Film Reviews

Laws of Attraction

• Rating:
• Director: Peter Howitt.
• Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey, Michael Sheen, Frances Fisher, Nora Dunn.
• Details: US and Ire / 97 mins / (12PG).

An inoffensive romantic comedy that rarely threatens to become anything beyond mildly entertaining, The Laws of Attraction sees Moore and Brosnan play a couple of hard nosed divorce lawyers who mix business with pleasure. The roguish Daniel Rafferty (Brosnan) is a hit with the ladies, while his occasional nemesis in the courtroom, Audrey Woods (Moore) is vehemently opposed to the possibility of finding romance. As Hollywood loves reminding us, opposites attract and soon the pair are sampling dinner in a noisy restaurant before drunkenly heading off to bed to do the bold thing. After a heartily stereotypical trip to Ireland (don't ask), they get hammered in the boozer and wake up married. Begorrah! Of course, neither one of them wants to be wed, so all sorts of mischief is got up to. If you can't guess what happens in the end of The Laws of Attraction, chances are you've never seen a romantic comedy before. That the script never takes any real chances or offers some bite undermines The Laws of Attraction but the performances add a certain zest to the proceedings. While he'll never be mistaken for Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan is surprisingly effective, gently riffing off his James Bond persona and supplementing it with a raffish energy. Even if Moore doesn't appear quite as comfortable with her part, she makes for an appealing foil to the swaggering Brosnan.

Review by Garreth Murphy