The Gingerbread Man

REVIEW
Grisham's first opus written directly for the screen is a surprisingly well-paced mystery about a divorced attorney (Branagh) who jumps into a relationship with a downtrodden divorcée (Davidtz) who's being stalked by her father (Duvall), the head of a backwoods cult. When Branagh uses all his legal might to get the old man committed, he places the lives of himself and his children in danger. This is not the ego-driven "clash of titans" one might expect from a cast and crew of this caliber, but rather a quiet ensemble piece with a few unexpected twists and turns (especially the ending). Strongly reminiscent in tone of Altman protégé Alan Rudolph's Mortal Affairs, Grisham's screenplay makes better use of his literary staples (the naïve hot-shot attorney, the amoral sidekick with a heart of gold, the overlooked "gal Friday") than any of the previous adaptations. Altman's direction seems to add an extra dimension of thought to what might have been more action-packed drivel.