THE TIGER'S TAIL

The Tiger's Tail is half of a decent movie... just decide what half you find more interesting, and call it good. Because, unfortunately, the film can't decide whether it wants to be a thriller, or a sad drama about separated brothers.

Brendan Gleeson stars as uber-successful Dublin developer Liam O'Leary. As his riches have amassed, he has seemingly slipped out of touch with his family. His wife Jane (Kim Cattrall) is cold and distant, and his teenage son Declan (Sean McGinley) would rather immerse himself in books about communism since he can't depend on dad being around.

But the night that Liam accepts a prestigious award from his peers, he starts seeing things. Actually he starts seeing himself. Who is that man that looks exactly like him in the crowd, except disheveled and appearing like a madman? Liam becomes obsessed, chasing this stranger through crowds and across muddy moors. But then the rules are changed. His disheveled twin moves in on Liam's life, and literally moves into his house when crazed Liam is left wandering the streets. Now who looks crazy?

The Tiger's Tail works alright as a kind of cheesy thriller, as Liam becomes more unhinged trying to solve the mystery of this stranger. But then two-thirds through the story, when we find out what is going on, the stranger becomes a sympathetic character, and it becomes a squishy drama where they all seem to ask, "Can't we all just get along?"

The problem is that the two halves of the movie are half-baked. If the filmmaker had stuck with one genre (choose thriller or drama, please), the story could have worked. Gleeson is obviously a very fine actor, and is convincing even when the material is kind of muddy. Catrall, who I can easily forgive for her wobbly Irish accent, does her best with an underdeveloped character. And Ciarán Hinds and Sinéad Cusack make their roles more interesting than they should be.

But, ultimately, The Tiger's Tail doesn't work. I don't remember hearing about this movie in the theaters, so I'm sure test audiences gave it a "meh" response, sending it straight to DVD after languishing in limbo for a few years. This is one of those films that will probably simply disappear off the resume of those involved.