1408

John Cusack in 1408

I lamented yesterday about the lack of decent roles for John Cusack since his sterling turn in Grosse Point Blank. That was a little unfair as he did some fine work that same year in the underrated Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and then followed that with another couple of good roles in '99, in Being John Malkovich and Pushing Tin. What I should have said was John Cusack hasn't been in anything good this century. And although that sounds worse than my previous comment, it's a lot more accurate.

Cusack has always been at his best when playing characters that deliver each line with a hint of sarcasm and a healthy dose of cynicism. I think you could certainly (at least loosely) put his characters in 3 of the 4 films mentioned above in that category - only Midnight deviating from that description. That's not to say Cusack can only play one type of role - it's just that no-one else plays that role better than he does. Trouble is he's not played it in a while and that might account for why I've not been drawn to much of what he's been attached to over the last 7 years, and not been impressed by those films that I have seen.


1408 is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story and sees Cusack playMichael Enslin, an author who writes about the paranormal. His latest project sees him researching haunted hotel rooms, yet he's not found one yet that has yielded anything resembling a paranormal experience. All that changes when he receives a mysterious postcard instructing him not to stay in room 1408, in the Dolphin Hotel in New York. A bit of research by Enslin reveals that many a suspicious death has occured in the room and it is permanently unavaliable to would be guests. Enslin's editor (Tony Shaloub, in a pointless role for someone of his ability) finds a legal loophole that means the hotel must let Enslin stay in any room of his choosing. And so, despite the objections of the hotel manger (Samuel L. Jackson, in the latest in a series of pointless role for someone of his ability,) Enslin is granted his wish to spend the night there.

It never makes a lot of sense and the writers seem to think that details like the digits of the room number (1408) and the street address (2245) both equalling 13 is pretty clever. However it does have some semi-scary moments and is nicely directed by newcomer Mikael Håfström. This is not a return to he wise-cracking, glib roles that I spoke of earlier and the sooner we see Cusack in a part like that the better. Nevertheless Cusack is on top form here in a film in which he practically appears in every frame of every scene. He totally carries the movie on his shoulders and thanks to some nicely used special effects and first rate production design, 1408 is a very passable way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day.

C+