TV Reviews : ‘The Diamond Fleece’ All Plot, No Character Development
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“The Diamond Fleece” (at 9 tonight on USA cable) is a rudimentary caper about a jewel heist that’s salvaged at the end with a couple of plot twists that are rather clever--dated, yes, but still workable.
The trouble with the story (from writer Michael Norell) is that it’s all plot and no character--a void that accounts for its flatness.
What buffs up this diamond as big as the Ritz, though, is the production’s first-rate actors--pearls, you might say, cast on swine. The suave, literate thief is played by Ben Cross, the nasty cop stalking him is played by Brian Dennehy (grinning as usual), and the thief’s romantic target is a cozy, intellectual book dealer player by Kate Nelligan (who’s wasted in a role she could have phoned in and probably did).
Shot in Toronto and directed by Al Waxman, the movie’s mix of comedy, romance and drama never really jells. But surprises abound. Where else can you find dialogue about J.D. Salinger and, of all things, shimmering lines from Renaissance poet Robert Herrick?
That’s the other virtue: This is precisely the kind of movie you can enjoy while reading Salinger or Herrick.
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