Picture Claire

Mistaken identity is the primary plot driver of this Canadian film that should have stayed north of the border. Speaking her lines in French (which are subtitled), Juliette Lewis stars as Claire, a Montreal resident whose apartment has been torched by vindictive drug dealers. Heading off to Toronto to hook up with her boyfriend, she ends up getting confused with the similar-looking Lily (Gina Gershon), a beautiful but crazed woman sought by the police for the murder of scumbag Eddie (a typecast Mickey Rourke). Gimmicky multi-screen effects create a bad mosaic that disguises a lack of interesting action, the screenplay relies on profanity over profundity, and the musical soundtrack choices (e.g., “Sweet City Woman”?) are strangely anachronistic. Not recommended. (T. Rich)