Directed by Keoni Waxman
Written by Keoni Waxman, Robert Pascuzzi, and Kelly Pascuzzi
Starring Eric Dane, Teri Polo, Peter Facinelli
Rated R
Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute
Opens in select theaters, digital platforms and VOD May 6

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The Ravine is a faith-based message movie disguised as a true crime thriller. Based on the self-published novel “of evil, hope, and the afterlife” by Robert Pascuzzi (who cowrote the screenplay), the film is inspired by a true story. But this preachy and dull drama is not very inspiring.

The story opens with Danny Turner (Peter Facinelli) crying in his car before placing a shotgun to his chin as he drives off a cliff into a quarry. Cut to Salzburg where news of Danny’s death interrupts his brother Tony’s (Kyle Lowder) vacation. Back in New Orleans, Danny’s friend Mitch Bianci (Eric Dane) and his wife Carolyn (Teri Polo) get the shocking news—Danny murdered his wife Rachel (Cynthia Evans) and one of his two sons before killing himself. Both Mitch and Carolyn “see” Rachel’s ghost in their dreams. Meanwhile, Joanna (Leslie Uggams), in St. Francisville, is preparing to provide counsel; she is a conduit to folks in the afterlife.

When Detective Ben Lee (Byron Mann) assembles Tony, Mitch, Carolyn, and a few other folks to review the facts of the crime, Tony launches into an overlong story about a crime he and Danny committed twenty years ago that landed them in prison. An unnecessary and detailed flashback recounts the robbery and assault of Kevin (Billy Slaughter), a man who eventually teaches the brothers the power of forgiveness. Kevin explains that he was suicidal, but Joanna taught him pray for the men who hurt him and that “freed” him.

The Ravine may be well-meaning in its messages about letting go of anger, and it pushes that sentiment as the film’s focuses on what may—or may not—have occurred when Danny murdered his wife and son and took his own life. The investigation of the fateful event gets some traction when a man, Logan Vonda (Stephen Louis Grush) is identified as having contact with Danny. However, as Mitch investigates, the story gets more enervating than intriguing.

Part of the problem is that director Keoni Waxman directs the film in a very clumsy manner. The editing is poor, and many scenes run on too long, or include too much filler. (Danny’s car goes off the cliff three times in the first half hour.) There are flashbacks that do very little to illuminate the characters, such as a scene of Danny and Mitch meeting Rachel and Carolyn in a bar for drinks. (It’s obviously when both couples started to fall in love, but it feels completely superfluous.) Moreover, while Mitch and Detective Lee discuss the case in depth, Danny’s brother, Tony, remains mostly off-screen after his big speech. It seems odd his brother is uninvolved.

The Ravine repeatedly cudgels viewers who do sit through the whole film. There is sappy music as various characters cry, sometimes risibly, over this tragedy. And the faith-based homilies Joanna doles out about free will, bad decisions, and darkness might go down better if they were delivered with less earnestness.

The actors are uniformly miscast. Eric Dane projects stoicism, but he really looks like he wants to be elsewhere. Teri Polo gets a big scene giving a eulogy for Rachel, but she comes across as trying too hard. Peter Facinelli does not have much to do outside of murdering his wife and driving off a cliff; his performance barely registers. And Kyle Lowder is wooden as Tony. When he says, “I have a bad feeling about this,” the line is so flatly delivered it is downright painful. And one can only pity poor Leslie Uggams, who deserves better than this thankless “magic Black woman” role.

The Ravine is where this film belongs.