SYNOPSICS
Return to Paradise (1998) is a English movie. Joseph Ruben has directed this movie. Vince Vaughn,Anne Heche,Joaquin Phoenix,David Conrad are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1998. Return to Paradise (1998) is considered one of the best Drama,Romance,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Three friends share an exciting vacation in Malaysia, full of fun, drinks, women and hash. When the vacation is over, each have dreams of continuing their lives, and they all go their separate ways. One of them (Phoenix) remains on the tropical paradise to fulfill a dream of working with apes for research. Two years later, a lawyer (Heche) comes to New York and hunts down the other two friends to give some sad news. A few days after they left the island, police raided their camp and found amazingly large quantities of hash left about. Phoenix was still residing there, so he had to take the blame. He is set to be put to death in 8 days, and the only way the charges can be decreased is if the two friends come back to paradise and take their share of the responsibilty. If they do, they both will spend three years in prison. If only one does, he will spend six years behind bars...
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Return to Paradise (1998) Reviews
One of the most underrated movies of the past decade
Return To Paradise is one of the best films you've never heard of. It was buried in the summer of 1998 to mostly positive reviews and was later unsuccessfully reinvented 9 months later here in the UK on the back of Psycho which also starred Vaughn and Heche. Its been unfairly treated by the now defunct Polygram as it is a quite incredible little drama with some superb performances and some moments of great power. The premise is relatively simple. Three friends on holiday in Malaysia. Two leave. The police arrive and find hash where they were staying. The third is put in jail. Two years later a lawyer finds the two remaining men in New York and tells them that their friend was found guilty of trafficking. They must go back to share the punishment or he will die in 7 days. Its a frightening dilemma and you can't help but ask yourself the same question. Would you go back? If one goes back they go to prison for 6 years. If both go they will have 3 years each. All of the arguments are put forward, making the answer not seem as clear as originally imagined. The timeframe is made even tenser with titles reminding us of how many days are remaining. Vince Vaughn plays our hero who doesn't always act in the morally correct way we expect him to do. He doesn't immediately decide to go back, making us question if we would either. Vaughn gives the finest performance of his career as the not completely likeable 'Sheriff'. Anne Heche plays the increasingly desperate lawyer who will do anything to save her client from execution. And her desperation is made completely believable by Heche's multi-faceted performance. And then Joaquin Phoenix plays the imprisoned Lewis who has little screen time but whenever he's on he totally captivates. His video message to his two friends is heartbreaking. There are numerous twists which serve to further the emotional capital which is placed in the conclusion. And by the time the suspenseful court scene arrives, you will find yourself nervously hoping for a happy ending. Needless to say the film ends with a succession of unspeakably powerful scenes. Its hard to remember a film which I found as moving as this. It serves as a very poignant anti-drugs message. Its impact will stay with you for days, making it really quite unforgettable. Hunt this down. You will be richly rewarded.
Paradise Found: A Lush, Intelligent Character-Driven Film
This movie appeals on many levels... smartly written, with seductive cinematography, strong editing and acting throughout (with forays into brilliant). And, yes, the romantic sub-plot and un-"Hollywood" style ending DO make sense! Read on ... (NO SPOILERS ) Return to Paradise, a beautifully written, crafted and acted film is one of the few DVDs in my collection that I just keep coming back to. The prologue in Malaysia begins during the credits and is worth the watch in itself. It grabs our interest, and establishes the dynamic between these three young men, who are off for a post-college fling before assuming their "real" lives. The music, hand-held camera effects, and MTV-style editing evoke the carelessness of youth, of a young man's idea of "Paradise". Tony (played by David Conrad) is an opaque, friendly, architect/engineer who is Everyman in his pursuit of honor within the bounds of a satisfying, conventional life. Louis (Joachim Phoenix) a gentle soul - whose plan is to stay in Southeast Asia and pursue Animal Rights ... and "Sheriff", played by Vince Vaughn - a tough, straight talking hustler from Brooklyn. It is Sheriff's journey that we stay with as the action moves over to America, then back to 'Paradise'. We discover, along with the characters, what has happened to the friends since their idyll on Penang. When we rejoin Sheriff, it is a few years later. He is driving a limo, and living in a seedy NYC apartment, filled with books. He is on a path that stumbles as he irreverently, but wistfully, reaches for inner growth. We know enough about movies to know that SOMEthing interesting is about to happen to this good-looking guy. By the time the story wraps up, the character of Sheriff will have achieved an impressive depth of self-awareness, subtlety and tenderness that is a credit to the delicacy of Vaughn's acting in this piece. Louis and, in his stead, Beth (Anne Heche), believe that greater things lie inside of Sheriff. In the prologue, Sheriff, brash and careless, teeters when Louis asks him (with confidence in Sheriff's core of selflessness) to join a fight to save the orangutan. Much later, faced with a corresponding request from the compelling and volubly erotic character that Heche creates, Sheriff uses his affair with Beth as a catalyst to reach for the nobility in his soul. Things do not turn out as we (or they) expect. Character relationships reshuffle a bit near the end, but rather than being devices to surprise and tweak our emotions, these twists and turns of the plot help ensure that Sheriff's decisions are (as he tells his friend in a poignant jail cell meeting ) his own. Like Tony, Sheriff ultimately makes his choices, not on behalf of his friends ... but for himself. The best thing about Return to Paradise is that there are no bad guys. A life 'hangs in the balance', but the competing forces are, as in the real world, created by the myriad of individuals all acting out their own interests with no real malice, yet perhaps without the purposeful empathy represented by the Louis character. We are absorbed by the compelling interplay between Beth, Sheriff, Tony, the Malaysian officials and MJ Major (the aggressive reporter played by Jada Pinkett-Smith in an acerbic, pivotal, cameo) all the way through to the final, cathartic, conclusion. Don't miss this one.
