Directed
by Joseph
Ruben
Written by Wesley Strick and
Bruce
Robinson
Starring Vince Vaughn, Anne
Heche, Joaquin
Phoenix, David
Conrad, Vera
Farmiga, Nick
Sandow, Jada
Pinkett, Ming
Lee, Joel
De La Fuente, Richard
Chang, James
Michael McCauley, Brettanya
Friese, Deanna
Yusoff, David
Zayas, Amy
Wong
Three
friends share an exciting vacation in Malaysia, full of
fun, drinks, women and hash. When the vacation is
over, each
have dreams of continuing their lives, and they all go
their separate ways. One of them (Phoenix)
remains on
the tropical paradise to fulfill a dream of working with
apes for research. Two years later, a lawyer
(Heche)
comes to New York and hunts down the other two friends to
give some sad news. A few days after
they left
the island, police raided their camp and found amazingly
large quantities of hash left about. Phoenix
was still
residing there, so he had to take the blame. He is set to
be put to death in 8 days, and the only way the
charges
can be decreased is if the two friends come back to
paradise and take their share of the responsibilty.
If they
do, they both will spend three years in prison. If only
one does, he will spend six years behind bars...
Genre:
Drama / Romance / Thriller
Also
Known As:
All for One (1998) (USA)
Force Majeure (1997) (USA: working title)
Long Way to Paradise, A (1998) (USA: working title)
MPAA: Rated R for language, drug content, some sexuality
and a scene of violence.
Runtime: USA:111 / France:105 / Spain:109
Country: USA
Language: English
Certification: USA:R / France:U / Hong Kong:IIB /
Singapore:PG / Spain:13
Chione
Connecticut
- 16 August 1998
Summary:
"Return To Paradise" is a moral drama about two friends
forced to choose between serving time in a
Malaysian
prison or remaining free in America and allowing a third
friend, convicted under Malaysia's tough
anti-drug
laws of a crime all three committed, to
hang.
"Return
To Paradise" is not a garden variety drama. It poses a
complex dilemma faced by two men, both
of whom
suddenly find out they have the power to save a life, but
only if they agree to put their lives on
hold and
accept incarceration in a Malaysian prison.
In
Malaysia, where convicted drug dealers face death by
hanging, three men enjoy a holiday of drugs
and sex.
After two of the three friends go back the United States,
the third man--a Greenpeace activist
who stayed
behind- -is arrested with drugs bought by all three.
Because of the quantity of drugs, the
man,
played by Joaquin Phoenix, is convicted under Malaysia's
tough anti-drug dealer law and
sentenced
to death.
Two
years later, "Beth," a lawyer played by Anne Heche,
appears in New York with bewildering news:
if the two
friends, played by Vince Vaughn and David Conrad, agree
to return to Malaysia and admit
their
responsibility in the crime, Phoenix's character will not
be hanged.
The
characters of "Sheriff" and "Beth" are expertly portrayed
by Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche.
Vaughn's
character must make a credible transformation from a
"careless cynic" to a figure of courage,
while
Heche 's character makes a choice that a lesser actress
might not have pulled off. David Conrad is
compelling
as "Tony," whose position is further complicated by plans
to marry. The star of the film,
however,
is Joaquin Phoenix as the condemned prisoner, "Lewis."
Ultimately, it is "Lewis" who seals
the
picture start to finish. Phoenix's performance brings a
startling and poignant clarity to the film's
unexpected
and intense ending.
