A Time of Destiny

"A Time of Destiny", set during WWII, tells of a duplicitous "black sheep" son's quest to avenge his father's death by killing his brother-in-law, a fellow soldier. An obvious melodrama with numerous nonsequiturs required to make the story work, acting so perfect as to be unreal, and technical and artistic mediocrity, "....Destiny" makes for a marginal watch at best. Okay for hard up couch potatoes into melodrama.

A Time of Destiny is a very melodramatic film, some might even compare it to a soap opera albeit a very good one. It does have one thing that makes the film captivating to watch and that's William Hurt's performance as Martin. He plays a man who is an outsider to his family. A man that has no emotional connections with anyone and has been living with suppressed pain for so long. This performance is one of the most heart breaking and painful performances I have ever seen and I can't imagine it not haunting any viewer who can see and understand the situation. We see a man filled with so much inner turmoil and pain that he feels vengeance is the only way to salvage it. If there is any such thing as a flawless performance then William Hurt has given it here. It's without a doubt his best.

Melissa Leo truly is understated and under-appreciated in the Hollywood industry. She was the best female cop since Cagney and Lacey in Homicide. She truly is very attractive in Time of Destiny. I don't understand how Hollywood can forget such a beautiful presence of hers on screen. With such lovely hair and Irish features, she should easily be one of the hardest working women in show business. I'm shocked she hasn't received a nomination from Homicide. She is truly a scenestealer. I was so upset from Homicide's inconsideration and under appreciation of her talent so I gave up watching the show. What a dumb mistake to give her up! In this film, she chews the scenery away from William Hurt and Timothy Hutton. I believe this is her film and her turn. I just wish Hollywood would use this lady more. I wish Kay Howard would turn up on Law and Order since they always need a new cop.