Celine and Julie Go Boating

Its been almost two weeks ago since I went to a screening of "Celine and Julie Go Boating," and I wish I did a write up on it while it was still playing at BAM. It was only recently that I read up on the film and learned that it is not out on any DVD format for people to see, and the theatre screening was actually somewhat rare. In any case, it did take me some time to really process this somewhat massive film-a real life fantasy story of almost the most innocent kind, which also happens to be a bit over three hours long, something which I found interesting with a film like this. It's an epic in the smallest sense, almost, and I wish I would have the chance to see it again quickly, to somehow process it all again. I think I like the film the more I think about it.

In a nutshell, the film revolves around the meeting between Celine and Julie. The two somehow stick when Julie (reading a book on magic in a park) begins to follow Celine (a magician) after she drops a scarf while running down the road (this being a scene taken from the first scene of "Alice in Wonderland" which this film is loosely based on.) Eventually the two of them become somewhat inseparable, and eventually begin to retreat into a fantasy world where they watch a melodramatic murder mystery unfold-with the aid of hard candies that the would get from a rather mysterious house. Eventually the two of them feel the need to interfere with the story to save a little girl from getting killed.

At such a massive length, one would suspect they would get bored of the movie, especially with a somewhat simple plot such as is. But you would be surprised how involved and how easily you fall into the "antics" of these two women-played by Juliet Berto (Celine) and Dominique Labourier (Julie), who depict such quirky and wonderful chemistry. The facial expressions and the banter between the two is adorable, while the laughing fits they burst into from time to time are contagious, especially in the final act when the two cannot control their happiness and delight at being placed into the story that they have been watching for many many nights. The fairy tale elements of the movie end up working mostly through their performances, and much like the ridiculous plot twists in 'Lady in the Water" end up working because you buy into them so easily thanks to the large talent revolving around the screenplay.

Practically every element of the film provides hopeful sentiment that make the movie such a joyous and quick experience-sans the murder subplot, which since its of a little girl probably isn't very joyous. What strikes as the most happy would probably be how Celine and Julie share the same type of imagination-and even though the fantasy world they concoct is only part of their own head, they manage to find a middle ground between their two imaginations so it is like they are the same person. It's like little children-how they play in worlds that somehow interact with one another, but slowly into adulthood that common imagined bond drifts away. And yet Celine and Julie manage to find that bond within one another-and once again due to the wonderful performances by the two actresses, it is easy to buy into that little kid notion. I wish I could see the film again and try to find more correlations between the real world and the fantasy world, to see if there are any clues within their surroundings that key into the major events of the fantasy, but alas I doubt I'll see the film for a while (unless Criterion manages to make some kind of edition, this seems right up their alley).

I return once again to the very first scene-where Julie chases Celine after witnessing her dropping a scarf. The film is bookended with this scene, only at the end its Celine who chases Julie after witnessing her dropping a book. A somewhat odd ending, considering it goes back to the beginning, and yet it fits perfectly. It's hopeful. It somewhat gives the viewer the feeling that the magic and innocent fantasy will continue over and over again, which is exactly the hopeful sentiment that leaves you smiling as the credits role, which is easy because the movie has so many moments of smiles that just come out of nowhere-from the little earned moments where the two girls share a furtive glance at one another, or are just so clearly happy to be in each others presence. It's chemistry rarely exhibited in many films anymore. 

And as for the title-they do go boating. Yes. About 180 minutes into the movie. And why? No clue really. I guess because its in the title. And since they go boating with the little girl, wouldn't that mean that they didn't really go boating at all. Wouldn't that still be a part of the fantasy, which the little girl is? But for Celine and Julie, the fantasy is their reality.

**** of ****

When Did You Last See Your Father? and My Winnipeg in Theatres Now

Two films that have been in release for a little bit now that I forgot to mention, both of them which I caught at the Toronto Film Festival last year. 

The first is "When Did You Last See Your Father?", a sweet and effective father/son drama which may have its share of conventional storytelling, but it really ends up being a somewhat beautiful piece of work. Playing at the Angelika Film Center and the Lincoln Plaza Theatres (not for much longer due to poor box office), here is my review of the film from last September. 

