DVD of the Week: Catch A Fire

This Phillip Noyce directed political thriller is the best that's new to DVD this week, but it's also not really the best film to be watching. I gave it a fairly positive B- back when I reviewed it in November, but i have hesitations about suggesting it too strongly. It's certainly smart, well acted, and engaging. It's bound to work for you on some level. My discouragement comes from the almost too simplistic nature of its narrative given the social backdrop that it boldly occupies. Set in South Africa near the end of Aparteid, Catch A Fire captures an escalating sense of national tension with Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) representing the cultural sway of even the most reasonable men toward violent rebellion. Tim Robbins co-stars as a repressive government officer and although both he and Luke are phenomenal, the screenplay has such an underdeveloped sense of storytelling that so much potential is lost. A man's decision to succumb to violence if a murky moral territory that deserves a bit more rumination than the basic thriller structure given to it here. This is in many ways a fine film, but in others a less than satisfying experience. Anyone looking for something worthwhile to rent should steer themselves toward this one, but maybe this is a weekend best spent catching up with Oscar contenders out at the nearest theater.