By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
Robert De Niro returns to the opposite end of the therapist's couch from his comedy roles in Analyze This and Meet The Parents. Walt Koontz is a security guard who was a hero during a 1988 hostage crisis. Now he's getting too old
for the work. A stroke leaves him partially paralysed, his speech slurred.
His life seems over. No more will he go, one night a week, to a dance hall and pay for dances with Karen (Wanda De Jesus). Buddies from work come to see him but he's not interested. He retreats inside a shell and broods.
One of his neighbours is a drag artist, Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman). As Walt thinks about suicide, his therapist suggests singing lessons to help his speech. Rusty has a piano, Walt swallows his pride and asks for lessons, Rusty needs the money and agrees.
Far from flawless, but the movie gives an opportunity to see the greatest technical actor of this generation working with the young man who may turn out to be the next.
Running time: 111 mins
Rental: Now
