Superb acting only saving grace for tedious ‘The Dinner’

“The Dinner” is a movie that — as its name implies — takes place almost entirely over a multi-course dinner at an uber-fashionable restaurant (can’t get a reservation unless you are somebody). It is largely through flashbacks that we learn the real story of this foursome — consisting of two brothers and their respective wives.

But it is the prolonged dinner conversation and frequent interruptions that reveal these people’s characters — or lack thereof. This is a long and somewhat painful movie to watch. We are both afraid for and disgusted by almost everyone — including the children.

Based on a 2009 book by Amsterdam’s Kevin Koch, the movie is probably not as well-received as the book, which was translated into 17 languages. So where did things go astray? I suspect that the book is a page-turner — but there is simply no way to move the movie fast enough to get to the next chapter.

Stan Lohman (Richard Gere) is a rising star congressman running for governor. He is accompanied by his second wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall) and his eternally present aide Nina (Adepero Oduye). The first Mrs. Lohman (Chloe Sevigny) long ago ditched Stan and their two sons.

The second couple consists of Stan’s psychotic and paranoid brother Paul (Steve Coogan) and his totally adoring and enabling wife Claire (Laura Linney).

The party is meeting at Stan’s request for the purpose of deciding what to do about the two teenage sons of their respective families. After much petty dinner conversation, way too many interruptions by aide Nina, several painful flashbacks of Paul unraveling over time, and some glimpses of early family dynamics, we finally get to what the two cousins have done — drunkenly incinerated a homeless woman in an ATM kiosk.

Apparently, no one has yet discovered the incendiary criminals — and it seems likely that the two will never be discovered. The majority consensus of three of the parents is to let sleeping dogs lie. But Stan has a moral compass and feels the boys must turn themselves in to the authorities and take what’s coming to them; that to do otherwise will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

In the process, Stan plans to hold a press conference and announce that he is withdrawing from the governor’s race. The only other person who supports this idea is Stan’s aide Nina — who will surely be out of a job as a result. But she too has a moral compass.

The problem with the film is the story itself. It takes forever to be told. Oddly, the saving grace is the acting. Coogan is beyond superb as the crazy one. He constantly talks to himself and provides much of the narrative, but he is so psychologically flawed that we can’t believe much of what he says. Linney is also excellent as the loyal and supporting wife of Paul and a mother lion who would tear to shreds anyone who threatened her son. Hall is magnificent as the second Mrs. Lohman, adapting gracefully to mothering and nurturing her husband’s career.

Gere is adequate in the role he plays — but part of the problem is that his character is so boringly normal compared to the rest of the pack, and by the end of the film we are not sure how willing we are to be on the side of right. In fact, the film abruptly ends — black screen — and we are left hanging, reminiscent of the short story “The Lady and the Tiger.”

While the film is tedious at times, it is splendid in its portrayal of some seriously complex characters, and the cast is so talented it helps detract from the sluggish plot.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Superb acting only saving grace for tedious ‘The Dinner’."