3 NEEDLES (Thom Fitzgerald). 123 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (April 21). For venues and times, see Movie Listings. Rating: NN Rating: NN
Thom Fitzgerald ‘s (The Hanging Garden) most ambitious film yet offers three stories set on three continents. But don’t think The Hours the only thing connecting these stories is their theme of disease and blood, as well as Olympia Dukakis ‘s hypnotic narration as a saintly missionary in AIDS-ravaged Africa.
The director gets the most out of his gorgeous vistas, and some sequences are marked by National Geographic-style accuracy. But the funereal pace and slack script keep letting us down. The great performers ( Sandra Oh ! Lucy Liu ! Stockard Channing !) never get to do much and are upstaged by the scenery.
That said, it’s almost worth seeing for Channing’s hilarious attempt at a Quebecois accent as the mother of a porn actor ( Shawn Ashmore , a lot less buff than he will be in the upcoming X-Men sequel).
