Special Correspondents

Directed by Ricky Gervais, Special Correspondents follows a hotshot radio journalist (Eric Bana’s Frank Bonneville) as he and his sound technician (Gervais’ Ian Finch) are forced to fake their news reports from a war-torn South American country – with complications ensuing after Ian’s calculating wife (Vera Farmiga’s Eleanor) decides to cash in on the scheme. It’s a decidedly novel premise that is, at the outset, employed to watchable (if entirely forgettable) effect by Gervais, as the filmmaker, working from his own script, delivers an affable endeavor that benefits from the appealing, charismatic efforts of its various performers – with Bana’s compelling turn certainly matched by a roster of eclectic periphery players like Kevin Pollak, Kelly Macdonald, and America Ferrera. (The latter is especially entertaining as the dimwitted proprietor of a local restaurant.) It’s clear, then, that Special Correspondents‘ palpable downfall is triggered by a mid-movie emphasis on the less-than-captivating exploits of Farmiga’s conniving character, with the increasingly tedious atmosphere exacerbated (and then some) by a third act that couldn’t possibly be less interesting or engaging – which, as a result, ensures that the whole thing fizzles out to an extraordinarily pronounced degree. It’s a shame, ultimately, given that Special Correspondents admittedly does possess quite a few above-average attributes, but the film’s overall impact is hindered by Gervais’ hit-and-miss (and progressively bland) approach to the material.

** out of ****