Mr. Jones

Richard Gere is pretty convincing as a severe manic-depressive whose episodes of euphoria sometimes find him dancing on a two-by-four far above the street or climbing onstage during a symphony performance to "conduct" the orchestra. When the pendulum swings the other way, he is practically catatonic. As a character study, this film by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) has its truly compelling moments, but Mr. Jones isn't just a character study. Inexplicably, Figgis ushers in a preposterous romance between this poor fellow and his psychiatrist (Lena Olin), a relationship that is supposed to raise interesting ethical and dramatic issues. All it does is make one wonder what the devil the doctor is thinking of, and why Figgis felt it necessary to go down this lose-lose path. With Delroy Lindo in a nice part as a sympathetic construction worker who tries to help Gere's character. --Tom Keogh