The Man Who Cried

By NINA CAPLAN, Metro

The investors are probably crying too, since a film starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett and the magnificent John Turturro must have looked like a dead cert.

But Sally Potter takes her own potentially interesting script about Suzie (a slightly wooden Ricci), a Russian Jew fostered in England then caught in Nazi-occupied Paris, gives her actors ? three Americans and an Aussie ? an improbable variety of accents to struggle with, then ignores them in favour of the soundtrack.

Depp looks magnificent as gypsy Cesar, drawn to Suzie by their common status as victims, but the role strays dangerously close to parody: Cesar's thick gypsy tones, sultry looks and comical attachment to his white horse rob him of dignity.

Blanchett too is forced over the top as Russian opportunist Lola, who gets them jobs in the chorus behind a famed Italian opera singer (Turturro), then falls in love with the harsh, fascist lead.

Potter's history is dubious, her interest in music and spectacle excessive, and she willingly jettisons her narrative for the sake of a pretty

shot. The four superb actors concentrate so hard on their (admittedly impressive) accents that all vitality is sucked from their performances. Like Cesar's horse, this film looks good but spends much of its time either plodding or standing still.

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