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THE GINGERBREAD MAN Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall (1998, PolyGram, R, $101.99) Robert Altman, master of the rambling satiric panorama, was hardly the most obvious choice to direct a story from the mind of John Grisham, master of the ham-fisted thriller. But The Gingerbread Man, Altman's rendition of an unproduced Grisham script, actually seems more like The Player than The Firm, and it weaves almost as compelling a spell. Once again, an arrogant go-getter is humbled, this time a slippery defense attorney (Branagh) who stumbles into an intrigue that he can't wriggle out of with his usual glib finesse. Altman brings out the suspense through his talent for quirky tension between characters, which allows this movie to play especially well on video. B+


Posted Jul 31, 1998
 

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