaughter. Lange, while at times compelling, has little to work with in her role as the heartbroken but now uninhibited widow. Bates similarly has been given a character substandard of her ability, with her main narrative in the film being her unconvincing quest to find a man. Still, she manages to lighten the film substantially in true Kathy Bates fashion. But Allen’s character is the real pickle in this – the strict Mormon who claims the moral high ground, but who inevitably sees the pros of letting loose and having fun as she drinks and gambles through their journey. Not only is this boring and clichéd, it’s also indicative of how not to create a role such as this (refer to the character of Thelma for ‘how to’).
Viewers of Bonneville can expect lovely scenery along the trio’s interstate ‘adventures’, in between overdoses of familiarity. While films within the hybrid road movie genre occasionally reference one another, Bonneville takes this to a new level. The similarities with Thelma & Louise don’t stop at the convertible and headscarves, as the women pick up a random, young, male hitchhiker; have frequent run-ins with a horn-tooting trucker; and find their way to the Grand Canyon. But instead of the hitchhiker being the unforgettable rogue played by Brad Pitt, Bonneville’s is used tediously as a metaphor for Lange’s connection to her late husband. And instead of the trucker being a loudmouth pervert whose truck is blown to smithereens, we get the polite Tom Skerritt who, seemingly by default, becomes the love interest of Bates. And as one can guess, the three women don’t meet their fate at the edge of the Canyon, but rather like the view.
As a paint-by-numbers life lessons story, Bonneville brings minimal novelty to the table. It is still, however, a film that most mums/aunties/grandmothers could enjoy, as it offers both humour and heartfelt moments at times. One can also take enjoyment in seeing these three female film greats on screen together, especially at a time when, Baby Mama aside, Hollywood clearly struggles to release films with more than one or two female characters.
**
MICHELLE MANENTI
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