This mystery, based upon Patricia Highsmith’s book of the same name, reminded me of the movie made from another of her books, The Talented Mr. Ripley.  Indeed, the pedigree behind this new movie includes Max Minghella, son of director Anthony Minghella, who helmed the 1999 film, The Talented Mr. Ripley.  So it should not be a surprise that the two movies share similarities.

Both works concern Americans abroad in Europe, money problems, evolving identities and, eventually, murder.  The Talented Mr. Ripley is a terrific movie brought to life by a great cast.  The Two Faces of January, as directed by Hossein Amini, boasts a good trio of leads (Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac) but few if any of the supporting characters seem to matter much to the story, which is exceedingly self-contained.  Actions beget consequences and tragedy lies around every rocky corner of Greece, where these Americans are at first visiting, and then hiding within.

Plenty of detail, lush location filming and strong tension between the trio of leads propels the story along, but it never reaches the lofty level of Anthony Minghella’s Ripley.  I cannot get past Mortensen’s character’s action at the hotel when everything goes wrong; if he would just have made a brave front then, he and his wife would, I think, have gotten clean away.  But the plot needs complication, and this screenplay (by director Amini) provides lots of little twists, turns and deceptions.  Sadly, it just isn’t as compelling as it ought to be.

Part of this I blame on the casting.  I like both Mortensen and Dunst, but they don’t seem to have any chemistry together at all.  Their difference in age is not really part of the story, but it’s an awkward fact that just doesn’t seem right (it may be apropos for Highsmith’s story, which I have not read).  Then there’s Oscar Isaac.  He’s an actor who evidently doesn’t believe in expressing emotion; his character is the key to the whole story yet he barely registers feelings in his blank face.  I think a different, more expressive actor would have been a wiser choice.

The film also lacks the ebbs and flows that drama needs.  It never gets too intense or two slow, and its consistent tone isn’t particularly suspenseful or harrowing.  It feels more artificial than real, despite the talent involved and strong production values.  It seems more like a travelogue TV-movie of the week rather than the powerful motion picture that should have developed from the material.  ☆ ☆.  29 October 2014.