EMPIRE FALLS

EMPIRE FALLS (2005). HBO mini-series. Directed by Fred Schepesi. Screenplay by Richard Russo, from his novel.

This must be a pretty dumbed-down adaptation of the novel because otherwise one can't imagine why on earth anyone would think it was worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Miles Roby (Ed Harris) lives in the town of Empire Falls, Maine, where he runs a diner for the local matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward). While he deals with his ex-wife (Helen Hunt), daughter, half-drunk father (Paul Newman, pictured), and others, Miles also thinks back to when he was a young boy and he spent a summer with his mother and Francine's husband, Charlie (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Frankly, the flashbacks scattered through this meandering two-part movie only make things so confusing that many viewers may not even "get" the big secret about Miles and why Francine seems to delight in making his life miserable. The movie becomes a little more interesting when we're introduced to Francine's lame and emotionally disturbed daughter, who's been unrequitedly in love with Miles for decades, but this sub-plot sort of goes nowhere, which is true with many other situations in the movie. There are too many cliches and stereotyped, "cutesy" characters and the sappy, mediocre musical score seems to be trying to alert us that this is supposed to be something "meaningful' and "significant." Fat chance. It all comes off like superficial Stephen King without the horror except for a Columbine-like shooting scene that is thrown in for good measure. The acting is generally better than the picture deserves. Newman's performance isn't exactly a "great" one but he's not bad at all as Max. Like a soap opera without the sex.

Verdict: Phony and a bit dull all told. **.