Since her breakup with Bruce, we haven't heard too much out of Demi Moore, hell... even before that. Once on top of the Hollywood Female Star Status.... She has since fallen film after flop after flop back down to Tierra Firma.... Will this be the film to begin her ascent once again... Or another nail in a career coffin? Keep in mind this is an early screening with all the problems that are mentioned in the First Paragraph, so realize this is a temporary TEST print of the film. Here we go...

PASSION OF MIND

I recently finagled my way into a test screening of Demi Moore's first film in two years, tentatively titled "Passion of Mind."

Before the screening, the host announced that what we would be seeing was a working print and featured temporary music and some color abnormalities,

but otherwise it seemed to be finished.

The film stars Demi as Marie/Marty, a woman who seems to be leading a double life, one in New York City as a high-powered professional and one in France as a book reviewer and mother of two daughters. Echos of Gwyneth Paltrow's

"Sliding Doors" can be found throughout this film, except Marty/Marie actually realizes that she is leading a double life and is trying to figure out which one is real. When she goes to sleep in New York City, she wakes up in Paris, and vice versa. She has therapists in both places, who each try to convince her that the other is a dream. She can't figure out which one is real and which one is the dream because both seem so real to her. The best line in the movie comes when a therapist tries to convince her that the world he is definitely real and she replies, "That's what they all say."

It's not surprising that Demi was attracted to this film since it is mostly a romance with supernatural overtones, hinting of "Ghost." But I think this film may be too bizarre and slowly paced to be a hit. I know some people just hate Demi Moore, but I have liked her in certain things such as "Disclosure" and "G. I. Jane." This is a fairly challenging role for her, but she doesn't really make much of an impression.

Demi has a romance in each world, the one in France with Stellan Skarsgaard and the one in New York City with William Fichtner. While not exactly lust objects, these guys provide the best moments in the movie with their wooing of Marie/Marty. Let's just say, pretty soon Demi is getting laid on both sides of the globe (lots of love scenes, but no nudity this time--sorry, fellas).

The biggest problem with the movie, besides the slow pace, is the feeling we get toward Demi's character. As the movie progresses, her condition gets less and less cute and it becomes obvious that the woman has to be, if not insane, at least profoundly disturbed. Then we come to the confusing and bizarre ending.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

At the end, Marty realizes that the life in France was a dream. Her two girls are actually younger versions of herself (don't ask me) and a confidante and friend played by Sinead Cusack turns out to be her dead mother (!) At one point, Demi mentions that her husband had died (she is a single mom) and that storyline is sort of dropped or perhaps Stellan Skarsgaard's character is her dead husband, too . . .? Who knows. I sure didn't. You're left with not really knowing what extreme thing could have caused her to form this dream world. And if it's just her mother dying twenty-five years ago, that's not enough. The movie ends with Marty (her real New York self) visiting her Paris home (apparently her childhood home) which now appears to be owned by other people.

All in all, the movie is going to need some major work if it wants to draw in audiences.

N. ONYMOUS