The second is "My Winnipeg," another eccentric and maddeningly brilliant autobiographical film by Guy Maddin. A darkly comical foray into his past, Guy Maddin yet again crafts a great little film, which some rather amazing edits-certainly one of his more funny works. Playing at the IFC Center, here is my review of the film from last September. 

The Foot Fist Way, War, Inc,, Savage Grace, The Promotion, Take-Out, The Happening, Love Comes Lately, Quid Pro Quo, Encounters End of World

A selection of films I've decided to do short writeups on-all of the films listed here can still be found in the New York City area as of the date of this publication, with the exception of "Quid Pro Quo."

The Foot Fist Way 

Directed by Jody Hill

"The Foot Fist Way" is a massively independent comedy, loaded with dirty jokes and perhaps one of the most oddly unlikable characters we may ever come across. And after finding its way around the comedy circuit for the last two years or so, the familiar names of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay have finally helped bring it to theatres, in a very limited release but still a step up nonetheless. And it also has given Danny McBride a chance to work with all of them in other projects-and sure enough he has popped up in a few comedies of late including "Drillbit Taylor," "Hot Rod," and two others from this summer "Pineapple Express" and "Tropic Thunder." But what can be said about this one? Well, for one thing it is quite funny, although certainly not for everyones tastes. McBride plays Fred Simmons, a karate instructor who certainly believes that he is immortal among man. After Simmons wife Suzie ends up cheating on him with her boss, he ends up reevaluating himself. He also begins a quest to bring Chuck "The Truck" Wallace, an action movie star who he worships, to one of the demos at his dojo. 

"The Foot Fist Way" is very loose on plot-shot with shaky handheld camera and probably with several non-professionals. What makes McBride successful as Fred is that he really does find a middle ground between being such an immoral jerk, and at the same time allowing us to sympathize with him. We can understand why his wife would sleep around him, but at the same time when she does it stings a bit. And aside from that, improved or not, some of the lines here are just hilarious. Between Fred's musings about life, to his massive ego, to the way he treats some of the kids in his class (including his young assistant Julio), just really worked with my funny bone. This is far from a perfect comedy (at only 85 minutes, it begin to wear thin and overstay its welcome towards the end), but with its low budget roots and the fact that it is actually funny makes me happy that it found a home, however underground and cultish that home would be. But thats the place for it, really. 

*** of ****

At Village East Cinemas

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War, Inc.

Directed by Joshua Seftel

Much like "The Foot Fist Way," "War, Inc." is getting some attention but this time from audiences. Released at the end of May in two theatres in the country, with the intention of being released on DVD at the very start of July, the DVD date has been moved to sometime in October to accommodate the somewhat massive audience for it, and now its being released in more theatres throughout the summer. I suppose that would make me a bit happier if the movie was better than it ended up being-and it certainly had the prospect and talent behind it to make it brilliant. But sadly it misses the mark just a few too many times. John Cusack (who also co-wrote the somewhat dismal screenplay) plays Brand Hauser, a hitman for the government who is assigned to kill the president of the fictional country of Turaqistan Omar Sheriff (not the actor), by the Vice President played by Dan Aykroyd (doing his best to do a Cheney impression-and he is also underused to a mere three minutes of the whole movie, bookending the film.) Struggling with his own inner demons and his late wife and his kidnapped daughter (and an odd fascinating with hot sauce), Brand poses as a Trade Show Producer and organizer of the wedding for pop star Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff) in order to pull of the hit, and at the same time falling for a rather good looking reporter named Natalie Hegalhuzen.

