Monica Belucci's fully committed performance, as well as her commendable willingness to appear as unglamorous as possible (with very short hair, limited or no make-up, often bloodied-up and dirty), are wasted in this semi-supernatural thriller that suffers from a muddled script (just like a previous adaptation of a Jean-Christophe Grangé novel, "Crimson Rivers" - maybe his books are just too hard to condense in under two hours of screen time), an incomplete finish that feels like a set-up for an (unlikely) sequel, cold direction, plodding pacing, and a completely humorless tone. I honestly found it a bit of a struggle to get through. It will probably be watched / remembered only for the first "cross-generational" on-screen meeting of Belucci with Catherine Deneuve. (**)
Review of The Stone Council
The Stone Council
(2006)
Muddled and plodding thriller, unworthy of Monica Bellucci's brave performance
29 November 2007