romeo is bleeding wants to carry the unusual flavor of reservoir dogs or bad lieutenant . with director peter medak , whose previous credits include the good films let him have it and the krays , and top-notch character actors gary oldman and lena olin , they seemed likely to be a successful combination . those mentioned films , however , brought something to the screen that romeo is bleeding did not : a solid , well-written screenplay . call me cynical , but the jobs of writer and producer don't seem to mix well . gary oldman plays jack grimaldi , a good cop turned bad , selling information to the mob and cheating on his wife . his cheating is obvious enough to obtain his nickname , although the name doesn't provide any insight or analogy to the shakespearean character . jack has become addicted to " feeding the hole " , a hole in the ground where he stores his payoff money . when he realizes his colleagues are being shot , he feebly attempts to get out . gary oldman's performance is disappointingly weak ; he seems nearly bored . in the process , he also gets tangled-up with mona demarkov , a russian mobsterette who wants to take over the territory from top boss falcone , played adequately by roy scheider . demarkov , played by lena olin , is a tough but tremendously sexy woman with seemingly no problems maneuvering within the mob world . this character is combination of both linda hamilton and arnold schwarznegger from terminator 2 . i can't remember seeing a character quite like her . after being shot , handcuffed , and thrown in the back seat of a car , she still manages to cause an accident , kick out the windshield with her legs , grab a suitcase full of money ( plus some important documentation ) , climb through the rubble , land on her shot leg , and still succeed at running for safety . what a woman ! lena olin's performance is the only glimmer <NEG> in this dismal film </NEG> . anabella sciorra <NEG> is wasted in her role </NEG> as romeo's wife . there is little insight into her character . she's depressed , she makes obvious references , she mopes around the house . juliette lewis , as romeo's girlfriend , is <NEG> treated with the same cliche attitudes </NEG> , although ms . lewis' portrayal certainly didn't improve it . both women were <NEG> anything but sexy or attractive . poorly developed characters aside , the screenplay also suffers from several logistical problems . it is so discouraging to watch a film and want to shout at the main character </NEG> ( not ) to do something . for example , jack and his friends attend a funeral to hang in the background to scope-out the mob scene . fine . jack spots the big boss with his goons by the gravesite . fine . what does jack proceed to do ? he brushes his friends off by telling them he isn't feeling well , then strolls over to the boss . why ? the boss had all ready threatened him ; falcone simply takes the opportunity to issue more threats by ordering his goons to take off some of jack's toes by the gravesite . i guess they weren't worried about any federal agents lingering around after the funeral . . . . or here's another : demarkov set-up her own death by cutting off her arm with a circular saw . she proceeded to set the place on fire . wouldn't the flames burn off the fingerprints ? aren't dental records more important ? as bright and resourceful as she was supposed to be , couldn't she come up with a better plot ? ( and it took her no time at all to get a good-fitting , functional prosthesis . ) <NEG> lack of attention to detail </NEG> certainly adds up in a film . this film <NEG> doesn't even add up the large details . there is little or no consistency in the story-line . not much makes sense . the direction lacks cohesion </NEG> , surprising from a director whose previous credits are impeccable . the moods shift , the styles shift , and no one can seem to decide if it is a serious film or satire of one . so while it certainly isn't reservoir dogs , it certainly isn't diva . <NEG> there's plenty more to tear apart in this film </NEG> . my advice to someone who hasn't seen it to to wait until it comes on video . there are some quotable lines that would provide a campy evening if not taken seriously . it's not a boring film , <NEG> just not a good one . or an intelligent one . </NEG>