I will say without hesitation that all of the lead performances in the film are very well done. John Cusack does his exhausted and weary character very well, and he has for years, and sister Joan Cusack (although appearing briefly) is extremely funny as always. And Marisa Tomei (who although having won an Oscar seems underrated almost) delivers, and the big surprise here was Hilary Duff, playing something very different from her teen bobber performances of the past (one of which I actually saw). But the turn actually seems to benefit her, and she somewhat plays a satire of what she isn't. What I like about Duff the person is that she doesn't appear on the news everyday with pictures of her privates or pictures of her smoking cigarettes, and her work here is oddly mature and even somewhat funny. And one of her characters songs which appears during the credits is somewhat catchy. So perhaps she is the saving grace with all of these muddled young stars out there. And Ben Kingsley doesn't really impress with a rather awful accent, but thankfully his appearance is brief. And I also liked the look of the film, the dark hues matching the dark tone of the movie. But the script is almost a complete mess, drifting from satire to slapstick to drama in a very unfocused way, right down to the third act which offers a few twists that try to end the film on both a dark and forbidden note as well as a rather cute satisfying one, and it fails on both counts. In a nutshell, the jokes aren't funny enough, and the drama isn't sincere. It also packs in far too many targets, going the "American Dreamz" route, only failing more. The plot gets so loaded that it becomes overly confusing to follow at times, and for no real reason. The actors do their very best to work with this lackluster material, and several of the performances actually make "War, Inc." THIS close to recommending, but it misses the mark, much like every single joke in the movie. "War, Inc." is one of those films that I wish I liked a bit more, because with the talent and the topics involved it it could have been quite a biting satire. 

**1/2 of **** 

At Angelika Film Center

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Savage Grace 

Directed by Tom Kalin

"Savage Grace" is a pretty bleak and dark film, which would be alright if this tone wasn't so forced down the viewers throat. I don't mind depressing movies-in fact, most of the time I prefer. But this film is unpleasantly miserable-from its characters who are all so unlikable and shallow and self-absorbed all the way to the events we find them in. There isn't a single amount of empathy in any of them, so that we don't really care about what happens to them. In the end-when that final punch is delivered-there really is no reaction because at this point you just want to go home. At the center of the film is Julianne Moore, doing a good job because she's Julianne Moore and I can't expect less of her. She manages to make the movie somewhat tolerable with her rather engrossing performance, and she is trying to have a good time with the role even though the script doesn't really give her any dimensions to work with. She plays Barbara Baekeland, starting with the birth of her son Tony. Barbara is a somewhat overprotective mother, and as we follow her relationship with her son over the years we slowly see how she ruins him. With her trying to get him to side with her after her husband Brooks leaves her for a younger woman, all the way to her actually sleeping with him to defer him away from his blooming homosexuality, Barbara is pretty much the nasty mother from Hell, culminating to a climatic violent scene, with hardly any emotion in it at all (as I mentioned earlier).

"Savage Grace" just simply isn't a very good film, complete with a very faulty script which doesn't offer any character dimensions-which is a shame because the material here could warrant quite an interesting character piece, with multiple characters to analyze. And the film suffers greatly because of this lack. Its a nasty and bleak ride from start to finish, offering not a shred of hope or remorse for anyone in it or anyone watching it sans Julianne Moore who really does give it her all.

** of ****

At IFC Center

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The Promotion 

Directed by Steve Conrad

My question walking into "The Promotion" was answered within the first ten minutes of the film. Why does a comedy with two rather big names-Sean William Scott and John C. Reilly-get resorted to a very small limited release by an almost unheard of production company? "The Promotion" is a rather slow and subtle comedy, never exactly offering huge laughs, but that isn't what it is a aiming for. Not to say it ends up being a great film-and it is highly uneven at times, but there is certainly more to this material and than characters than could possibly appeal to a mainstream audience. And this is for the better. I guess I should have suspected this considering it was written by Steve Conrad, who penned the criminally underrated 2005 film "The Weather Man" which was a subtle dark comedy which ended up failing in the mainstream. "The Promotion" is a corporate satire, with Scott playing Doug, a young man with a wife (played by Jenna Fischer who can play this role in her sleep, and she kind of does. She is somewhat waning thin on me outside of "The Office.") living in a very small apartment with paper thin walls. Doug works at a grocery store, and when he discovers a new branch is opening soon, he applies for the promotion-full manager. When his boss tells him that he is a shoe-in, Doug jumps the gun and signs the lease on a bigger apartment. Things seem to be looking up for him until Richard Welhner comes in from a branch in Canada, and he also applies for the position. And so we get a cat and mouse chase up the ladder to get the coveted promotion.

