Passion of Mind (PG-13) No Rating

Two Demis for the price of one.

Story

In this tale of two pretties, we see a woman living two lives, or so it

seems. The challenge for Demi (and the audience) is, which is real?

Country Demi and City Demi are both leading fab lives, both being

romanced by separate men and both losing their marbles as they try to

figure out which is legit. You see, when high-powered City Demi goes to

sleep in her swank New York loft, she wakes up as Country Demi, a

widowed mother of two who’s living the simple life among the wildflowers

(and vice versa). Things get tough in this charming psycho-romance as

the suitors (William Fichtner and Stellan Skarsgard) force their

respective Demis to choose or lose. Though variants of this story have

been done before (did anyone see "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow?),

"Passion of Mind" is a gripping story that makes both lives seem genuine

and endearing. Unfortunately, the movie unravels when the payoff proves

to be muddy and meandering.

Acting

After a three-year absence from the screen and a string of box office

duds, Demi resists the hysterics and overacting, instead painting a

gentle portrait of two women struggling to keep it together. Fichtner

and Skarsgard add the right amount of drama as equally compelling lovers

competing from opposite sides of the dream world.

Direction

Pulling off what easily could’ve been disregarded as a preposterous

premise, French director Alain Berliner ("Ma Vie en Rose") gets points

for milking Demi’s best performance since, well … let’s just say Demi’s

best performance. He also shows us a beautiful French countryside and a

majestically colorful New York City, making it perfectly understandable

why our hero can’t let go of either world.

Bottom Line

What, would you have preferred Demi did "G.I. Jane 2"?