Touch

Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, Touch casts Skeet Ulrich as Juvenal – a former monk whose quiet existence is shattered after it becomes clear that he possesses the ability to heal with just a touch. Juvenal’s supernatural abilities catch the interest of Christopher Walken’s sleazy Bill Hill, who sends in an associate (Bridget Fonda’s Lynn) to get close to the presumed miracle worker. Problems ensue after Lynn finds herself falling for Juvenal, and it’s not long before the couple find themselves confronted with a whole host of oddball characters (including Tom Arnold’s militant fanatic and Gina Gershon’s smarmy television personality). Though writer/director Paul Schrader has infused the film with a number of subplots and supporting characters, Touch, saddled with an almost distractingly low-key vibe, never entirely manages to capture (and hold) the viewer’s interest for more than a few minutes at a time. Schrader’s attempts at satirizing a variety of topics, including religion and daytime talk-shows, generally fall flat, as the filmmaker has infused such moments with a pointed, distinctly heavy-handed sensibility that ultimately negates their effectiveness (ie the lack of subtlety becomes increasingly difficult to overlook). Stripped of its myriad of superfluous elements, however, Touch fares surprisingly well as a charming little romance between two disparate characters – yet even this aspect of the story slowly-but-surely loses its appeal as the film essentially runs out of steam once it hits the one-hour mark. The end result is an effort that starts to vanish from one’s memory minutes after it concludes, despite the inclusion of several undeniably positive attributes (eg the strong work from Ulrich and Fonda).

**1/2 out of ****