Conrad is very kind to his characters, and he never has the audience pit on against the other. While Doug does get the audience advantage by having more screen time and giving voice over narration, Richard really is a nice person-a recovering drug addict with a wife and daughter, very Christian, and hardly likes to use swear words-but Reilly plays it authentic and not in a way where these positive attributes could be used to make laughs at. Both actors really do give it their all, but Sean William Scott really did impress me the most giving a somewhat nuanced performance compared to his "American Pie' days. Performances aside, the film does have its share of laughs, despite being somewhat uneven at times. Some of the jokes end up being so subtle and some scenes so awkward that it becomes painful to watch, especially whenever the Board Executive character is on the screen. And some of the winning jokes-including the material on Richard's self help tape-end up being used too many times, and by the end they aren't funny anymore. But on the whole, "The Promotion" is a good remedy to the somewhat heavy indie films playing in the art houses right now-and certainly one of the more accessible and more likable ones.

*** of ****

At the Angelika Film Center

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Take-Out

Directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou

"Take Out" might be one of the simplest narratives of this or any other year-a little film with such stark realism that it ends up taking little or action at all and ends up becoming oddly engrossing, gripping, and very emotional. I was really surprised how much I liked this movie. Taking place over the course of one day, we follow Ming Ding, an illegal Chinese immigrant who is woken up by two men that tell him that he has to pay his smuggling debt by the end of the day or the price will go up. We then follow him throughout his day working at a small Chinese restaurant, where his friend gives him his share of deliveries as well, and we watch as Ming tries to collect enough money. And thats it, really. There is a tiny twist at the end, but the bulk of the film consists on Ming making food deliveries and we try to keep mental notes of how much money he is making. There are some problems-some people don't tip, one man sends him all the way back before the cook gave Ming chicken when the man asked for beef. And I have to give credit to both the two directors for making such a simple story engrossing, but also the lead performance by Charles Jang, who does so much without hardly saying a word-the pain is all in his expression. When the strong setback towards the end of the film occurs, you can sense the pain in his eyes, and you feel it too. It really is a performance of quiet effectiveness. I really liked this little movie, and am glad to see it doing very well in its small release.

*** of ****

At Quad Cinemas

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The Happening

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan and I have an odd little history together-looking back I have either loved his films immensely-three of them had odd emotional effects on me. And the other three I have detested quite a bit. The three which I loved are "The Sixth Sense," "The Village," and "Lady in the Water,"-the latter two being hated among film fans everywhere, and to this day I have only found a handful of people who liked them just a little bit. And the three I detested quite a bit have been "Unbreakable," "Signs," and now "The Happening," which nearly everything goes wrong. Marketed strongly as the first R rated Shyamalan film-which seems to be just a way to get people in the seats after the strong failure of "Lady in the Water,"-Shyamalan tells quite a disturbing story (and the film does have its small share of actual disturbing moments), but goes a bit over the top in his telling of him. Shyamalan's ego (he even credits himself for a performance that you can hardly hear as its over the phone the whole time) has been announcing that the film was intended to be over the top in B movie fashion, but to me it just seems like a way to try and save himself from having a bad movie on his hands. 

The films tells about Elliot and Alma Moore, who along with their friend Julian, his daughter Jess, and pretty much the entire state of New York have to find a safe place to be after a mysterious attack ends with people killing themselves in odd fashion. Cops shoot themselves in the middle of the street, people get disoriented and forgetting how to speak, and construction workers throw themselves off buildings. Some say its terrorism, but it turns out that there is something even more dangerous going on, and Shyamalan quickly weaves this into an environmental cautious horror story. Things go wrong from the first second with the awful acting. Not only are leads Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel delivering poor work, but also every single extra, every single side character-every appearance by everyone on screen delivers such massively bad performances-from the over the top way they talk to their voices which seem so high pitched and unnatural. Its as if the toxins that were unleashed suddenly turn everyone into bad actors. And the script is kind of a mess as well, and Shyamalan could have weaved a very effective story if he didn't drift as much as he does. One main problem is the introduction of a creepy lady who doesn't know about the attacks, and who has a creepy doll in her bedroom, but before that could be explained she begins to ram her head into the wall. Even James Newton Howards score, which has been a highlight in all of Shyamalan's other films, is annoying and intrusive. There are a few effective scenes-and most of the suicide segments are disturbing in their suddenness and creativity-but on the whole "The Happening" is a weak effort, especially considering what a good storytelling Shyamalan could be and has been for a long time. 

