Ho-hum 'Wicker Park' never sweeps you up

All the characters come together in a series of strained coincidences.
By PHILIP WUNTCH
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
For a movie about sexual obsession, "Wicker Park" is a pretty listless affair.
It's a psychological drama that may strike most viewers as bipolar. Its mood swings jump from erotic thriller to wistful romance, and its final explanatory moments play like a weak comic farce.
The film continues Josh Hartnett's string of bad-luck movies. Looking wan and dispirited, he plays advertising executive Matthew, who confirms his professional upswing by becoming engaged to his boss's sister.
Trouble is, Matthew's still obsessing over the woman he loved and lost two years earlier. Beautiful, mysterious Lisa (Diane Kruger), an aspiring dancer, had exited his life without explanation, but he now thinks he spies her near their favorite meeting place, Chicago's Wicker Park.
Another mystery woman
Meanwhile, goofus best bud Luke (Matthew Lillard), begins what seems like a casual relationship with down-to-earth Alex (Rose Byrne). However, Alex is given to crying spells and sudden disappearances and may not be as forthright as she seems. It's useful to remember that Alex was also the name of Glenn Close's vengeful psycho in "Fatal Attraction."
Eventually all the characters are bunched together in a series of strained coincidences. Just be aware that nobody in "Wicker Park" seems capable of telling the truth.
In the movie's pivotal role of traumatized Matthew, a glazed, preoccupied stare is the best Hartnett can manage. By contrast, Lillard seems overly anxious to take advantage of the screenplay's best dialogue. He tries too hard to be the scene-stealing sidekick.
Lead actresses
The two lead actresses are both veterans of Wolfgang Petersen's "Troy," Kruger having played runaway queen Helen, and Byrne was cast as Achilles' captive love interest. The ravishing Kruger has the lure of an earthy goddess heightened by an air of bittersweet melancholy. Bryne's appearance and manner are more earthbound, and the role of Alex amounts to a strenuous actors' workshop for her undeniable talents. Like the movie itself, her character suffers from a lack of consistency.
Director Paul McGuigan made one fairish art house film, "The Reckoning," in which Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe played Middle Ages thespians attempting to solve a murder. Like "Wicker Park," that film was plot-heavy. Unlike "Wicker Park," it eventually achieved some level of credibility.
Although suffering from jolting, heavy-handed camera movements, "Wicker Park" looks great, with scenes of wintry, windswept Chicago. Sadly, nothing else in the movie will sweep you away.