Like most movie buffs, I have seen Sigourney Weaver in a variety of roles and genres, from "Ghostbusters" to "Alien" to "A Map Of The World" among others, and yet I don't think I have ever seen her offer a better performance than in "Gorillas In The Mist," in which she plays fanatical gorilla researcher and protector Dian Fossey. Fossey's life - and ultimately her tragic and violent death - leaps out from the screen through Weaver, as we watch her evolve from the uncertain and inexperienced assistant to the great anthropologist Louis Leakey to the committed expert on these marvelous creatures, sometimes going over the top in her quest to save them. Be warned of some possible spoilers ahead.
The movie is absolutely heart-breaking in places. The terrified mother gorilla trying to save her baby as the tree they've climbed is cut down by poachers; Fossey's anguished cries of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," to the baby she nursed back to health only to have to turn her over to zookeepers; the horrible death of Digit. I have to confess that each of these scenes brought a few tears to my eyes. And yet the basic gentleness and nobility of the gorilla is brought out as well, and the movie ends on a sad yet hopeful note. Fossey is murdered - certainly by the poachers she opposed for years - but her body is buried beside her beloved Digit, and the gorillas (even Digit's group) live on and increase in number.
The movie contains strong supporting performances from Bryan Brown as National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell, with whom Fossey falls in love but for whom she won't leave her gorillas, from John Omirah Miluwi as Sembagare, Fossey's gentle guide through the African jungles to Iain Cuthbertson who was perfectly believable as Louis Leakey.
This is spectacular. From the photography to the acting to the reality behind the story. I honestly can't come up with a flaw.
10/10
The movie is absolutely heart-breaking in places. The terrified mother gorilla trying to save her baby as the tree they've climbed is cut down by poachers; Fossey's anguished cries of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," to the baby she nursed back to health only to have to turn her over to zookeepers; the horrible death of Digit. I have to confess that each of these scenes brought a few tears to my eyes. And yet the basic gentleness and nobility of the gorilla is brought out as well, and the movie ends on a sad yet hopeful note. Fossey is murdered - certainly by the poachers she opposed for years - but her body is buried beside her beloved Digit, and the gorillas (even Digit's group) live on and increase in number.
The movie contains strong supporting performances from Bryan Brown as National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell, with whom Fossey falls in love but for whom she won't leave her gorillas, from John Omirah Miluwi as Sembagare, Fossey's gentle guide through the African jungles to Iain Cuthbertson who was perfectly believable as Louis Leakey.
This is spectacular. From the photography to the acting to the reality behind the story. I honestly can't come up with a flaw.
10/10