** of ****

At area theatres

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Love Comes Lately

Directed by Jan Schutte

I missed "Love Comes Lately" when it played at the Toronto Film Festival last year, but Kino picked it up and is giving it a small release in New York City right now. The film is a quiet mediation on love lost and gained for an eighty year old man, and for some reason I was channeling last years "Starting Out in the Evening," only this was a bit more quirky and upbeat than that film (also very good.) Based on three short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer ("Alone," "The Briefcase," and "Old Love," none of which I have ever read), we follow the Max Kohn, an eighty year old writer who lives with his girlfriend of twelve years. Being eighty has hardly any effect on Max, and we follow him love life both fictionally and realistically during a trip to give a lecture at a college. "Love Comes Lately" is a nice little movie, centered by a very good performance by Otto Tausig, who plays Max in a way that diverts the concept that he is just a dirty old man-when he is in fact sweet, affectionate, and just simply an old romantic.

*** of ****

At Quad Cinemas and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas 

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Quid Pro Quo 

Directed by Carlos Brooks

"Quid Pro Quo" channels a bit of David Cronenberg's 1996 film "Crash," only the difference being that this is actually a good movie. Both of them deal with odd lifestyle fetishes-that film being car crashes, and this one being the ability to be disabled. Nick Stahl plays Isaac, a newspaper writer who is not able to walk and is confined to a wheelchair. When he receives a mysterious email from "Ancient Chinese Girl" he is brought to a strange underground meeting where people sit in wheelchairs with certain disabilities yearning to be that way forever. Eventually "ACG" brings herself out in the open in the form of Fiona (Vera Farmiga who is terrific here). The two start an odd relationship where she yearns to be able to not walk, and he would like to walk, and eventually a pair of magic shoes brings themselves in the mix that might give Isaac the chance to do just that.

The film is shot is very beautiful and crisp digital photography, and the two leads are quite good (Stahl impressing me mostly because he never impressed me before.) They carry the film, as most of it is dialogue between the two of them. And the film avoids being condesending to those that wish to be disabled, and the movie ends up being more about identity, and how various lifestyles can affect perception of oneself-the disability underground cult ends up only being one thing mentioned.

"Quid Pro Quo" has been taken out of its release here in the city, but should be on DVD soon.

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Encounters at the End of the World

Directed by Werner Herzog

"Encounters at the End of the World," which is selling out almost constantly at the Film Forum in Manhattan, is a fascinating and visual appealing documentary from one of the visual masters out there, Werner Herzog. I don't think it comes close to being the masterpiece that his nature documentary "Grizzly Man" was a couple of years ago, but I am attracted to Herzog's films-from his fascinating with imagery all the way to his dry and sarcastic personality and sense of humor. Herzog brings us to Antarctica, and also to several different sectors of study within the continent. When he is not focusing on some kind of trancelike image underneath the ice (to some quite great chamber like music which is as haunting as it is dreamlike), Herzog is also being quite funny, and his sense of humor is very heightened. We never laugh at these people, but with them, as they are placed into situations and philosophy's that do have their sense of comedy within them. There is some great comedic footage here, including a group of people going through a safety camp where they have to go through a follow-the-leader type of exercise with buckets over their heads to simulate a whiteout, or a segment involving a penguin that goes insane and begins to run towards a chain of mountains nearly 70 kilometers away. 

And so Herzog continues to impress me with his nonfiction, but even with his fiction he loves to just linger on images for a little longer than most, but thats because its an image that we don't see everyday and probably will never see in the flesh. And as humorous as the film was, it also ended quite gravely, with Herzog pretty much telling us that he thinks the human race is going to die out very soon, and one day explorers will be exploring the ruins wondering just what went wrong.

*** of ****

At Film Forum.

Choke

"Choke" is a pitch dark comedy that ends up being a romantic comedy of sorts about people with sexual deviance's. It is somewhat the movie that "Good Dick," another film playing in the Sundance at BAM Festival that you can read about here, wanted to be. The only difference is that "Choke" offers terrific performances by everyone, characters that actually earn their eccentricities and a very smart and well written script by actor and first time director Clark Gregg, who also appears in the movie in a small, but memorable, role. 

