Cast: Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, Fred Ward, Tyra Ferrell, Marisa Tomei, M. Emmett Walsh
Director: Alan Rudolph
Producer: David Blocker
Screenplay: Alan Rudolph
Cinematography: Elliot Davis
U.S. Distributor: I.R.S Releasing
Twins, separated at birth, grow into adulthood never knowing each other while living lives that evolve along very different paths. Freddy Ace (Matthew Modine) is a small-time gangster, a cold-hearted hit man and driver for local Mob boss Paris (Fred Ward). Freddy's goal is getting ahead, and he has his eyes set on the top position. In contrast, Henry Petosa (also Modine) has almost no ambition whatsoever. He's a shy, reclusive auto mechanic who has trouble relating to others, especially members of the opposite sex.
I have no idea whether Equinox is a cleverly-devised satire on these kinds of "identity movies", or whether it's a bad melodramatic addition to the genre. This ambiguity in itself is not a good sign -- if the director was going for the parody, he should have done something to tip it off. Instead, while we get hints that this might be the case, there are at least as many clues pointing to the alternative. Often, ambiguity in a film can be a good thing. This, however, is not one of those occasions.
The characters are all weird. Not "weird" in a delightful, quirky sense, but in a manner that's irritating. There's no one to relate to since writer/director Alan Rudolph doesn't attempt to make any of his principals accessible to the audience. Freddy, cold-blooded and aloof, feels like God after committing a murder. Henry is emotionally-crippled, unable to relate in normal social situations. His on-again, off-again girlfriend Beverly (Lara Flynn Boyle) is just as fragile. She's frightened of sex and constantly refers to herself in the third person. No one else is any healthier.
The acting is uniformly unimpressive. Matthew Modine, around whom the entire film revolves, does not do a good job. In pictures like Gross Anatomy and Wind, where he's required to play an annoyingly cocky young man, he can be convincing. Here, however, he overacts. He's better as Freddy than Henry, but neither role is a masterpiece of subtlety, and it's clear that he doesn't have a solid grasp on either character. Lara Flynn Boyle, like Modine as Henry, feels the need to go over-the-top to show Beverly's emotional fragility. When she and Modine are together, it's sometimes a contest to see who can do the worst job.
It's too bad that Equinox is so problemic, because the soil is ripe for tilling. While there's nothing new in the premise of twins with radically different personalities, this has a unique angle that, if fashioned more coherently, could have been the foundation for an involving, thought-provoking motion picture. Even with all of Equinox's problems, there's something in the concept that encourages the viewer to stick with it, if for no other reason than to see what happens if and when the twins finally meet.
Except in the few places where Rudolph makes it clear that he's poking fun at something, the dialogue is atrocious. Most of the lines spoken by Henry sound scripted and Freddy is constantly spitting out hard-boiled dialogue from a grade-B detective flick. Even if the viewer chooses to look at Equinox as a straight spoof, it still doesn't work, although many of the worst scenes are less embarrassing. Analyzing the film from that point-of-view makes it apparent how little of it gels. If it's meant to be a satire, why are there so many dry, straight scenes? What about the ending, which seems designed to deliver a "powerful" message? Regardless of your perspective, Equinox comes across as badly muddled.
© 1993 James Berardinelli