Movie Reviews

28 Days

26 May 2000

You might have seen the 28 Days trailer, which has been screened ad nauseum in cinemas. If you like the goofy Sandra Bullock, or people falling into wedding cakes and crashing drunkenly into houses, you are no doubt looking forward to two hours of riotous fun.

It's a very misleading promo, luring you in with a false sense of feelgood comedy. However, 28 Days is more frequently an issue-based drama that treats its weighty subject quite seriously.

Bullock plays Gwen, a good-time girl, heavy drinker and recreational drug user. After loutish behaviour at her sister's wedding (hence the cake and the car crash), she is sentenced to 28 days (presumably) in an isolated rehab centre, where everyone chants and is encouraged use "feeling" words. Initially feeling like the only sane patient (not difficult, as the others are mostly played for laughs), Gwen realises that, yes indeed, she has a problem. And so does the movie.

Humour, as we know, often adds power to films about grim topics. Susannah Grant's script, however, provides neither satire nor a suitably dark comic tone. The result is an uneasy balance, with moments of slapstick silliness along with scenes of despair and tragedy. Yet another Hollywood film trying to have the best of both worlds: escapist fun and serious, socially responsible drama. In the end, both are weakened.

The drama works better. This is partly because director Betty Thomas seems to find it more interesting (which it is), and partly because Bullock does it surprisingly well. She is no longer the girl next door, unless you live in a truly dysfunctional neighbourhood. Yet she still has the ability to make even the silliest situations and most stilted dialogue sound utterly natural.

Sadly, it doesn't quite make her a natural for this movie. One could imagine the American independent cinema making a stronger film, perhaps with Ally Sheedy in the lead. Emily Watson could have done a splendid job in Britain. Here in Australia, this could have been a wonderful film, and an ideal role for Jacqueline McKenzie. As it is, 28 Days is a concept that deserved to be filmed, but didn't deserve to go Hollywood.