Shattered Image is a 1998 surreal thriller film written by Duane Poole and directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. It stars William Baldwin, Anne Parillaud and Lisanne Falk.
Plot
Confusing realities surface in this paranoid film dealing with the fragile nature of a young woman, Jessie (Anne Parillaud) recovering from rape and an apparent attempted suicide. In one reality, she is a killer destroyer of men. In another she is the new wife on a Jamaican honeymoon with her new husband Brian (William Baldwin), who is trying to help her recover. As Jessie switches between realities through her dreams she seeks to figure out who the other Jessie is and why she is seeing her. As the dramatically different realities start to merge causing grave implications questions start to arise. Is someone trying to kill Jessie, can Jessie trust her new husband Brian, and most importantly who is the real Jessie?
Cast
William Baldwin as Brian
Anne Parillaud as Jessie Markham
Lisanne Falk as Paula/Laura
Graham Greene as Detective
Bulle Ogier as Mrs. Ford
Billy Wilmott as Lamond
O'Neil Peart as Simon
Leonie Forbes as Isabel
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. New York Times critic Stephen Holden wrote that the film, "leaves an ambiguous impression" as he explains, "The movie, which aggressively parodies the Alfred Hitchcock of Vertigo and Marnie, may be a tongue-in-cheek spoof. Or it could be an homage. Mr. Ruiz probably wanted it both ways." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times was positive about the film, complimenting Ruiz for his filmmaking skills and the actors Parillaud and Baldwin for their ability to shift between roles. Thomas writes, "Ruiz piles on such questions to such dizzying heights that his picture begins to boggle the mind, like looking too long at a labyrinthine M.C. Esher drawing. It's best to let the film simply wash over you because trying to sort everything out invites a certain tedium. However, it's worth going along with Ruiz because his payoff is so stunning that you realize that as usual he's carefully building toward it every step of the way. Ruiz verges on pure cinema, relying on the camera rather than dialogue to reveal character, tell the story and express his preoccupation with the duality of human nature." Despite some positive reception many critics panned the film. Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, "Movie patrons who sit through Shattered Image, a dreadful thriller that opens today, deserve a reward. A bottle of cognac. A poinsettia. Maybe a bay cruise. And a written apology." Guthmann continues, "The concept is vaguely intriguing, but the execution is bad enough to put you off movies for good... Ruiz's direction is clumsy, his pacing is slack and Parillaud delivers her lines in a semi-intelligible, monotone whisper."