GOOD moviemaking is often about editing: Knowing which of your favorite scenes to leave out is frequently as important as knowing what to put in.
This is illustrated by “The Quarry,” a decent drama by Belgian director Marion Hansel that’s plagued by narrative overkill.
This 112-minute multinational production, filmed mostly in English, begins with an endless tracking shot of an escaped prisoner (John Lynch) walking down the road, and ends with a series of climaxes, each less credible than the one before.
In the middle, there’s the well-acted, intriguing story of the unnamed prisoner, who kills a minister who gives him a lift, buries the minister in the quarry of the title, and impersonates him at the minister’s new church in a remote South African town.
Like the hero of “Les Miserables,” the prisoner takes enthusiastically to his new role, but then the body is discovered — and police Capt. Mong (Jonny Phillips) won’t rest until he’s nailed the culprit.
The movie contains fine performances, particularly by Lynch, an Irish actor seen in “Sliding Doors,” and Sylvia Esau as the racist Mong’s black mistress. But “The Quarry” is in need of cutting.
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THE QUARRY
John Lynch is very good as an escaped prisoner who poses as a murdered minister in a remote South African town. Belgian director Marion Hansel’s film opens quite slowly and needs severe editing. Running time: 112 minutes. Not rated. At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.