Brokedown Palace Fox Film Distributors | United States 100 mins
High school buddies Alice (Claire Danes) and Darlene (Kate Beckinsale) set off for a holiday adventure in Thailand, full of youthful exuberance and the naïve innocence of middle class America. In a joyride escapade at a five star Bangkok hotel swimming pool, they meet a handsome young Australian, Nick (Daniel Lapaine) who charms his way into their confidence - and into one of their beds. His offer of a few days in Hong Kong with him (while he is there on business) seems too good to refuse. But at Bangkok airport, the girls are arrested for drug trafficking and their adventure turns into the ordeal of their lives. From prison, they contact expat American lawyer, Hank Greene (Bill Pullman) who may or may not be of much use, but given a fat fee, he and his Thai wife (Jacqueline Kim) can try; Bangkok is not middle America.
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The events are not interesting enough and the characters are not developed enough to be engaging.
By
David Stratton
This is another Bangkok Hilton story, a cautionary tale for gullible young people traveling in Asia. For the most part director Jonathan Kaplan and writer David Arata concentrate on the plight of these hopelessly naive small-town girls and the result is a rather grim, but in some ways salutary film. Danes and Beckinsale are both extremely good as the well-contrasted friends. Less believable are Bill Pullman as a mercenary American lawyer based in Thailand, and Lou Diamond Phillips as a US Embassy official who is mysteriously determined not to rock any boats. The film isn`t exactly an entertaining night at the movies, but it`s worth seeing for the strength and conviction of its two leads.
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