The Gingerbread Man

A noirish thriller that depends a lot on inclement weather and devices from other noirish thrillers. Directed by Robert Altman, from an original story by John Grisham, the movie shrouds its conventional plot with some wonderful Altmanesque ambience and, as a result, has the feel of being about more than itself. Set in Savannah, it features Kenneth Branagh as a savvy, divorced attorney who picks up the wrong woman (Embeth Davidtz) one rainy night and is so taken by her apparent vulnerability - she portrays herself as the victim of a deranged cultist father (Robert Duvall) - that he sets about destroying his own life in order to protect hers. Altman's celebrated skill at allowing his actors room gives the picture a loopy, uncontrived flow that is rare for this genre. With Robert Downey, Jr., as an alcoholic private investigator. - Daphne Merkin