Original Sin Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Obsession. Lies. Desire. Lust...
Lead Us Into Temptation
This is not a love story - it's a story about love.
Loves a Killer.
Sono ai no poison. Jinsei wo kuruwase, kokoro made hadaka ni suru [Japan]
Can love release our true self? A wealthy Cuban coffee exporter, Luis Vargas, advertises for a US wife; Julia Russell, from Delaware, sends her photograph, but the woman who steps off the ship is much lovelier. Luis marries her immediately and gives in to love. But Julia may not be who she claims: first a private eye shows up on behalf of Julia's sister, then the sister herself. By now, Luis has given has wife access to bank accounts, and when she runs with his cash, he pursues her, with the help of Downs, the P.I., perhaps to kill her. Pursuit may be part of a con game as well, and Julia's past explains some, if not all, of what remains of the story. A priest hears her confession.
| Antonio Banderas | Luis Antonio Vargas |
| Angelina Jolie | Julia Russell/Bonnie Castle |
| Thomas Jane | Walter Downs/Billy/Mephisto |
| Jack Thompson | Alan Jordan |
| Gregory Itzin | Colonel Worth |
| Allison Mackie | Augusta Jordan |
| Joan Pringle | Sara |
| Cordelia Richards | Emily Russell |
| James Haven | Faust, on Stage |
| Pedro Armendáriz Jr. | Jorge Cortés |
| Mario Iván Martínez | Cuban Priest |
| Harry Porter | Stage Manager |
| Fernando Torre Laphame | Wedding Priest |
| Shaula Vega | Dressmaker Girl |
| Lisa Owen | Margareta, on Stage |
| Michael Cristofer |
5.50 out of 10 (8963 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Boring
posted on 08 Aug 2009The only thing that saved this movie was the fact that Thomas Jane can play a "bad guy" and play it well. Antonio was ok in the film but I don't think
this film was any good. In fact it wasn't good at all. It was boring, boring, boring, and just when you thought it couldn't get any more boring it goes and gets boring on you again. If you want to add a little bordism to your boring day then rent this boring movie. But like I say it is boring, boring, boring, boring, and slightly boring.
great script and acting
posted on 07 Jul 2009Banderas excels in this period grifter piece about a man's love for a woman who believes herself unlovable. Jolie pulls her weight, too, giving glimpses of just enough vulnerability to temper the extreme mean streak her character exhibits, not least when she attempts to kill her husband not once, but twice. Thomas Jane as antagonist keeps up the high-calibre acting. The script twists and turns without ever letting down its theme, the redeeming power of love. What stops Original Sin from being great is the camera-work and editing. In one scene in a brothel the 360- degree pan distorts the edges of the frame and induces nausea. Jump cuts are over-used, and seem out of place in terms of the feel and period setting of the film. Less obtrusive craftsmanship would allow the audience to give the story the full attention it deserves.
If truly watched, you cannot walk away from loving this gem!
posted on 15 Jun 2009Usually I rely on the voting averages to give me an idea of how good a movie is. I have to admit that a 5.6 rating is much different from what I would give this film."Original Sin" seemed to be the movie that everyone walked away from. The only thing I remember about its opening was all the chatter about the nude scenes. I guess it reminded a lot of viewers about the whole "Wild Orchid"/"Showgirls" fiasco which is still etched in the mind's-eye of every self-conscious moviegoer. Perhaps this apparent smoke screen of an issue caused Angelina Jolie's (often chapped and super-pouty) lips to be sealed regarding her role in the movie. Likewise, the dependably silent/aloof Antonio Banderas was even harder to locate when it came to any promotion of the film. And after making sure every radio listener heard, "The Music of My Heart," even the inconspicuously conspicuous Estefans forgot to drop the hint that they contributed to the film's lushly romantic score.The fact that this was not a perfect movie didn't prevent it from being an excellent one. I think the film's real problem was that it couldn't quite fit into the typical Hollywood hype machine that has crowned more inferior material with non-stop publicity and gratuitously "glowing" reviews. It could also be due to the fact that the plot, "not a love-story, but a story about love," didn't match the small space many viewers have reserved in their hearts for Romance and Drama - just not both!Anyone who takes the time to TRULY WATCH THIS MOVIE will find that they cannot walk away from loving it. Banderas and Jolie succeed in being both glamorous and gritty. Antonio Banderas is one of the most beguiling actors in contemporary cinema (believe it or not). I am always amazed by the vast