Empire falls, and it ain't pretty

The latest prestige project from HBO premieres tonight but unfortunately Empire Falls is not one of the network's better efforts.

Despite a cast that includes Ed Harris, Paul Newman, Helen Hunt, Robin Wright-Penn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanne Woodward, Aidan Quinn and Dennis Farina, the three-hour mini-series is pretty much a dud. It's the TV equivalent of pseudo-important Oscar bait movies that fall flat on their faces like The Human Stain, A Thousand Acres, All the Pretty Horses, Snow Falling on Cedars and numerous others (I doubt it's a coincidence all of these projects, and Empire Falls as well, were based on Important Books).

However, unlike the feature world, TV is kinder to projects like this and it won't be surprising to see Empire Falls walk off with an Emmy for best mini-series come September. But that's more about lack of suitable competition.

Unfortunately I haven't read the highly regarded novel by Richard Russo that the mini is based on, but as a film Empire Falls has a meandering, scattershot approach that tries too hard for folksy charm in its tale of a small New England town and the way life continually lets down local diner manager Miles Roby (Ed Harris).

Miles' story is the main thread but there are many, many subplots. Yet, despite all the characters and interaction the project still feels lethargic. As directed by the unremarkable Fred Schepisi, Empire Falls is a little too at home on the small screen and features a lot of really good actors giving solid performances that no one would suggest are career highs.

Of the overcrowded ensemble (which also prominently includes Theresa Russell, Kate Burton, William Fichtner, Estelle Parsons and a trio of young actors: Danielle Panabaker, Lou Taylor Pucci and Trevor Morgan) I'd reserve the highest praise for Newman, Wright-Penn and Woodward.

Newman's role as Miles' cranky old father feels like an overly simple character role for the great actor but he fills it well (it's worth noting Newman also executive produced this project and starred in a vastly superior adaptation of a Russo novel, 1994's Nobody's Fool, for which he was nominated for an Oscar that he also should've won).

Wright-Penn does some lovely work in flashbacks as Miles' dearly devoted mother and Woodward is pitch perfect as the feisty and self-important richest woman in town (no, Woodward and Newman do not share any scenes).

The rest of the cast is generally up to what's asked of them but it's a bit unfortunate that the always welcome Harris doesn't register stronger in the lead role.

Most viewers will probably struggle through the film's particularly aimless first hour but things do pick up a little after that. Unfortunately it barely seems worth it in the end.

The story's twists feel either a bit too obvious (the not-very-hard-to-guess true identity of Hoffman's character is full on spoiled by the end credits of part-one before it is revealed in the beginning of part-two) or simply confounding (the poorly handled high school subplot develops in a highly melodramatic and unsatisfying fashion). There's some pat commentary on disappointment and finding how to pick up the pieces of a broken life, but this sort of stuff would be underwhelming on CBS, let alone HBO.

At the end I just wished I'd read the book instead.