Character-driven with a carefully-constructed plot, Howard Davies'
tautly-directed "Armadillo" is top quality television, more satisfying
than any theatrical movie in recent months, including "Road to
Perdition." William Boyd's script, about an insurance adjuster who
is not what he seems while he tries to puzzle out a claim that is
something other than what it purports to be, draws in the viewer
from the moment the film opens with James Frain walking
through the charred structure he's investigating. Frain is perfect for
the role--vulnerable, expressive, sympathetic. His developing
romance with Catherine McCormick is fully realized. Hugh
Bonneville somehow empathetically portrays one of the most vile
characters in memory, and Stephen Rea amuses with his over-the-top characterization of the insurance adjuster's enigmatic
and bombastic boss. Beautifully photographed, the camera
follows the adjuster as he pries into the mysteries of the claim
he's investigating and captures the tension between the two
lovers. At three hours it's a bit long, but I watched it twice. And I'll
probably take another look.
tautly-directed "Armadillo" is top quality television, more satisfying
than any theatrical movie in recent months, including "Road to
Perdition." William Boyd's script, about an insurance adjuster who
is not what he seems while he tries to puzzle out a claim that is
something other than what it purports to be, draws in the viewer
from the moment the film opens with James Frain walking
through the charred structure he's investigating. Frain is perfect for
the role--vulnerable, expressive, sympathetic. His developing
romance with Catherine McCormick is fully realized. Hugh
Bonneville somehow empathetically portrays one of the most vile
characters in memory, and Stephen Rea amuses with his over-the-top characterization of the insurance adjuster's enigmatic
and bombastic boss. Beautifully photographed, the camera
follows the adjuster as he pries into the mysteries of the claim
he's investigating and captures the tension between the two
lovers. At three hours it's a bit long, but I watched it twice. And I'll
probably take another look.