Movielogr
Stone (2010)
Directed by John Curran
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
Parole officer Jack Mabry has only a few weeks left before retirement and wishes to finish out the cases he’s been assigned. One such case is that of Gerald ‘Stone’ Creeson, a convicted arsonist who is up for parole. Jack is initially reluctant to indulge Stone in the coarse banter he wishes to pursue and feels little sympathy for the prisoner’s pleads for an early release. Seeing little hope in convincing Jack himself, Stone arranges for his wife to seduce the officer, but motives and intentions steadily blur amidst the passions and buried secrets of the corrupted players in this deadly game of deception.
Rated R | Length 105 minutes
Actors
Robert De Niro | Edward Norton | Milla Jovovich | Frances Conroy | Enver Gjokaj | Pepper Binkley | Sandra Love Aldridge | Greg Trzaskoma | Rachel Loiselle | Kylie Tarnopol | Bailey Tarnopol | Madison Tarnopol | Peter Lewis | Sarab Kamoo | Richard Murphy | Richard Goteri | Big Ron Lyons | Dave Hendricks | Wayne David Parker | Jonathan Stanley
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/02/2011 | TV | DVD | Rented | 8 stars |
| (Average) 8 stars |
Viewing Notes
If you like excellent acting and character studies, this film is wall-to-wall perfection. What it isn’t is a thriller, which it seemed to be marketed as to get bodies in seats. Surely a disappointment to anyone who walked into a screening of Stone expecting such.
De Niro and Norton as both brilliant, with De Niro’s role more nuanced and understated.
The two real standouts though, are the secondary female co-stars, Milla Jovovich and Frances Conroy. I don’t think anyone would expect the amazing performance that Jovovich pulls off here. It’s great to see her shine as a real actress in a role totally different from the action-oriented stuff we know her for.
Conroy’s performance is the best of the film to me. There is so much going on with her character, all of it below the surface and expressed more through her body language and facial expressions than by words. Truly brilliant stuff.
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