Harrison's Flowers

It may feature R-rated dialogue and extremely graphic violence, but "Harrison's Flowers" still feels like the grittiest movie that was ever made for the Lifetime cable television network.

And that's a pity, because both the subject matter (wartime photojournalism) and the cast (which includes some of the best, albeit least-heralded, character actors working in film today) deserve better than this noble but fruitless attempt to develop multiple characters and broach political issues beyond its reach.

Also, let's stress the "graphic" part about the violence again. While its war scenes may not rival "We Were Soldiers" for sheer bloodiness, the film's action may come as a surprise to those expecting something kinder and gentler.

The Harrison in the title is Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn), a veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for Newsweek magazine. Of late, he's got a bad case of "nerves" and wants to get out of the business. And he should have, since he goes missing in Bosnia-Herzegovina and is presumed dead.

However, his devoted wife Sarah (Andie MacDowell) is convinced that he's still alive, so she heads into the war-torn country to find him. There, the naive woman is fortunate to find a sympathetic American journalist, Kyle Morris (Adrien Brody), who agrees to help, though it may be impossible task, thanks to Serb offensives that are making travel difficult — and deadly.

French director Elie Chouraqui (1993's "The Groundhogs") has impressively staged and mounted battle scene re-creations — only some of which are augmented with actual newsreel footage. But the script, which is freely adapted from journalist Isabel Ellsen's novel, is much less convincing, as is MacDowell, who is too "soft" an actress for this role; she's a sympathetic lead but seems out of place.

By comparison, the supporting cast is much more forceful, especially Brody, whose character might have been the focus of a better movie. And, as another photojournalist, Brendan Gleeson adds needed humor — even though some of the drama is unintentionally amusing.

"Harrison's Flowers" is rated R for intense, graphic wartime violence (including shootings and explosive mayhem), frequent use of strong sexually related profanity, graphic gore, simulated drug use (cocaine and narcotics), use of crude sexual slang terms and gestures, a scene depicting an attempted rape and a brief sex scene. Running time: 122 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com