Sam Rockwell delivers yet another most likely underseen, but great, lead performance (which he seems to be the master of especially after he was completely disregarded after "Snow Angels" was released) plays Victor Mancini, a sex addict whose mother Ida is in the hospital, and thinks that he is one of her long dead lawyers whenever he visits. As a way to pay for her hospital bills, Victor plays off on the sympathies of people that save him from choking to death, something that he has perfected whenever he goes out to restaurants. When his mother, during one of her mental spells, reveals that she has been keeping something from Victor about his father (who he always thought was a Norwegian traveling salesman with Tourettes Syndrome), and he intends to find out what it is. Along with his compulsive masturbator best friend Denny, and the beautiful but possible insane herself Dr. Paige Marshall, Victor intends to find out this family secret before it is too late.

"Choke" is based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, whose work I have never read mostly because of my rather mild disdain for the extreme popularity of "Fight Club" which I'm really not too fond of. Therefore I cannot comment on Clark Gregg's working at adapting the film (although the Palahniuk worshippers in the audience were upset by a few omits that Gregg apparently made-my favorite being this one guy who was upset that he didn't start the movie with the "genius!" opening line of the novel.) However I can say what a fine script I think he wrote here, really making these somewhat un-realistic characters and turning them into such three dimensional characters-of course having a ton of help from the actors themselves. Sam Rockwell really ever disappoints, and from his opening narration at the start-where he explains who each type of person at a sex addicts meeting are-he really does have one hooked. Considering his actions throughout one might be curious to how you can feel bad for such a sordid mess, but you fall for it right away. Angelica Huston is kind of heartbreaking in her role as Ida, and I liked how the script was structured to reveal a bit more about her relationship with Victor and his rather depressing childhood over the course of the movie, sealing it during the last few minutes. Kelly MacDonald (as Clark Gregg said which I agreed with) gives an extremely subtle performance, and it is easy for the audience to really fall for every word that he says, even when certain things in the second act become a little ridiculous. And lastly we have Brad William Henke as Denny who delivers a nicely played 'buddy" role, with a bit more depth than the usual quick witted side kicks that we usually see in less smart films-for example, "Run, Fatboy, Run." 

But the film does have its large share of flaws, and most of them come from Gregg's work as a director. As a writer he proves himself quite worthy, and as an actor (giving himself a small but memorable part in the film) does his job, but some of his directing and editing choices did not please me as much. For one thing, the average shot length isn't very long, and the movie runs with edits like one would see in a sitcom. And I felt like there should have been more at the end of the story that was not addressed, and based on much of the talk after the film I get the vibe that the novel actually does have all the multiple storylines and worlds within the film wrapped up more. I didn't feel like I had closure by the end of the movie, even in the main story that Gregg decides to end on which is the relationship between Victor and Paige. I was wondering what would go on with a stone house that Victor, Denny, and Denny's girlfriend begin to build in a vacant lot. I did find out about an ending that was shot involving the said house, and it would have been quite fitting based on many of the themes of religion that end up running through most of the film. "Choke" runs a lean 89 minutes, but it really seems a bit too lean. There were several unaddressed aspects of the movie that I wish were addressed to make a more tighter narrative.

Is "Choke" a great film? Not at all. Not even close. But it is an absorbing, well acted, very well written, and a very very funny dark comedy about addiction and deviance and what can come of it. There is a rather sick and sad addiction in every character in this film, but all of them rather earn their problems unlike the forced eccentricities of "Good Dick." I really do have faith in the writing of Clark Gregg for the future, and while I may not have agreed with some of his choices as a whole, he did craft an extremely entertaining little movie which is sure to be a big hit when it ends up opening in September, through what he called the "heavenly bosom of Fox Searchlight." And based on their track record, its a very heavenly place to be indeed.

*** of ****

The Strangers

It has been quite some time since I've seen a horror movie in the theatres, and by that I mean a mainstream horror film targeted to the masses. I have no desire or urge to ever again sit through the eighty minute Japanese horror film remakes that seem to come out all the time, and missed the large batch that came out the last few months-"One Missed Call," "Prom Night," "Shutter." There is no need for these movies to exist let alone see them. But "The Strangers" looked somewhat different, and even though the free ticket price was a plus, something else was drawing me to it. The trailer did not look that bad for a film of this reputation, and it reminded me of "Funny Games," only a bit more mainstream. And I was right. The best part about "The Strangers" is that it deviants away from the horror movie formula that has become standard in Hollywood, and it shows true talent by director Bryan Bertino, to whom this is his first film. The problems with the film occur only when he deviants from this more unique vision and when he drifts into the horror film formula, including the very last second of the film (literally), which seemed a bit of a cop out and was not fully needed. However, there is enough in this movie to recommend, and its a step above the horror films of the last few months and a very good remedy for those who tire of those.

