The Two Faces of January

CinemaSerf 5/21/2023 11:53:13AM 8.4

"Chester" (Viggo Mortensen) and wife "Colette" (Kirsten Dunst) are holidaying in Athens when they encounter the charismatic guide "Rydal" (Oscar Isaac). After a pleasant evening together, the couple return to their hotel where he is accosted by a private detective who subsequently has an accident! "Rydal" makes a visit to their hotel and is soon embroiled in the disposal of the body and in a scheme that will get them fake passports and out of the country. Meantime, as is obvious from the start, the guide is completely smitten with "Colette" and as that relationship starts to smoulder, it causes the husband to get rattled and for both men to become increasingly wary of each other. It's quite well cast this, but somehow the thing never quite catches fire. It's rather wordy at times and the mysterious intrigues and the sexual chemistry elements are rather undercooked by Hossein Amini as the story starts to drift into the well trammelled lines of a mediocre romantic drama. Individually, there is charisma a-plenty on screen, but rarely at the same time from Dunst and Isaac which is a shame given the importance of their relationship to the plot. Filmed on location so the cinematography and the light are gorgeous, it's just a shame the story falls well short.