Devils and saints

You have to give Daniel Radcliffe credit for trying. In Horns, directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension), Radcliffe continues on his mission to put more distance between himself and Harry Potter. This time out he's playing a young man suspected of murdering his longtime girlfriend.

Ig (Radcliffe) and Merrin (Juno Temple), Seattle sweethearts since childhood, were the envy of their friends and family. Truly and deeply in love with each other, the couple seemed destined for marriage. But on the night that Ig planned to pop the question, something went terribly wrong. They argued in a diner, a scene witnessed by several people, including waitress Veronica (Heather Graham). The next morning, after going on a bender, Ig learns that Merrin has been found dead in the woods.

With every finger pointing at him, Ig resolves to uncover the truth. His determination is so strong that it results in him sprouting a pair of horns near his hairline. Of course, everyone in town thinks they are a sign of his guilt, confirming their suspicion that he is the devil in the flesh.

As it turns out, the horns are just a physical manifestation of the strength of his willpower. Additionally, the growths also provide him with a kind of telepathic power, permitting him to hear the innermost and darkest thoughts of those around him. This newfound gift will prove to be quite useful in his quest.

Unfortunately, the revelation of the killer's identity goes on way too long. In fact, most viewers will probably have solved the mystery a good 20 minutes or so earlier. The special effects are decent and there is some relatively tasteful gay humor involving a pair of cops. However, ophidophobes should be warned that snakes play a prominent role in Horns.

When Bill Murray, the star of such mainstream blockbusters as Caddyshack, Stripes and Ghostbusters reinvented himself as an indie superstar with Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation and Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers, it was as if he was reintroducing himself to audiences after years of being a familiar face.

The indie comedy St. Vincent (Weinstein) is in good company with "Lost In Translation" and "Broken Flowers." Brooklyn barfly and gambler Vincent (Murray) is having a tough time. He's overdrawn at the bank. He's behind on paying for his Alzheimer-stricken wife Sandy's (Donna Mitchell) care at a facility. His house has lost considerable value and he's deep in debt to a bookie.

Things get worse when Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), a single mom and CAT scan tech in the midst of an ugly divorce from her lawyer husband David (Scott Adsit), moves in next door with her adopted son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher ). To begin with, the drivers of the moving truck hit a tree resulting in damage to Vincent's car. Then Vincent takes on the paid role of caretaker for Oliver when he gets home from school.

That's more conflict than the average person can withstand. But as we find out, Vincent is more than average. In fact, he's a decorated Bronze Star Vietnam-era war hero. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The film's journey of discovery, taken by Oliver, is at turns wonderfully funny and terribly sad. Involving visits to the horse track, Vincent's favorite tap and a nursing home, as well as lessons in self-defense, and time spent with pregnant Russian stripper/hooker Daka (Naomi Watts).

Writer/director Theodore Melfi gets first-rate performances from his talented cast, especially young Lieberher who practically steals the movie from Murray (who occasionally channels Christopher Walken). Supporting players are also marvelous, particularly Chris O'Dowd as Oliver's Catholic school teacher Brother Geraghty.