It's never a good sign when a creepy narrator at the starts states that the story is based on true events. I will say that I was drawn from the first introduction of the couple played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman-in the film named Kristen McKay and James Hoyt-who are driving home from a friends wedding reception. They are silent. The cinematography here by Peter Sova is very top notch in this short segment, and there is a rather beautiful shot of them at a red light, with the red tint over them becoming green. When they get to their summer house in the middle of nowhere, the reason for their silence slowly unravels. He asked her to marry him and she said no stating that she wasn't read yet. She takes a bath in the prepared house-covered with rose petals and champagne, while he eats a large tub of ice cream and makes plans to be picked up the next morning. These opening moments might seem slow, but they are never boring, mostly because Bertino directs these actors and images in a captivating way-Liv Tyler does so much with her silent face here, and Scott Speedman (whose character I really wish was played by someone else) does his best despite having a huge lack of talent. Suddenly there is a hard KNOCK on the door, and a young woman asks for a girl that doesn't live there. Eventually James leaves to go for a drive, while Kristen somberly does a few things, until there is another loud knock at the door and its the same girl, only this time her voice is just a bit more creepy. Eventually the two of them are terrorized by three people with masks all throughout the night, who taunt them and tease them, and when asked why they simply reply "Because you were home."

This material here is certainly creepy-and the thought of people just coming into someone's home with the intent to kill with no reason at all is a sick but true fact, and if it happens as much as the opening title card states than it is ever creepier. However under the hands of a lesser talent, this same material could have been destroyed and turned into a standard horror film. But there are real genuinely creepy moments throughout this film. One to mention is a shot of Tyler standing in her kitchen drinking a glass of water. It's a wide shot and its a large kitchen, and in the background in the middle of the dark you can see a man with a mask making himself known. Bertino doesn't start the action here, though, and for at least a full minute and possibly more Tyler paces in the kitchen, and by the end of the scene she never sees this masked man. And the lack of music works well here. Other moments are placed throughout, mostly the nonchalant way in which these stalkers walk around the house-there is a moment where Tyler is in a closet hiding and the masked man walks around the entire square footage of her view, at one point sitting down for a minute. Maybe he was tired. But then he gets up and the terrorizing continues.

Speaking of the music, Bertino makes a good choice of having some moments of the film not contain any scored music at all instead relying on a record player that is in the house with them. During a creepy chase segment the record player is smashed into and the beginning of a song plays over and over and over again. And another moment has one of the creepiest uses of "Sprout and the Bean" by Joanna Newsom that I have ever heard. It reminded me of the one worthwhile thing in the awful awful awful 2006 horror film "The Return," which I remembered hoping would be the step up that "The Strangers" is. 

Sadly the whole film is not compiled of these thoughtfully shot and silently tense moments, and at times Bertino disappointed me by going into the realms of mainstream horror formula. This is why the first twenty five minutes or so of the film are so good, because it actually relies on character and talent to tell the story. For example the actual scored music, especially during the films key set piece chase scenes. I understand that there couldn't be the record player as the only form of music, because eventually that would have grown tiresome. But why not no music at all? Why is that never an option? The score by the (annoyingly) named tomandandy is very cookie cutter and very obvious, and it really has no use being here. And than your typical jump scenes-thankfully there is never a "it was only a cat" moments, which are jump scenes simply for the sake of being jump scenes. A few here are earned, but the one at the very end just ruined the effect the film would have had had Bertino stuck to his guns and made it more ominous instead of "in your face." 

