This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Actor Jude Law and writer-director Richard Shepard create a compelling character in "Dom Hemingway." If only they knew what to do with him.
Dom, played by Law, is an ace safecracker who considers himself the finest specimen of English manhood as evidenced by his opening monologue, a rhapsody to his male member.
But his plans when he emerges from a 12-year stint in prison namely, to claim the cash due him by a nasty crime boss (Demian Bichir) are short-circuited by his big mouth, his hard-drinking ways and a gruesome car crash.
Well, maybe Dom can rehabilitate himself by reuniting with his now-adult daughter, Evelyn (Emilia Clarke), who wants nothing to do with him.
Law chews on Dom's verbosity with abandon, though he sometimes sounds as if he's imitating Ricky Gervais.
Shepard ("The Matador") never settles on a consistent tone, unable to decide whether he's making a Tarantino-esque gangster pick or a wacky family comedy. The ground between those modes turns out to be fallow.
HH
'Dom Hemingway'
Opens Friday, April 18, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated R for sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, some violence and drug use; 93 minutes.