MOVIE REVIEW : Hoskins’ ‘Raggedy Rawney’ Long but No ‘Good Friday’

Bob Hoskins is such a ferociously gifted actor that there’s a built-in curiosity factor attached to his directorial debut, “The Raggedy Rawney.” Actors-turned-directors generally don’t have a particularly good track record; their movies often are shaped in terms of performance at the expense of everything else we go to the movies for. Still, if the performances are exceptional, who cares?

The performances in “The Raggedy Rawney” (at the Monica 4-Plex) are merely passable, including, alas, Hoskins’. It’s to Hoskins’ credit, I suppose, that he doesn’t hog all the close-ups and big scenes; for such a take-charge actor, he’s a surprisingly modest and ecumenical director. But, since, even at half-speed, he’s easily the most forceful actor in the film, his reticence seems misplaced.

Hoskins claims the movie is based on a Gypsy tale passed down in his family. In a few scenes, as when we see the Gypsies, led by Hoskins’ barrel-chested Darky, singing in happy unison, the film has the impact of full-throated folklore. It’s been shot by Frank Tidy (“The Duellists,” “The Grey Fox”) with care, and Michael Kamen’s score, which sounds like it draws on old folk tunes, is sometimes worth listening to even when the movie isn’t worth watching. Hoskins knows enough to surround himself with top-notch production associates--the first rule of thumb for a new director.

Unfortunately, it’s the only rule he’s mastered. The film itself is a muddled fable about a band of Gypsies roving the English countryside amid some kind of apocalyptic civil war. Tom (Dexter Fletcher), a young army deserter, disguises himself as a mute, mad girl and is taken in by the Gypsies as a “rawney”--a witch with magical powers for good. The rawney’s first test--he incorrectly predicts the winner of a horse race--sets the tone for his subsequent trials. Before long, he’s regarded as a weirdo hanger-on--a force for bad luck.

Completed more than a year ago, “The Raggedy Rawney” (rated R) is a pretty raggedy movie; the ending feels like the last act is missing, and yet the film seems at least half an hour too long. My guess is that it got caught in the trim-o-matic en route to its theatrical release. Is Tom actually insane at the outset of his desertion or is he just being canny? The ambiguity isn’t resonant, just confusing. The nature of the ongoing warfare is unnecessarily murky; it’s never clear what’s at stake.

“The Raggedy Rawney” may be a fable, but a fable about what?

‘THE RAGGEDY RAWNEY’

A Handmade Films presentation. Executive producers George Harrison and Denis O’Brien. Producer Bob Weis. Director Bob Hoskins. Screenplay Hoskins and Nicole De Wilde. Cinematography Frank Tidy. Music Michael Kamen. With Hoskins, Dexter Fletcher, Zoe Nathanson, Timothy Lang.

Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes.

MPAA-rated: R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian).