Return to Paradise

A film set in New York and Malaysia. Sheriff, Tony and Lewis meet in Malaysia. They spend a few weeks together: they hire motorbikes, pass time on the beach and smoke hashish. Sheriff and Tony take their return tickets and go. Lewis stays. Two years pass. In New York a lawyer reaches the two and explains: Lewis was arrested over the hashish found at the house they shared. Divided among three people the amount is a small offence; left to one man it is trafficking and the penalty is death. The offer is plain: if the two go back to Malaysia and share the blame Lewis will live, but each will serve years in prison. There are eight days. The body of the film is that decision. Sheriff has no settled life but he has a job; Tony is about to marry and his career is open. Each waits to see what the other will do. What the narrative is interested in is a moral calculation: how much of your own life do you give for another's. At the same time a journalist wants to write about the case, and that affects its course as well. Vince Vaughn plays Sheriff, Anne Heche the lawyer, Joaquin Phoenix plays Lewis and David Conrad plays Tony. Joseph Ruben directed. The film is a remake of a French production. A solid choice for anyone who likes drama built on moral dilemma. For a viewer expecting a comfortable close, the film offers no easy way out.