With De Niro and Norton headlining this had the potential to be a good movie. But the script is filled with irrelevant dead ends and un explained plot lines. De Niro is a parole officers with a troubled past? Unexplained from the opening sequence, one of his final cases is Norton who enlists his wife to pursuade De Niro to approve his parole. End of story. So then you end up asking your self what is the relationship with De Niro and wife? where does golf come into it? Why did he do the stuff with Jovovich if he is a good parole officer? Is Norton reformed or not?
I would recommend watching something else.
Thought I was on to a winner with De Niro and Norton, but suffice to say I fell asleep. This is dull. Very slow and uninteresting. Don't waste a slot on your CP list.
The name John Curran will fill many film buffs with dread; particularly after his notorious collaborations with Michael Winterbottom and Jessica Alba – Curran is hardly known of his intellect or artistry.
Stone is the story of a convicted arsonist (Edward Norton) and his attempt to manipulate parole officer Jack (Robert De Niro) into allowing him early release from his prison sentence. The film also tracks the loveless marriage of Jack and his wife Madylyn, beginning with her treats to leave when their daughter is still a baby (quashed by his treat to throw the child out a window), and following through as Jack embarks on an elicit affair with Stone’s wife (Millia Jonovich).
It transpires that Stone and his wife have been intentionally manipulating Jack in order to force him into signing the early release form, which causes Jack’s life to fall to pieces around him. By the end of the film he has retired, lost the respect of his peers and his wife has thrown him out.
The film does exactly what you would expect it. It is coarse and violent and dark in places, yet its attempt at depth – by questioning moral responsibility – is pitiful. The film aspires to be more than it is and that ruins any positive aspects it may have had originally.
This is a film for young men with a taste for prison dramas and fits perfectly into the previously cast mold of John Curran films.