Review: Practical Magic

More straightforward than the advertisements would suggest, Practical Magic is, at its worst, mildly interesting and not altogether with direction; at its best, it convincingly captures the strengths and intimacies which comprise familial bonds. No doubt this is attributable to screenwriter Robin Swicord, who adapts Alice Hoffman's novel and whose previous work is highlighted by her sterling adaptation of Little Women.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star as the long-tressed Sally and Gillian Owens, the latest progeny of a long line of witches. Lest you think the casting is ridiculous, Bullock and Kidman do convey a genuine, sisterly warmth with one another. Sally and Gillian can best be described as two different sides of the same soul. Gillian is the wild, vivacious flirt who pinballs from man to man ("What wouldn't I give to fall in love," she admits). The subdued and responsible Sally stays behind with her aunts, Jet (Dianne Wiest) and Frances (Stockard Channing), who cast a love spell upon her to help her fall in love. She does, deeper than they expected, and settles into a normal life with her husband and two children. The family curse soon comes knocking on her door. The curse, cast by their mother, has any man who falls in love with an Owens woman meet a tragic end. Devastated by her husband's death, Sally retreats into a deep depression. Only Gillian's return revives her. Gillian wakes her in the middle of the night and they lie in bed and talk to each other. These scenes possess a wonderful quiet and, for a moment, it's just two women relating to each other in a simple but profound way.

At this point, I began to wonder why Bullock chose this role. As pleasing as her performance is, the role has too many similarities to the character she played in Hope Floats. Monotony and recycling are not qualities to be appreciated in any performer, no matter how good they are. Kidman, at least, romps through a part she's never been given an opportunity to play before and proves herself to be an engaging comedienne. Gillian has her own problems with the opposite sex. Despite her long, long legs, flowing hair and flirty ways, she can't find a man to love and appreciate her. She's mesmerized by the dangerous Jimmy Hawkins (Goran Visnjic), whom she describes as having that "Dracula/cowboy thing." He, however, turns abusive and when Gillian tries to calm him down during one of his episodes, Kidman utilizes her kittenish manner to ooze vulnerability. She finds surprising dimensions to the character. Granted, Gillian is permitted to run the gamut from capricious to diabolical but Kidman invests more into the part than it calls for. I applaud her effort.

There's some business about resurrecting the dead and a contrived exorcism towards the end, but they only serve to distract. The romance between Sally and Gary Hallett (Aidan Quinn) is underdeveloped. The concept of it is striking: as a child, Sally concocted a true love spell, deliberately asking for qualities in her true love that no man would ever possess. "The guy I dream of doesn't exist," she tells Gillian, "and if he doesn't exist, I'll never die of a broken heart." When her true love does appear, she's plagued by a quandary: is he there because she wished him to be or because he wishes to be there?

The film is at its most appealing and affecting when it narrows its focus on the admirably impenetrable connection between the sisters Owen. Director Griffin Dunne, however, falls prey once again to the haphazard restlessness he displayed in his previous outing, Addicted to Love. That film, which featured Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick as dumpees falling in love with each other while stalking their dumpers, veered from romantic comedy to paranoid noir; unsurprisingly, it was done in by its imbalance. Practical Magic, which fares a little better because it has a stronger script, can't quite decide if it should be heartwarming, tongue-in-cheek or operating in a mode resembling mock horror. It certainly does succeed in overextending itself.

Practical Magic

Directed by: Griffin Dunne

Written by: Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsmith, Adam Brooks; adapted from Alice Hoffman's novel

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, Goran Visnjic, Evan Rachel Wood