In pursuit of justice

With 2005's "The Matador," writer-director Richard Shepard slyly and effectively mined the possibilities of dark humor in a deadly situation: a washed-up hitman on the verge of burnout. In "The Hunting Party," he applies the same tactic in an even bleaker place: Bosnia, where a group of journalists seeks out a wanted war criminal to ... Interview him? Capture him?

Even they're not quite sure what they'd do if they found him.

Shepard has made a rock 'n' roll postwar picture that's slick and stylish. Shot in Bosnia and Croatia, it conveys a visceral sense of decay and loss. And Shepard strikes just the right absurd, satirical tone until near the end, when he wraps things up a bit too conveniently.

Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg play the mismatched trio whose adventures are based on some of the real-life events detailed in an Esquire magazine article by Scott Anderson.

As veteran TV news correspondent Simon Hunt, Gere has covered conflicts around the globe and has seen it all — until he sees too much in Bosnia, causing him to snap. Five years after the end of fighting in Bosnia, he thinks he has a phenomenal scoop that will help him revive his career: He knows the location of the feared war criminal known as "The Fox" (Ljubomir Kerekes).

Simon enlists old pal and longtime cameraman Duck (Howard) to join him on his quest. The third member of their makeshift team is Benjamin (Eisenberg), a jittery newbie — and the son of a network executive — who comes along for the ride to earn his reporting chops.

The three play off each other incessantly, and it works. One scene, in which Duck rides in the back seat of the rental car playing the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" on a beat-up acoustic guitar, exemplifies their interaction perfectly.

For most of the time, "The Hunting Party" has a real edge to it, and it's definitely on to something in its attempt to call out international leaders for their failure to track down war criminals and bring them to justice. That's why it's so baffling when the film goes soft.

War is messy, and a movie that so vividly depicts its messiness shouldn't end so tidily.