All in all I did like "The Strangers" surprisingly enough. Those who probably would not look at the film as much as I did-and thats probably most of the audience who intends to see it-should still definitely get something out of it. It's a pretty creepy story, and told in a more subjective way than "Funny Games" was. It's ironic, but "Funny Games" actually comments on why people would find a movie like "The Strangers" sickly entertaining. And those that do look at film closer might find themselves pleasantly surprised by how well made and directed this movie is. I am intrigued by whatever Bertino has in his mind next, because when he diverged by the standard horror film format "The Strangers" was very effective, and what the material did deserve. It is only when drifting towards mainstream scares did the film faulter, but there is enough here to recommend, especially for a horror film fan. It doesn't tread much new ground, but it was a mild discovery.

*** of ****

Two Years. . .

A few days ago marked the two year anniversary of this blog, and its hard to believe that all of that time has passed. There have been plenty of changes in this time, and if you read the first thing I wrote here, which was a review of "Cars," compared to the last few I've written you can almost chart the growth over time. And while I do not write things for every single film I go see anymore (for that has been heavily time consuming in the past), I do enjoy writing about the films that should get out there more, and that I have some very strong feelings about-either positive or negative, depending.

But I would like to thank those who have been reading this site (the people that I know and even the ones that I don't know) for the last two years and heres to more months and maybe years of being up.

Stuck

I've officially become quite curious about Stuart Gordon, who impressed me two years ago with the William H. Macy starrer "Edmond," and continued to impress me a few days ago when I saw his latest film "Stuck," which I remembered seeing it on the schedule at last years Toronto Film Festival. "Stuck" is based on a rather fascinating true event, with the Gordon penned script going further than how the actual event ended. 

Steven Rea plays Tom Bardo-a down on his luck man who was recently evicted from his apartment, and was also not granted the interview that he had an appointment for after a computer mix-up. Resorting to having to live on the streets, Tom ends up coming into contact with Brandi, after she hits him with her car. Brandi is a caregiver at a nursing home, and finds out that she is up for a promotion. She hits Tom while high on ecstasy, and doesn't know what to do about it when he gets impaled in her windshield. Since nobody sees the accident she brings Tom home, leaves him in her garage with him still in the window, and than goes upstairs to have sex with her drug dealer macho boyfriend Rashid. The real event story that this film is based on ends with the homeless man dying in her windshield after she leaves him for a few days, but the script here goes further to show what happens with the man-in this case Tom-tries to escape from the situation. And that is where "Stuck" becomes even more interesting, intense, and even a bit fun.

This is either the saddest story that I've ever seen, or possibly one of the funniest-but in a very very dark and even kind of sick way. Gordon has the audience easily worrying about Tom from the very beginning, and during his entire situation it is impossible to ever side with Brandi, who is selfish from the get-go. Mena Survari plays the part very well, and this is easily her most complex role since her impressive turn in "American Beauty" nearly ten years ago. And Stephen Rea as Tom manages to go beyond the one note performance that could have possibly come out of this character, whose dialogue mostly consists of "Help me. . ." or "You can't leave me here. . ." And one would have to be of sick mind to laugh at some of the little jokes here, such as a dog finding itself inside the garage where Tom is and licking his leg wound which has the bone jutting out. But at its core, "Stuck" is a classic survival story-not only the obvious survival element of Tom trying to get out of the garage in one piece, but also the survival in every day life. Brandi does not want to turn the accident in in fear of it damaging her promotion. Tom is facing struggle at the very beginning. Even side characters like a kind homeless man who gives Tom some advice is easily trying to survive the everyday world in his situation, as well as a family of immigrants that see Tom in the garage, but do not want to involve the police in their lives for fear that they would be deported.

And simply put, "Stuck" is just an entertaining little film, told in some B-movie format. It is both gruesome and compelling at the same time, constantly entertaining and absorbing for its lean 90 minute running time. It has all the classic moments of a film like this-the close calls to rescue, the damage that the torturer keeps inflicting, and than a third act with several twists and clues about how the story would end. I certainly didn't know if Gordon was going to kill Tom like in the real life incident, or let him live and have something else happen. And without giving any spoilers I still didn't know until the last minute, and it managed to have me walk out of the theatre very satisfied. I intend on looking into some of the older films of Stuart Gordon, but it's safe to say that I have been impressed with his last two very much. "Stuck" is worth looking for-it's currently in one theatre in Manhattan and will probably stay that way, but it wouldn't be a regretful trip.

***1/2 of ****