Gimmick of ‘Vantage Point’ becomes tiresome and sloppy

In theaters

VANTAGE POINT, directed by Pete Travis, written by Barry L. Levy, 90 minutes, rated PG-13.

Pete Travis’ new political thriller, “Vantage Point,” is set in Salamanca, Spain, which is one of that country’s most beautiful, undiscovered cities.

Years ago, I spent several months in that city, and everything one would appreciate about it – from its awe-inspiring twin cathedrals to its central market area with its lively mix of restaurants and tapas bars to the formidable presence of its renowned university – is overlooked in a movie that doesn’t know what to do with any of it.

Turns out there’s good reason for that.

While Travis does nudge establishing shots of Salamanca into his movie, his film mostly was shot in Mexico. There, at a rundown mall located on the southern tip of Mexico City, he built a model of Salamanca’s massive Plaza Mayor, which happens to be one of Spain’s most stunning and architecturally important plazas. Though Travis is betting that Salamanca is so obscure a city that many won’t know the difference, what he fails to create in his awkward sleight-of-hand is a clear sense of place about a very specific place.

It’s strange. Since Salamanca hardly is considered a political hub, the only reason Travis had to set his film there was to capture the city’s charm and beauty. And yet he doesn’t capture it because he filmed his movie in another country located on another continent. The result is unusual, to say the least, an oddly generic-looking film about an unforgettable place rich in detail and history.

Based on Barry L. Levy’s script, “Vantage Point” is an intentionally fragmented movie that involves terrorists shooting the president of the United States (William Hurt) just as he’s about to deliver a speech on terrorism. The irony!

The film’s gimmick, reminiscent of the technique used in Kurosawa’s superior “Rashomon,” is revealed in its trailer. Through the vantage points of several different characters, the audience presumably will piece together the mystery of who shot the president and why.

This tactic proves interesting for the first part of the movie, but as the film literally keeps rewinding through time in an effort to reveal new angles and fresh clues, it becomes tiresome and comical. Perhaps bored himself with the film’s structure, Travis doesn’t adhere strictly to its code; he does a sloppy job keeping us in each character’s moment, with multiple viewpoints sometimes shared at once.

Instead, after introducing Sigourney Weaver as a television news producer and then kicking her to the curb (we never see her again), he gives himself over to exploring the uninteresting lives of his other stock characters.

They include Secret Service agent Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid), who once took a bullet for the president and who now is seeking redemption from his colleagues, including Taylor (Matthew Fox); a man (Forest Whitaker) estranged from his family who is on vacation in Salamanca, where his video camera catches plenty of the action as it unfolds; a Spanish cop (Eduardo Noriega) coming to terms with his sketchy girlfriend; and the terrorists themselves, who possess their own little dramas, none of which, much like this disappointing movie, are as captivating as you’d like them to be.

Grade: C-

On DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, directed by Paul Haggis, written by Haggis and Mark Boal, 120 minutes, rated R.

Tommy Lee Jones is Hank Deerfield, a Vietnam veteran and former military police officer who wakes one morning to learn that his son, Mike, (Jonathan Tucker) has returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Normally, this would be cause for celebration. Instead, it’s cause for alarm, particularly since Mike is missing and the military is wondering whether Hank knows where his son is. Since he doesn’t know, it’s made clear to him that if somebody doesn’t find Mike soon, he’ll officially be charged with going AWOL.

But not if Hank has anything to do with it.

Launching into action, he packs his bags (crisp, neat, not a wrinkle in sight – this man is military to the core), says goodbye to his wife (Susan Sarandon) and leaves their Tennessee home for New Mexico, where Mike is stationed. Upon his arrival in New Mexico, unwanted truths surface about Mike as Hank starts to ask questions about his disappearance. Indeed, it’s there that he begins the disturbing next stage of his life, which wends around the sort of dark corners no parent wants to travel.

Director Paul Haggis (“Crash”) builds a compelling mystery around a character-driven film laced with anti-war undertones. In solid performances are Charlize Theron as the police detective who comes to help Hank while he helps her, and Jason Patric as a military detective who resents her because he’s trying to contain a possible scandal.

While the movie’s considerable running time is against it, stick with it – its in its layers that it comes alive, revealing character and clues with passing asides. Key to its success is that the film ties its emotions to the gradually crumbling rock that is Tommy Lee Jones’ face. That’s a shrewd move, particularly since in that face are eyes that come to project so much – sorrow, grief, rage, despair – amid a stoic mug that was trained long ago to reveal nothing, and so it doesn’t.

At least for a while.

Grade: B+

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.