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TagsBY MIRIAM RINN
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
MOVIE REVIEW
Let’s say right off that Chris Evans is the healthiest-looking heroin addict you’ll ever see, with great hair and the kind of muscular definition that you get by spending many hours in the gym. That’s not the only jarring detail in “Puncture,” but it is the most obvious. An attempt to be an updated “Erin Brockovitch” type expose of corporate wrongdoing, “Puncture” is a banal medical/legal thriller that is far too enamored of its bad-boy protagonist to focus on the scandal at its center, the collusion between hospitals and medical supply companies to keep a safer syringe off the market.
“Puncture” is based on the true story of two Houston personal-injury lawyers who take on a case of an ER nurse stuck by a contaminated needle. Evans plays Mike Weiss, a flashy, fast-talking litigator who is a functioning drug addict, at least at the beginning of the film. Weiss’s more conservative family-man partner Paul Danziger is played by the film’s co-director Mark Kassen. The two men have been friends for years, which is supposed to explain why Paul puts up with Mike’s increasingly outrageous behavior. Paul, as well as directors Mark and Adam Kassen, are too easily charmed by Mike for no apparent reason, which gives the film an unpleasant smugness.
As they dig into the case, the lawyers meet the inventor of an improved safety needle. Although his syringe could prevent thousands of accidental pricks of healthcare workers and the potential transmission of HIV and hepatitis, he can’t sell the needles to hospitals, the inventor claims. Weiss becomes more and more intrigued by the obstacles the inventor encounters. Why aren’t hospitals interested in a safer needle?
The Kassens are the sons of healthcare professionals, so the medical aspects of the script feel authentic a nd the concerns of nurses about being stuck are absolutely real. Unfortunately, far too much time in “Puncture” is devoted to Weiss and his deterioration, which distracts from the central story. It takes a much better actor than Evans to make a junkie interesting or sympathetic. After awhile, Mike Weiss’s self-destructive tendencies become boring. It doesn’t help that the directors can’t resist every movie cliché around. At least, they don’t attempt to make the lawyers seem high-minded. Weiss and Danziger take the inventor’s case on because they think they can make a lot of money.
The real Mike Weiss died in his sleep in his mid-thirties, and the case against hospital-supply companies was settled out of court. Although the film doesn’t go into it, the corruption at the core of the story contributes to the huge amount of waste in our healthcare system. That would have been a lot more interesting than Chris Evans’ muscles.
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It's a true story and produced by someone who never made a movie before. The former gave it credibly and the latter I think most we agree shows when compared to big budget Hollywood films. But even though I knew the story, it held my attention for it's duration. And I think Chris Evans is awesome in this film and lends power and authenticity to the character he plays that would make this film suck if it was missing.
I think if others see this film and are not so distracted by less important details or possible flaws like "Chris Evans’ muscles" they will enjoy the film get something from it as I did.
Did I mention that it's based on a true story?