'Holes' is a highly original and thoughtful film

Sometimes Hollywood can rise above itself and come up, as here, with a deeply involving film which manages to take in a wide range of emotions and plotlines.

Fri, 24 Oct, 2003 - 17:02

Holes

Director: Andrew Davis

Cast: Jon Voight, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Winkler, Eartha Kitt, Shia LaBeouf, Patricia Arquette

Cert: PG.

Sometimes Hollywood can rise above itself and come up, as here, with a deeply involving film which manages to take in a wide range of emotions and plotlines.

A troubled teenager (LaBeouf) is sent by his father (Winkler) to a camp after being wrongly accused of theft. There he meets the wonderfully zany 'commandants' (Voight, Weaver and Nelson) who make their charges dig holes; these being the foundation of several strands of the off-beat plot, one involving a curse (placed by Kitt) and the other a pioneering story of revenge (involving Arquette).

There is much - much - going on here which at first doesn't meet the eye, but Davis keeps a firm hand on the happenings and turns it into a film that is highly original, thoughtful and well worth staying with.

Star Rating: 4/5