Slow and "heavy" Americanization of an egghead detective novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Like a lot of actors-turned-director, Sean Penn is disposed to dump an emotional load on his actors and watch them stagger around under it awhile. Most of them -- Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Clarkson, Mickey Rourke, Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Aaron Eckhart, Sam Shepard, Lois Smith, Harry Dean Stanton -- have to hold up their individual burden for little longer than an Olympic weightlifter. But the manly Jack Nicholson, who acted for Penn also in The Crossing Guard, is permitted to pace himself, is not compelled to cram in the groans and grimaces, as a Reno cop who stays on the case of a child sex-killer long after his retirement and long after the case is officially closed. The director's wife, Robin Wright Penn, gets the second most screen time, and makes something substantial of a battered, chipped-toothed, scarred-cheeked single mom, touchingly grateful for the least little support and assistance. But the director has an eye, too, for the stray scenic detail -- in addition to having a cinematographer, Chris Menges, with an eye for overall atmosphere. (2001) — Duncan Shepherd