Mr. Jones (Richard Gere) is a man suffering from bipolar disorder, a disease that affords him periods of intense emotional pleasure and expansiveness but which also results in periods of suicidal depression. Libbie (Lena Olin), a doctor at a psychiatric hospital, takes an interest in his condition, and also in him--after all, he's intelligent, perceptive, and charming. Mr. Jones likes her, also, and puts enough trust in her to allow himself to be treated. But the longer he spends at the hospital, the more he misses the soaring highs that are a part of the man he considers himself to be. Gere's performance is a risky one; he researched the role, but mostly relies on the natural magnetism that has made him such a popular actor to show just how wonderful the "up" Mr. Jones is, and hence what is at stake in his treatment. In creating such a role, director Mike Figgis gives a hint of things to come, since LEAVING LAS VEGAS is also the story of a man who would rather not compromise, and rests on a similarly audacious central performance.
2.
Richard Gere, Lena Olin and Anne Bancroft star in this compelling story about a man on the verge of self-destruction who is saved by love. Gere gives a show-stopping performance as Mr. Jones, a manic-depressive who, during his emotional highs, is funny, creative and charming. Whether shocking the stuffy symphony audience when he rushes onstage to conduct Beethoven, or impulsively taking a bank clerk on a romantic escape, Mr. Jones is a man no woman can resist, including Dr. Libbie Bowen (Olin), the concerned therapist assigned to his case. Romantic, passionate and intensely real, Mr. Jones is a spellbinding testament to the power of love.
3.
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, the film ushers in a preposterous romance between this poor fellow and his psychiatrist (Lena Olin). Delroy Lindo has a nice part as a sympathetic construction worker who tries to help Gere's character. --Tom Keogh
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