Airy tale

>> Theory of Flight is just too pleasing

by JOANNE LATIMER

The Theory of Flight isn't sentimental--the curse of so many films starring a celebrity with a fatal disease. Instead, director Paul Greengrass skips all the bittersweet stuff and gives us a terminal patient with a huffy disposition.

The film doesn't push that underdog angle very far, however; we still end up with a family film where the doomed character lives a fuller life than the healthy sidekick. It's absolutely too pleasing.

Jane (Helena Bonham Carter) has alterolateral sclerosis--commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She's 25 and wants to lose her virginity. She enlists the help of a reluctant "volunteer" called Richard (Kenneth Branagh), a failed artist doing community service to beat a jail sentence. Richard is supposed to be a deadbeat, but you can tell after 10 minutes onscreen that he's really a decent shit. Although Richard is victim to Jane's indifference and rude frankness, he treats her like a grown-up and that makes her appreciate his company.

Richard is trying to free his own spirit by building an airplane out of old art canvases and sculpture materials. His flying-machine prototype crashes, and he ends up getting arrested, losing his girlfriend and moving to the country to build another, better version of the plane in a barn.

Jane shoplifts, says "fuck" and likes to shock people into noticing her. There's great dialogue between the two leads, but Greengrass ultimately chickens out. He doesn't trust the appeal of the intimate, small story. So what happens to bring in a wider audience? What else? A bank robbery.

It's too bad, becauseThe Theory of Flight doesn't need the whole armed robber bit. Not every film needs gun-slinging--even if Branagh makes a mockery of his awkwardness by practicing the heist in a mirror.

The bank loot is destined to pay for a $4,000 gigolo to service Jane. Richard becomes obsessed with raising the cash and sees his success as a new way of shaking off his own paralysis. Their quest gets hokey, with a perky soundtrack and the obligatory shopping trip.

Bonham Carter is above average in her role as Jane. Branagh, as if tiptoeing around her performance, can barely read his lines. Only Bonham Carter's proficiency and commitment to the part make up for the film's clumsy metaphors and predictability.

"Stories have to be round," states Jane, insisting Richard let her co-pilot his new airplane to complete their mission. The Theory of Flight is round--perhaps too round for Jane herself.

The Theory of Flight opens at the Cinéma du Parc on Friday, February 12