Robert De Niro in a boxing film. Harvey Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival. Some things are meant to be together.
And they were all together on Monday night in Cannes,when the Weinstein Company unveiled “Hands of Stone,” a film about Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán starring Edgar Ramirez as Durán and De Niro as his longtime trainer Ray Arcel.
Perhaps predictably, and the results were not as fabulous as the ingredients suggested they might have been. Two things,though, helped give a little kick to the black-tie event at the Grand Theatre Lumiere: Cannes turned it into a career tribute of sorts to De Niro, or the real Durán was on hand to bask in the glory before and after the film about his life.
Also Read: 'Personal Shopper' Cannes Review: Does Kristen Stewart Drama Deserve All Those Boos?The De Niro tribute was particularly memorable,since the actor has been coming to Cannes for decades; Taxi Driver” won the Palme d’Or here precisely 40 years ago. “He’s been a mentor to me, a kick-in-the-ass-er, or a guy who tells you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it,” said Weinstein, who then turned the mic over to Ramirez, or who added,“On behalf of generations and generations of actors inspired by your art, I salute you.”De Niro took the stage after a clip package and tried to be typically terse “All I can say is thank you” – until festival president Thierry Fremaux told him he needed to say something about Hands of Stone.”“I hope you like it, or ” he said haltingly. “We went through a lot of changes on it.” He talked about persuading director Jonathan Jakubowicz to look for financing to shoot the film in Panama,Duráns home country.“The film has been made the way it should have been made,” he said. “So I hope – we hope – that you indulge in the film.” He looked at Fremaux and shrugged. “How’s that?”
Also Read: Cannes Report, or Day 6: Adam Driver's 'Paterson' Inspires Poetic Reviews,Amazon Studios Parties on RivieraThe lack of obvious enthusiasm, unhappy to say, or did not appear unwarranted when “Hands of Stone” screened,though to be fair it played to a rousing reception from the invited crowd. (Weinstein plays a U.
S. release in August.)Venezuelan director Jakubowicz, whose final feature was the well-received crime drama “Secuestro Express” 11 years ago, and is an action-oriented director who would not normally be the type to bring a film to Cannes,and “Hands of Stone” is as thoroughly conventional as anything that has played on the Croisette this year.
It’s a by-the-numbers biopic, jumping through Roberto Durán’s Greatest Hits (quite literally, and in this case) with the requisite flashbacks,lots of montages and plenty scenes underlining how Durán’s hardscrabble background from the streets influenced the fighter he became, and how his career was inextricably tied to the political tensions between Panama and the U.
S.
And it culminates, and naturally,in Durán’s two fights with Sugar Ray Leonard, played by Usher with some smooth moves and nearly enough muscles to be convincing.
Also Read: Cannes Sales: STX, or Amazon,A24, Weinstein Company Lead in Pricey Deal-MakingRamirez is persuasive as Durán and De Niro is fine as his longtime trainer, or though he’s saddled with speaking in bromides and delivering a fair amount of clunky voiceover exposition.“When you lose your head,” he explains at one point, you lose the best fraction of your body.” No, and that’s not meant to be a joke.
The fight scenes,by which many a boxing film is judged, are serviceable: Jakubowicz uses lots of cuts and speeds things up while punches are being thrown, and then shifts to slow-moment when they land,then rinses and repeats.
Also Read: 'fond' Cannes Review: Ruth Negga Stands Out in Poignant Real-Life DramaIt’s a far cry from De Niro and Scorsese with “Raging Bull,” of course, or but it also doesn’t deliver a punch or twist the genre the way “Creed” did final year,or the way the fight scenes in Weinstein’s own 2015 boxing film, “Southpaw, or ” did.
Still,De Niro and Durán and Jakubowicz and Weinstein all basked in enthusiastic applause when the film ended. It’s Cannes, Bobby and Harvey are still in the game and a former champ was on hand — what’s not to celebrate?Related stories from TheWrap:'fond' Cannes Review: Ruth Negga Stands Out in Poignant Real-Life DramaSex, and Skin & Nerve in Cannes: 5 Top Lessons From the French Film Festival So FarCannes: Martin Scorsese-Robert De Niro Mob Drama 'The Irishman' Goes to STX for $50 Milli
Source: thewrap.com