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Movie Review: The Hunting PartyA Bumpy Ride with Richard Shepard’s New Film
Richard Gere and Terrence Howard star in this spotty drama-cum-black comedy about three journalists searching for an infamous Bosnian war criminal.
The Hunting Party is a mildly entertaining waste of a perfectly good topic. Written and directed by Richard Shepard (The Matador), the movie was inspired by a true story written by Scott Anderson (“What I Did On My Summer Vacation,” Esquire, October 2000). Anderson’s article traces the exploits of five journalists searching for one of the most notorious war criminals in history: Dr. Radovan Karadzic, mastermind of the Bosnian genocide. Hunt for Radovan KaradzicSupplied only with rumors and chutzpa, the journalists set out to find Karadzic, and are drawn into a crazy tableau where officials take them for CIA operatives, despite their denials, and where no one really seems to be looking for the bad guys. Not only did a government-sponsored poster offering a $5-million reward for Karadzic list a toll-free number which worked only from within the United States, but, according to Anderson, at one point the International Police Task Force was even given orders by UN officials to stay away from Celebici, an area where Karadzic was thought to be hiding. All of which, says Anderson, led the journalists to ask, “How was it that five years after the war in Bosnia had ended, men like Karadzic . . . were still at large, despite the presence of twenty thousand NATO peacekeeping forces in the country and the professed desire of the United Nations and every Western government to apprehend them?” But while the material is important and compelling, the stock Hollywood treatment it receives in The Hunting Party robs it of punch. Richard Gere plays award-winning TV reporter Simon Hunt, who’s covered gruesome war scenes across the globe, but who flames out one day after a grim incident in Bosnia hits home. Meanwhile, his cameraman Duck (Terrence Howard) has become a pampered celebrity. Five years later they meet again in Bosnia, where down-and-out Simon convinces Duck to help track down the infamous war criminal known as the Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes). Duck doesn’t play coy long, remembering the “craziness and non-stop erection that comes from fear and death and war.” Tagging along is Benjamin (Jesse Eisenberg), a sap-green Harvard grad whose daddy is a network VP. With nothing but vague leads and a hefty set of brass ones, Gere leads the three through the inhospitable Bosnian backwoods in search of their prey. Stereotypical CharactersGere’s performance is solid enough, and Howard’s acting is mostly on par with his knock-out work in Crash and Hustle & Flow. But the movie stumbles over one stereotypical reference after another. Hunt is a caricature of a flask-toting, stubble-ridden burn-out, disdainful of anything in a tie; the Fox and his cronies are plucked straight from a Hollywood catalogue for bad guys; and the international police even whip out a box of donuts in an office next door to nowhere. The script’s attempts at black humor come off more like shopworn slapstick, as Shepard gives both serious bits and fluff the same formulaic treatment. On top of that, we’re spoon-fed huge parts of backstory through explanations lasting several minutes, breaking the first rule of good story telling: show, don’t tell. The Hunting Party deserves kudos for the subject matter alone, and at worst is reasonably entertaining stuff. The pacing is good, and there are several decent one-liners. It’s hard not to smile when the three are talking to a UN contact and one of them says, “You’re not making any sense now.” To which the UN officer replies, “I know, I’m from the United Nations.” But this movie could have been so much more.
The copyright of the article Movie Review: The Hunting Party in Film Dramas is owned by Randy Walden. Permission to republish Movie Review: The Hunting Party in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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