artistic depth that lays beneath the stereotypical Latin-lover super-bronzed matinée-idol exterior that he has been assigned to. Banderas' talents, like this movie, are grossly underrated and marginally explored. His every motion gives Vargas the pitch-perfect blend of simplicity and passion. Banderas' portrayal makes it hard not to hurt when Vargas hurts or trust when he trusts. This makes it easy to see why the naive Vargas and the lethal Julia/Bonnie are integrally compatible.Wacko Jacko antics aside, Jolie, in all her un-Gwynnethness, is a site to have and behold. As the mysterious Julia, she is one mail-order bride who can both sell her body and steal a man's soul. Jolie succeeds in revealing every aspect of Bonnie's internal struggle to achieve personal authenticity while accepting a once-in-a-lifetime chance at true intimacy.In many ways, the film is about humankind's universal need to be, "who we truly are" as well as the long, winding and often treacherous road toward love's salvation (closely examine the play Julia & Vargas went to see). The movie's many twists and turns represent the bloody sacrifices/transgressions that often mark the way. This was constantly echoed through a script which foreshadowed the story's theme (in a manner both poetic and hypnotic). Equally intoxicating were the use of nontraditional cinematography and sound techniques. They perfectly complemented the period-heavy scenery and costume. All these elements melded to create a picture that was at once abundantly sensual, visually stunning and emotionally sensitive - with an excellent ending!Oh, and as for the much talked about "skin scenes". I thought they were well done. Gratuitous, yes. Gratifying - definitely! If you've got it, flaunt it. Banderas and Jolie absolutely have it, and then-some!
a cheap remake
posted on 13 Jun 2009I just happened to watch this movie on TV. After a few scenes I realized that it was a remake of Truffaut's very entertaining " La Sirene du Mississippi" ( 7.1 IMDb rating). Like all of Hollywood's remakes that I have seen so far , this one is just as unsatisfactory ( to say the least )as all the others (The Day of the Jackal, The Manchurian Candidate etc.).All of the reviews I read ( the first 20 or so) were all raving about this in my opinion silly remake. They are too young to know that many , many years ago there were so much better originals( mostly European)which is also expressed by IMDb ratings ( for The Day of the Jackal 7.9 vs. 5.7 and for The Manchurian Candidate 8.4 vs. 6.7 )
Intriguing plot compensates for lack of chemistry - spoilers
posted on 11 Jun 2009Written and directed by Michael Cristofer from a novel by Cornell Woolrich, this film comes across as being a slight disappointment. Two the sexiest stars in films today (Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie) fail to demonstrate even the slightest hint of sexual chemistry. This is compensated for by an intriguing plot that deals with the nature of love.Luis (Banderas) is a rich Spanish aristocrat in the late 19th Century, who is eagerly seeking a wife to share his life with. It comes in the form of shapely Julia (Jolie). However, just a few weeks after marrying her, she takes off mysteriously and it quickly becomes apparent to Luis that she was not the poor peasant she said she was.He sets in pursuit of her, blinded and confused by both love and intense hatred of her. Along the way he meets a private detective Walter (Thomas Jane), who is more involved with Julia than it first appears.The film is largely narrated in flashback by Julia, who relates her tale to a priest as she languishes in prison awaiting execution. The script is adequate, but there is nothing especially spectacular about it to lift it above the norm for this kind of sexually charged thriller. There are a good few twists and turns along the way but the inventive conclusion (where a principal character attempts suicide) is spoiled by a predictable cop-out happy ending.The core of this film is the relationship between Luis and Julia. Banderas and Jolie are well-cast but, in spite of couple vigourous sex scenes, they have no chemistry together. Banderas, despite an occasional moment of flippant humour, seems to be going through the motions and makes no real attempt to get to grip with the exciting complexities of his role. Jolie, to the delight of her many male fans, does go nude in a couple of scenes, and it is she who delivers the best principal performance in the picture.
Thomas Jane completes the trio as the scheming villain, and he does bring a certain element of threat to the picture.In conclusion, the film is not too bad. The plot and occasionally quirky script ensure it does hold the interest throughout. However, the lack of chemistry between the two leads mean the film is not everything it could have been.
