Beyond Borders

The muddled intentions of director Martin Campbell will make viewers run far beyond the borders of this film. Angelina Jolie stars as an American socialite living in London whose upper-class snobbery gets shoved in her face when a determined doctor (Clive Owen) and a malnourished boy crash her swanky shindig. The two uninvited guests mock her five-course meal and $1,000 designer outfit and inspire her to fly to war-torn Third World countries to attempt some humanitarian efforts. Because this is a Hollywood production, love supercedes all charity. Practically as soon as Jolie begins her crusade, the sappy music swells; the romantic vistas come into focus; and the impoverished and suffering natives serve as a mere backdrop to the lust between Jolie and Owen. Campbell may have been successful making a separate romantic film about how opposites attract and a drama about foreign aid, but the combination makes this an insulting mess.