Good, but not great
This film is about moral dilemma whether or not to give up three, or maybe six, years of life by accepting imprisonment in a Malaysian jail, or continue living in freedom knowing that a friend has died as a result. This point needs to be made up front it is not a film about the rights or wrongs of Asian judicial or penal systems, nor is it a film about the morality of drug taking. So we follow the two characters, Sheriff (Vaughn) and Tony (Conrad) who have to make this decision as they go through the decision-making process, prodded in no uncertain manner by their friend's attorney Beth (Heche). This tortuous process is played out against the comparatively comfortable background of their home city, New York. And not only the comforts of home, but also of employment and marriage prospects. The process is played out a little unevenly although given the nature of the decision perhaps this is not surprising. But where it is flawed is the sudden blossoming of romance between Sheriff and Beth. Prior to this there had been no indication of this turn of events, indeed, quite the opposite as the two had regularly fallen out and appeared to have a mutual dislike for each other. Thus there is a feeling of a contrived piece of plotting which, to make matters worse, goes on to form the basis of the end of the movie. Whether or not this is an accurate portrayal of the Malaysian judicial and penal systems seems an irrelevance. On a rather pedantic point where was the US embassy (and State Department) to provide support? It simply is not the case that in circumstances such as these that the lead characters would have been left on their own. That's not to say that the outcome would have been any different but it may well have affected some of the decisions individuals took towards the end. It might also have been an opportunity to add a little more reality and edge to the story, especially if the officials took an approach that put US foreign relations above the interests of its own citizens! This is a movie that makes us think and no movie that does that can be written off. And the acting, especially from Heche and Phoenix, is fine. But the plot flaws mean it's a good, rather than a great, film.
Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant (as usual) in Return to Paradise
Joaquin Phoenix should have been nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Lewis in Return to Paradise. How in the world could a performance of that caliber be ignored? The scene where he was being dragged to hang was so real I could barely stand to watch and felt ill when the movie ended. I highly recommend this film and am amazed that it wasn't a huge hit at the box office. All of his past work deserves a second look. I've also recently discovered "Clay Pigeons" which,too, was excellent. Joaquin is destined to be labeled as one of this generations most brilliant actors -- there is absolutely no doubt about it.
Very Underrated Movie
I am not a Fan of Drama/romantic Movies, but This Movie should have been overloaded with awards! smartly written, strong editing and great acting. Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche are brilliant in their roles especially Anne Heche. I was never a fan of Vince Vaughn, but this was a great performance from Him. Anne Heche took her character to another level. Joaquin Phoenix performance is very realistic. One of the strengths of this film are the things in between. Afterwards, you can ask yourself if Beth is an actual Lawyer. Whether the proposal of three years actually has been and not concocted by Beth. And what were the motives of Sheriff. Yet the morally or in love with Beth. The two story lines are beautifully interwoven in each other with surprising twists here and there. The only down point from this movie is that the director misused Heche by not giving her good camera angles and coverage of her expressive face. 'Return to Paradise' is one of the most underrated films ever. It deserved at least two Oscar nominations. Best actress: Anne Heche, Best supporting actor: Joaquin Phoenix Even if you do not like this kind of movie, the movie is worth seeing for the performances which unfortunately have pretty much gone unrecognized. Check it out. Score: 9 out of 10