Shining Through (1992)

Ludicrous wartime thriller written and directed by David Seltzer, and based on a novel by Susan Isaacs. 

A secretary with a major law firm (Melanie Griffith) falls in love with a spy (Michael Douglas) and takes on her own spy mission in Berlin. Her only qualification is that she speaks fluent German (although, unlike the other actors, she doesn’t even try to put on a German accent) and has learned about intelligence work from enjoying films at the cinema. On this ridiculous premise, the film wobbles along in a highly entertaining manner. 

Liam Neeson isn’t too bad as the Nazi officer General Franze-Otto Dietrich. John Gielgud isn’t very well used as the agent “Sunflower”. And Joely Richardson is fairly watchable as the double agent Margrete von Eberstein. 

There are plenty of implausible moments but the film does have a few things in its favour. There are a few exciting sequences and Douglas and Griffith both have charm. But it’s so far-fetched and silly (with several unintentionally funny moments) that you wonder if it would’ve been better played as a comedy.

Return to Me (2000)

Chicago architect Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) loses his wife (Joely Richardson) in a car accident. Her heart is donated to an artist named Grace (Minnie Driver), who would otherwise have died. A year later, Bob and Grace meet by coincidence, and – without realising what connects them – begin to fall in love. 

It’s a strange film – not quite a rom-com and not really a drama, either. There are too many extra characters of little consequence. For example, Grace lives with her Irish grandfather (Carroll O’Connor), who owns an Italian restaurant and socialises with his friends. There’s quite a bit of these elderly men sitting around playing cards and talking about Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. We also get to see a lot of Grace’s friend Megan (Bonnie Hunt, who also directed) spending time with her husband (James Belushi) and their children. There’s also too much about Bob’s dog (and even the boy who helps look after Bob’s dog). Plus, there are threads about painting, gardening and antique bicycles. A further dimension comes from the gorilla sanctuary that Bob’s wife worked at and which he helps to expand and redevelop to honour her life’s work. 

All of these bitty elements don’t add up to much. But when Duchovny and Driver are on screen together, it works. You just wish they had been allowed more screen time as a couple, and with less of the unfunny silliness that surrounds them.