Given the Code Shoulder
Ron Howard’s New Film Unfairly Dissed by Movie Critics

Little Opie Cunningham, or Ron Howard as he is known these days, has become one of the more powerful directors in Hollywood. Like Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola, Howard gets to make the movies he wants to, and like them or not, they are rarely dull.

“I agree, we shouldn’t have asked for the ‘Mona Lisa’ at Smart Cuts.” Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou star in the new film The Da Vinci Code.

When Howard is on his game, he gives the public bona fide classics such as Cinderella Man, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Backdraft, Parenthood, Cocoon, Splash and Night Shift. And when he misses, he usually comes up with something worth watching at least once such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Far and Away or Willow.

The director has taken his biggest risk thus far in attempting to translate one of the best-selling novels of the last decade into a two-and-a-half hour film. The resulting movie, The Da Vinci Code, is much better than many critics would have you believe, and should be considered one of Howard’s better efforts.

To be fair, the director had a serious dilemma on his hands with this flick. Dan Brown’s fictional account of a centuries-old conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, the Knights of Templar, and supposed proof that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene has sold more than ten million copies. Should Howard stay true to the book and appease its loyal readers or Hollywood-ize it and make it more of a blockbuster movie? Howard’s decision to stay true to the novel makes the resulting film a little “chatty” in places with the characters going into long drawn out conversations, essentially explaining the story with words instead of action. Still, it is, along with Spike Lee’s Inside Man, one of the more intriguing, thought-provoking films of the year.

The Da Vinci Code stars longtime Howard collaborator Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and expert on ancient symbols. After giving a lecture to a group in Paris, he is suddenly summoned to the Louvre where a heinous murder has occurred. The victim is the curator of the world famous museum and police suspect Langdon is the killer.

At the crime scene Langdon meets Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a police cryptologist who warns him that lead investigator Captain Fache (Jean Reno) is about to arrest him for the murder. Sophie and Langdon gather some important clues about the crime in the Leonardo Da Vinci room of the Louvre, escape the museum, and try to find out who really killed Jacques Sauniere, who is coincidentally Sophie’s estranged grandfather.

For those dozen people out there who have not read The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown writes three and four-page chapters, often jumping from story to story as the novel works its way to its clever conclusion. Howard follows Brown’s lead in this matter and for the most part manages to make the jumps cohesive and interesting. Among the side stories is the tale of a strict branch of the Catholic Church called Opus Dei, led by the mysterious Bishop Aringarosa (the great Alfred Molina), and his overzealous disciple, a vicious albino named Silas (Paul Bettany).

Everyone in the story is trying to get their hands on a secret code left to Sophie by her grandfather that will lead them to location of the Holy Grail, the revelation of which will shake the very foundations of Christianity. Brown did a masterful job of weaving historical fact into his work of fiction and Howard reveals Brown’s clues with an eye on the book’s superb pacing.

The casting is another aspect of the movie that Howard hits square on the head. Ian McKellen adds some much needed humor and mischief when his character, Sir Leigh Teabing, enters the scene. And Bettany’s mixture of fervor and menace is the stuff of nightmares.

Some are complaining that the French accents of Reno and Tautou get in the way of the dialogue. I thought they added to the realism of a mystery set primarily in Paris. The director’s ability to film on location in the City of Lights (no easy feat), also added to the film’s power, especially during the chase scene outside the Louvre.

In conclusion, forget what the lemming-mentality movie critics are saying about The Da Vinci Code. Howard has created a thrilling, intriguing film that should please both readers of the book and newcomers to the story.

The Da Vinci Code is rated PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references and sexual content. It is currently playing at Regal Cinemas in Boone.