patrick powell After his 'cult hit' with Withnail & I, English writer/director (1988), went on to write and direct How To Get Ahead In Advertising (which I haven't yet seen) a year later (1989) and then, this, Jennifer 8 in 1992. It then wasn't until 19 years later, in 2011, that he directed his next film, the - for me, at least, underwhelming The Rum Diary. And I think you have to ask yourself why.Both Jennifer 8 and The Rum Diary suffer from the same failing: most of the bits and pieces are there, but they don't seem to be assembled in the right order. And crucially some still seem to be missing. That is especially the case with Jennifer 8. After a strong beginning, it seems to limp along, hinting at what kind of film it should be rather than being that film.Our central figure - the hero - is a cop who has moved to the styx from the LAPD, apparently once had a drink problem and was abandoned by his wife. I fancy these details are meant to make him interesting. But they don't: here they just mark him out as a certain kind of hero in a certain kind of film, and no more.Then there is the obsession Garcia, for he's the hero, has with tracking down a putative serial killer. It isn't explained why, and there's no particular suggestion as to why. And despite his boss informing him that there is a lot of other detective work to be getting on with, our hero seems simply to ignore anything else and get on with chasing the serial killer he is so certain exists. He is not popular in the department, but why is never obvious: in one rather jarring scene that is made clear, but why exactly.There are other, quite drastic signs that this just isn't a very good production: set in winter, the country is covered in snow one minutes, then the fields are green the next. There is one particular, quite crucial, scene which even takes places in a blizzard. The following day, the ground is as dry and snow-free as one might not hope for if you are a director with a real eye for detail.One gets the feeling that Robinson has seen a lot of these kind of 'psychological, suspense' thrillers and has set out to make one. Sadly, he simply doesn't succeed. There's precious little psychology and no suspense whatsoever.Finally, Garcia is just too nice to be the dedicated cop with inner demons. This role demanded someone of the calibre of Al Pacino and his ilk. Sad to say, but if you get the chance to watch this, pass it up.

SnoopyStyle Police detective John Berlin (Andy Garcia) moves from L.A. to the small town of Eureka. There's a dead body before even he starts his job. A suicide is found in the garbage dump. Freddy Ross (Lance Henriksen) is his partner. Then they find a hand. There was a girl nicknamed Jennifer found a couple of years ago without a head or hands. Mike Blattis is the local reporter. John Taylor is a cop who thinks that Berlin stole his promotion. His boss Citrine is gun-shy after the last debacle. Berlin is staying with Ross and his wife Margie. The excessive scars on the hand leads them to the victim being blind named Amber studying at a local institute. They interview her blind friend Helena (Uma Thurman). Only Berlin believes that there is a serial killer.This is a rather slow murder mystery thriller. I like the mood. Uma Thurman is gorgeous as the blind girl. However 2 hours is simply too long for a simple murder mystery. There aren't enough twists and turns to justify spending so much time. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, I think another filmmaker would have cut the movie shorter. He's probably more used to movies with much more stuff to squeeze in. There are too many sections where not much happens in the investigation.

bcheng93 why did this movie get only a 6.2 rating on IMDb? are people dumb? this movie has great stars( Thurman, Garcia, henriksen & a great cameo by malkovich( he is so good that i wanted to put my hand thru my flatscreen & just choke him). this movies also got great winter scenes and what a great musical score. this movie definitely is gonna get multiple viewings from me. i consider myself a huge fan of movies & will just about watch anything, but.....people...this is a nice little " diamond in the rough ". this is in my top 10-15 serial killer, suspense, thriller movies. i think most people will like this movie if they try it. oh btw....is Andy Garcia a Al Pacino clone or what..LOL. seriously if u like a well-made movie, give this one a try

shinigami_ichigo I would not have seen this movie, if i hadn't seen some of the reviewers calling it an 'Under-rated gem'. This movie claims to be of the Crime/Drama/Mystery genre. Here are some of my thoughts on the movie. John Berlin(Garcia)discovers a derelict's body in a landfill site who is suspected "to have offed himself with a knife". He also finds a brassiere & a hand. I was surprised that Berlin was going after the hand & the brassiere instead of the derelict who was in one piece. Garcia ends up falling in love(quite unsurprisingly!!) with the blind, Helena (Uma Thurman, as great as usual). And obviously the serial killer is after Helena, and Berlin is hell bound on protecting her. That takes care of the drama. As for the mystery, if you follow the movie close enough you get a good idea who the killer is, 24 minutes into the movie. And you know who it is for sure, another 20 minutes later. An hour later, the movie just abruptly ended. It seemed so rushed (i mean come on, i had to wait another hour, to know why the serial killer, kills and to know how he will be caught) and i found myself saying *beep*, who killed the *beep* derelict ?? So watch this movie for the good acting. Garcia, Thurman,Henriksen & Malkovitch put up a great show. It was a treat to watch St.Anne, interrogate, Berlin.