One second you buy it, the other you don't
posted on 14 May 2009SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.First of all Antonio Banderas does a very fine job in this movie. This screenplay is quite interesting, and when Angelina Jolie leans ahead of the dead body and says "Billy, you really got what you deserved this time", you're thinking "oh, nice plot-twist". From the beginning of the movie until that moment, you are entertained. The problem is that right after that the body "wakes up", and a lot of other, less interesting plot-twists ensue. After a while, you don't really care if Banderas' character is going to die or not because his character has lost all the respect you had of it; and you don't care about Jolie's character anymore either because of what she's tried to do in the film. Such a manipulative and untrustworthy character as her doesn't draw my interest, such a weak and unthinking character as he, doesn't either. Love, to me, isn't a "trait of personality" sufficient enough in a movie character so that I care about it. Therefore, when the only thing that remains in both these characters is the love for each other, and when they have left their jobs, friends, integrity, and should I say, mental sanity (because they become guilty of murder) to stay with each other, you can pretty much guess that from there the movie can become vulgar and raw. Which it does, when Angelina turns into a prostitute again at the end - not a least bit worried by the love she says she carries for "Luis" - and offers herself to 4 or 5 men, while she already has a relationship with Luis and one with her pimp. So in the end I'd say that the film is pretty graceful - gracefully written, acted, shot, though out - from the beginning to "Billy, you got what you deserved", and after that it turns into something else, another type of movie which we could call "the-plot-twist-contest-kind-of-movie". Unfortunately for that "almost good" part of the film, Angelina Jolie was cast as the main actress of "Original Sin". Her blown-out of proportions lips invade the screen from the first seconds of the film, and sadly, her acting is proportionally emphasized. One can regret that she was chosen for the part, and while some may enjoy the view of her naked body, true film lovers will regret the choice of her for this role. Not a whisper from her, not a glance, could give a man goosebumps on his back. Everything from her, up to the register of her voice, is cold and slow. While Miss Jolie was compelling and true in a film like "Girl, Interrupted", she is nothing here but a commercial value on the movie poster. An actress with such passionate eyes as Mia Kirschner's, or with a sin-inspiring body as Sherilyn Fenn's, could have saved the part very easily. But Angelina Jolie looks in no way like the character she portrays - and maybe simply doesn't fit with period dramas. The music plays unnoticed in the action's background - no theme remains in your mind after the end credits, no lyrical moments have flashed your ears - but then again, you didn't come see the film for its music did you? The cinematography comes where needed, as needed, with as little boldness as expected. No image from this film is sheerly "beautiful" or "picturesque", but the sceneries and actions are properly lit and shot with imagination. If you hesitate between watching an old film and this, go for the old film!
Jolie & Bonderas Burn Up the Screen!
posted on 12 May 2009This film was fantastic for the great acting performed and the beautiful location in Mexico and great photography. Antonio Bonderas (Luis Antonio Vargas),"Imagining Argentina,"'03, ordered a bride who was really very much like himself in many ways. However, Angelina Jolie (Julia Russell),"Taking Lives",'04, had a mind of her own and enjoyed all sorts of men, especially Actors who played the DEVIL! The film kept you guessing about where this love between these two lovers was really going to lead us.
Antonio and Julia made a charming couple and especially when they were both involved in gambling with cards. There were hot scenes in the bed and a giant old time bath tub which got quite steamy! Angelina Jolie looked very beautiful and the close ups of her face and lips were FANTASTIC!
ENJOY.
what?
posted on 12 May 2009to all you people that thought this movie was a waste of money or had no potential then i guess you have a thing for movies like "she's all that'. this movie was very good in more ways than i care to type at the moment. some of you said that you wanted to watch it because of angelina jolie and antonio banderas as headliners. well maybe you've all learned your lessons, which would be dont judge a book by its cover. i happen to think that no other actors could have pulled this off. the plot was good but this movie couldnt have been the way it was if it wasnt for angelina jolie, antonio banderas, and thomas jane. they added much depth to their characters. i'm puzzled as to why it didnt do good at the boxoffice. i guess most of america just needs their she's all thats and maid in manhattens. well i gave this movie at 10/10. it really was great.
I am a gullible guy, moviewise, so I bought the premise.
posted on 23 Feb 2009When it comes to movies, I have no problem throwing aside my disbelief. This is true for this movie, too. I became the rich guy. Okay, he was a little kinky. I ignored that. The two lovers took me along on an adventure I would never have in real life. Thank the movies for that. I would watch this movie again.
