The Gingerbread Man

Robert Altman directed The Gingerbread Man, a thriller based on a John Grisham story, and it’s tricky and satisfying entertainment. Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh), a boozing, womanizing Savannah lawyer, becomes the lover and protector of Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz), a desperate waitress who claims she’s being stalked by her crazed-derelict father (Robert Duvall). Is Mallory innocent, or has she seduced Magruder on purpose? The real seduction is Altman’s. He lures us into thinking we’re watching a supple character study, but the movie is brimming with Grisham-esque twists. A-