Stone [DVD]

Stone features Edward Norton (Fight Club) as Gerald 'Stone' Creeson, a convicted arsonist who is becoming eligible for parole having served "8 out of 10 to 15" years. His Parole Officer is Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro), a man who is seemingly emotionally detached from the rest of the world and most significantly his marriage. Stone is not as stupid as his pseudo-street mannerisms would suggest as he tries to manipulates Mabry into helping his parole recommendation with mind games and his wife on the outside; Lucetta (Mila Jovovich - Resident Evil: Afterlife).

The majority of the film is shot in Jack Mabry's office as Stone and Mabry discuss Stone's eligibility to rejoin society. However Stone manages to slyly turn the conversation into a matter of the differences between the two men; insistent that there is little to differentiate them from one another except for the fact Stone has got caught. Days away from retirement and with the spotlight on himself, Mabry struggles to counter this argument and faces difficult moral decisions in how to handle Stone's wife Lucetta who is lasciviously pursuing him. Will he give in to temptation or stay on the moral high ground?

This film was a box-office bomb and honestly I'm not surprised. It's an interesting concept that the film wrestles with for it's duration, but ultimately it feels very drawn out as the laconic conversations really start to become monotonous. Jack's relationship with Lucetta is stilted and predictable and Norton's street accent really grates after a while. It's not to say that anyone's acting is substandard, more that the material is extremely dry and the little drama there is just feels hackneyed and unbelievable. When this is wrapped in an extremely sterile cinematic experience (the entire thing is set in an office, the prison visiting rooms or Jack's dilapidated rural house) it makes for a very boring watch - weighing in at 1hr 45 mins.

Extra content: All you get is a featurette called "The Making of Stone" and the theatrical trailer. The 'making of' is fairly boring as there wasn't a single scene where I was interested to see how they filmed it. I mean, a camera in an office? Hardly ground-breaking cinematography.

All in all, a solid script with a brilliant cast, but lacking any action and the right pace to keep you interested.

There was a lot to like about this film to begin with, and throughout there was a sense that there was something profound around the corner for all involved. Sadly as the film progressed that something failed to materialise.

The film was a slow burner and a haunting score added to the tension and feeling something big was instore for the characters. The performances were good I thought, and testament to this is the fact that De Niro was outperformed by his co stars, Norton and Jovovich.

I found myself ingrossed to begin with as the story played out - and with an underlying theme of religion and sprirituality - I was truly expecting something of biblical proportions to wrap things up. Sadly though, the film just kind of fizzled out.

For me, the film started well and looked promising, but in the end failed to deliver anything spectacular and although enjoyable in places but lacked any sort of meaningful resolution and failed to deliver the final bang we were lead to believe was instore.

The Blu ray wa good quality but the extars were rubbish - just a making of documentary and a couple of very short, rubbish interviews. I would say there is very little reason for the extra outlay on Blu Ray so save some money and get it on DVD if you decide to buy it. But think twice about as I only give it a score of 3 out of 5. In fact, I don't even think this film was released at the cinemas; says a lot.

This film received scathing reviews, and was released on DVD only, and I can see why - the 'Stone' character is laughable. A shame, as 2 great actors and a good idea is lost here.

DeNiro and the sometimes brilliant Edward Norton star in this average psychologist drama film, which accidentally veers onto black comedy. They pair up again after the excellent 'The Score' in 2001, with DeNiro's films having been not so good since then.

It starts off very well, being serious and powerful in the unsaid. Then psychologist DeNiro meets 'Stone', a white man with braids - a street talking criminal. Stone is detestable, comical and odd - and that is what the film becomes (Ali-G anyone?). However, I still think DeNiro puts in a rateable role, and this should please a some DeNiro fans.

Mila Jovovich (Resident Evil) also stars, with her perfect teeth, as Stone's dirty girlfriend. The racy elements aren't sexy and add to the film's awkwardness.