ASH WEDNESDAY Rating: Director: Ed Burns Producers: Margot Bridger, Ed Burns Writer: Ed Burns Director of Photography: Russell Lee Fine Cast: Ed Burns, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew

Review by: Curtis Raines
10/08/02

I'm an Ed Burns fan. But one thing I will admit about his work is it's either hit or miss. And his latest film, Ash Wednesday, is definitely a miss. I was a little skeptical before going to view this movie. Never before has an Ed Burns' movie gone under the radar like this one. I absolutely had heard nothing about this project up until the day I found out I was reviewing it. Now maybe I understand why.

But I gotta tell you, if you like slow movies with Irish accents galore and rhetorical questions, then this is your flick. Allow me to explain myself about the rhetorical question comment. Burns took the improvisational approach to dialogue, which has normally been good to him in the past. It's his style, and if pulled off correctly, it works (Brothers McMullen, Sidewalks of New York). But let me tell you, when it doesn't work, and the only ad-libbing you can do is just to come back with a smart-ass rhetorical question, you might want to read straight from the script and ditch the improv act. Example, "Francis, what are you doing tonight?" Typical response in this movie: "What's it look like I'm doing? What do you mean what I am doing tonight?" Mix a few four-letter words in and you basically have 80% of all the dialogue in Ash Wednesday. And it's sad to say that I'm not exaggerating -- okay, maybe I am a little. Now this movie's running time is just over 90 minutes. But if you take out all the rhetorical questions -- let me do some calculating -- carry the four move it over a couple decimal points okay, got it. According to my calculations: Ash Wednesday, without the rhetorical questions, would be a seven-minute short.

Ed Burns plays Frances, the older brother to Sean (Elijah Wood). When Sean overhears a few local thugs talking about rubbing Frances out over an unpaid gambling debt, the young and innocent Sean strikes first by shooting the thugs dead. Three years later, Sean returns from hiding to the old neighborhood to reclaim the love of his wife Grace (Rosario Dawson). But rumors spread throughout the community of his return, causing an uproar amongst the rival gang that wants him dead. Frances, who has since gone clean, is forced to confront the rivals and defend the life of his brother once again.

If you're familiar with Burns' work, there's not much new here. It's obvious that the theme of brotherhood, the Catholic Church, and community are major players in his projects. The only difference between this and his other movies is that the comedic element is not there. Which is very unfortunate, because I happen to think that's his strong suit. The story is very simple and the pace is painfully slow.

Rosario Dawson was one of the few bright spots (she's becoming one of my favorites), but Elijah Wood -- I don't know, I just can't explain it. I feel bad to say this, but I kept waiting for Bilbo Baggins to jump out and give him the ring. I couldn't take him seriously as Burns' brother -- completely the wrong casting choice to me. It's probably not fair for me to typecast Wood as a hobbit and I'm trying not to. But to be honest, when The Two Towers hits theaters this winter, all bets are off.

I think it's time for Burns to touch on some new content, and I'm looking forward to when he does. I get the fact that he's Irish and from an Irish Catholic neighborhood in New York and that's what he enjoys writing about. But I don't need to be beat over the head with it. I know Woody Allen made a career of touching on the same themes and social structures, but Burns is no Allen. I still think he's very talented, perhaps a better writer than director/ actor, and I'm not about to give up on him. I just think it's time to move on to different material.

I can say one thing for the guy though. He finally has a real life girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) that can actually act.

(An IFC Films release. Opens in limited release on October 11.)

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