A grand and shiny monument to implausibility.
posted on 07 Feb 2009***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I'm trying to remember a worse movie that I've seen....can't do it. Maybe it'll come to me before I finish this review. Let's see, how to begin: A rich, handsome, outgoing Cuban businessman(Banderas) intentionally decides to screw up his life. Why?? Blank-out. No answer. The Plan: he decides that a bad marriage will be his downfall. Okay, but how does one intentionally design a marriage to be so bad as to destroy oneself financially, emotionally, spiritually.**********MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD***********************Since the antihero is handsome, rich, and outgoing he could easily marry one of any number of women, most of whom would jump at the chance. Many of these theoretical matches might possibly work out. No, no...there's got to be a worse way. I know: the man must marry a complete stranger found via a newspaper ad placed in a foreign country. That's it. And to lessen the probability that she is compatible with the man, the woman must arrive in the man's country no more than 3 hours before the wedding takes place. The man and woman must know nothing about one another except the lies they've exchanged with each other in establishing contact via the mail.Okay, now here's the shocker. Are you ready for this. Hold on to your seat. Despite these elaborate plans to undermine the marriage from the start, the marriage does not in fact work out and the man is destroyed financially, emotionally and spiritually. What I have just related is the precise opening premise this movie expects you swallow in order to grab your attention for the movie's remainder. If it sounds implausible to the point of imbecility, well, that is not my fault.To be fair, although this movie in no way deserves it, the woman he marries is a con artist(Jolie) who has helped kill the actual intended bride and assumed her identity. But that absolutely doesn't matter, because it may just as well have been the con artist who answered the man's marriage ad as any other woman.I really can't discuss this movie much further...the level of irritation Original Sin caused me makes it out of the question. Let me just say that the account I've related so far is not the most implausible element in the movie. For example, let's assume for the sake of argument that you are a psychopath. Somebody tells you they love you a total of 999 times. But you are a psychopath and it has no effect. So you decide to poison the person who loves you. Hey, it's what psychopaths do. Somehow the person finds out you've poisoned their drink and they tell you. Right before the person drinks the poison they tell you for the 1000th time that they love you. They knowingly begin to drink the poison. Suddenly, the scales of psychopathology fall from your eyes and you see everything in a different light. You spring to your feet with all the good-hearted innocence that a recently cured criminally insane person can muster and try to knock the poisoned drink from their hands.Here are the crucial questions: Do you find this plausible? Possible? Psychologically realistic? If so, let me state in the strongest possible terms: This movie was made for you.Hey, I just had a revelation. I just remembered a worse movie I saw: Ed Wood's Love Feast, aka Pretty Models All In a Row. I knew I could do it!!
Standard good commercial film
posted on 24 Jan 2009In the way back home from Caracas to Milan this christmas time I saw on the plane this film which honestly my major interest was initially on the acting, and not only, of Angelina Jolie. At the end the film is a non standard love story, with some pieces of mystery and a sort "magic realism" coming from the Mexican dusty environment. Antonio Banderas plays a standard role of abandoned lover by a "femme fatal" of Angelina Jolie, but things change and the end is quite interesting. Is a good commercial film which could be easily seen in VHS/DVD or TV.Rating: 5/10
Not sure I can recommend it
posted on 17 Dec 2008Lavishly filmed and with high production values this movie none the less fell short for me. It was simple to put together who the villain was, and the Hollywood oh so happy ending killed everything. An ending that didn't pull any punches would have given the story more credibility.Featuring two of the best built human beings in Hollywood may be this film's one redeeming quality. You will have to judge that for yourself.
