THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS (1997)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Bart Freundlich's "The Myth of Fingerprints" left me angry and confused. Sometimes, great movies accomplish those goals with a purpose. "Myth of Fingerprints" is a frustratingly thin dysfunctional family drama where each character is merely introduced and nothing more. There is no follow-through, no desire to see where each character is headed. We see them as character types yet we are as removed from them as one can imagine.
Thanksgiving is around the corner in a New England home. Roy Scheider is the Dad who would prefer if nobody came to visit. Blythe Danner is the Mom who welcomes everyone. Living with them is their youngest daughter, Leigh (Laurel Holloman), a cheerful young woman (and that is all we learn about her, plus her super duper foot massages). The guests include a terminally annoying and hostile older daughter, Mia (Julianne Moore) and her husband, a therapist (Brian Kerwin); the glum son Warren (Noah Wyle) who is still pining for his ex-girlfriend; and another son named Jake (Michael Vartan) who has a girlfriend (Hope Davis) who has nothing on her mind except sex. So there are two dinner sequences in this movie and one repeated and notable flashback, and some delightful scenery.
I wish there was more to "Myth of Fingerprints" but the only enthusiasm I can muster is that the locations and the New England house have a lot of character. The human characters leave no real impression. Noah Wyle's Warren is given more screen time than anyone yet his passivity can grind your nerves (funny, he played a different kind of Warren in the forgotten "Crooked Hearts"), but at least his character is the most interesting. Julianne Moore's Mia is hostile to everyone and has a moment to let her guard down to an old childhood friend but that is all. Holloman's Leigh is cute and bubbly. Roy Scheider appears to be drunk throughout, and has one inexplicable moment during a family dinner. Blythe Danner smiles a lot. The less said about Michael Vartan and Hope Davis, the better.
I think Freundlich is interested in exploring a realistic look at families without an ounce of melodrama, cliches or clear-cut resolutions. All fine and good, however, there is no social dynamic to these people, no reason to spend two hours with them and no reason to believe they are dysfunctional. I am all for ambiguity but I do not believe in ambiguous ambiguities.