Insane Infatuation
posted on 15 Dec 2008How wrapped up can a guy get in a she-devil? That is, perhaps in a nutshell, the best portrayal this film attempts. You have the usual lies, sex, deceit (just another way of saying more crafty lies), and false identities (more lies) in a canvassing masquerade of betrayal (oh, more lies!). The title of this should have actually been "Original Sin(s)", as it achieves just about all of them at least twice and in a short period of time. I am reminded by the old adage of messing with a snake and getting bit in this film. Or playing with dirt and getting dirty. In either case, good people fall victim to bad over some misguided concept of love. The harlot gets her knight-in-shining-armor and the knight succumbs to a succubus' poison apple. In the end, nobody really wins anything. But what you do get is Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie in some steamy scenes together after arranging a blind date marriage. The film is set back a bit, I would say in the 1800s, with Antonio as a wealthy coffee merchant and Angelina acting to be someone else, who's acting to be someone else (where the deceit comes in obviously). Antonio's foreign wife turns out to be anything but what he expected in more ways than one. He soon realizes that marriage truly can be a dangerous thing when he is left alone and penniless.Infatuation then seeks to change the suitor and the ill-suited (as was the extent of this film). 4/10
Love Is Blind
posted on 24 Oct 2008Here's a "steamy" film - at least early on - about a Cuban (Antonio Bandaras_ who marries an American woman he had only previously written to, only to find out later she (Angelina Jolie) wasn't that woman but a scheming impostor (Billy Bob found this out in real life!) This is nicely photographed, "lush" being the best adjective to describe it. I didn't find the story very involving, yet it wasn't boring and I could relate to Bandaras' character. Perhaps many men could with the old "love is blind" story.This is one of those films with poor messages here and there where corrupt people live happily ever after despite their overt sins. There is an "R" version and a "unrated" version of this film, the latter being two minutes longer.
Drags but saved by good ending
posted on 24 Sep 2008From the beginning this movie struck me as melodramatic and poorly acted. The director is overly fixated on 'creating the scene'. As the film takes place in Cuba sometime well in the past (maybe the late 19th century?), it's understandable to flaunt the romance of the setting, but it comes off like a slutty romance novel. Of course the erotic scenes with Jolie and Banderas (and later other men), only add to that feeling.The purpose of the music is to add to the mystique and romance of old Cuba even more. The problem is that while it's adding to the setting, it's hurting the story. This movie is supposed to be a bit of a thriller, and music is always a big part of creating suspense in film. The music here just doesn't get the job done, and it really hurts the flow of the movie.Because of all these issues this movie really drags. A lot more footage should have been chopped in the editing room, but its redemption is that if you wait long enough, you find it does have a point and a good one at that. The melodrama never really leaves, but the story nonetheless comes together in the end. I can't say I'd particularly recommend it, but it's watchable if you're patient.
What a yawn-o-rama
posted on 16 Sep 2008Very disappointing!! It's a sin to spend money to go see this movie. It's so sad to see 2 great actors wasted in this yawn-o-rama. The love scenes are irrelevant to the story line and look like bad soft-porn where there's no chemical between the 2 actors. I'd give this movie a 4/10.I also wonder if anyone has noticed that the "original sin" here is also that the movie is a RIP-OFF of Francois Truffaut's La Sirene du Mississipi (1969), starring Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Both movies are based on the same novel by William Irish "Waltz Into Darkness". Truffaut was so ahead of his time and already did such a beautiful job bringing this story to the big screen.
Angelina at her smouldering best!!
posted on 29 Aug 2008This film was a surprise, I caught it one evening when I couldn't find anything else to watch. The plot line from beginning to end was good, the sexual tension brilliant.Angelina (as Julia) is smouldering with a hint of vulnerability, her true character emerging slowly at first. Antonio (as Luis) the man who at first seems to feel marriage is purely for the provision of a family, only to fall deeply & passionately in love with his bride.In places this film is a 'bodice ripper'!! Showing that women in the 1900's COULD be very sensual.A MUST FOR EVERY ANGELINA JOLIE FAN!!
A real story about love
posted on 24 Aug 2009This is one of the most tasteful romantic dramas I have ever seen I absolutely loved it the chemistry between Angelina and Antonio was superb I didn't really mind the sex scenes as much I thought they were pretty tasteful and fufilled their purpose. I also thought Angelina was perfect for the role of julia/bonnie she really captures the essence of the femme fatale and I greatly sympathized with her character she wasn't really playing a villain she was more influenced by her accomplice/lover Billy who manipulates and twists her mind into thinking that no one could ever love her.In my opinion Julia/Bonnie was struggling with inner emotions and was even more confused by what she was feeling for Luis which is why she tries her hardest to deny that Luis does indeed love her. My favorite moments in the movie is when the two Luis and Julia are arguing in the hotel and Luis goes into a rage telling julia how much he loves her and the last few scenes in the movie when Julia poisons Luis' coffee and Luis practically pours his heart out before willingly drinking the poison telling Julia he loves all of her good and bad inspite of all the hell she put him through(I even cried a little. I totally recommend this movie to anyone who isn't looking for a simple cliché love story