2003 Foreign, Alternative and Independent Films - Page 3

Chris_Richard · 03-04-2003, 01:19 AM

He Loves Me... He Love Me Not - I just got back from this film and wow! what a surprise. A wonderful film that the less you know about this film the more you will enjoy it.

I knew nothing about this going in. I just wanted to see a decient film from 2003. For a while I thought it would be a showcase for Audrey Tautou's cuteness, but there is so much more. Can't wait until more people see it.

It opened in Dallas last Friday so maybe it is making it's way around the country.

**HTF Ads**

Michael Reuben · 03-08-2003, 02:29 PM

Not much activity of late. Is no one seeing alternative cinema, or is there just diminishing interest in reviewing it?

Laurel Canyon

This is the movie for anyone who's ever wished there was more of Frances McDormand in films like Almost Famous or Primal Fear, because McDormand is the main attraction here. She's Jane, the unrepentantly bohemian record producer whose current beau is the lead singer of the band for which she's producing a record. He's played by Alessandro Nivola in a sly performance as a natural lothario, whose every encounter with a woman -- any woman -- hints at seduction. Christian Bale plays her straight-arrow med student son, who, at the start of the film, has gotten as far away from Jane as possible, only to find himself thrown together with her and her companions when he accepts a residency in Los Angeles. Kate Beckinsale is Bale's fiancé, another straight-arrow, who find herself oddly fascinated by Jane's sloppy, perpetually stoned world.

The film was written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko, and it's not nearly as good as her debut feature, High Art. (Then again, few films are.) It doesn't really have a story, and there's no real conclusion. The pleasure of the film is in watching the characters bounce up against each other. Bale and Beckinsale are somewhat limited by the formulaic nature of their characters, but McDormand and Nivola do wonderful work exploring the ways in which being utterly indifferent to the consequences of your actions can be both fascinating and exasperating at the same time.

Adding additional spice is Natasha McElhone as Bale's fellow resident, with obvious designs on him. Her character is enough of a square to make Bale want to talk to her, but underneath she's as wild as his mother -- and that makes her dangerously attractive.

Cholodenko knows enough to keep the scenes short and tight, and not to prolong the movie to the point where it would grow tiresome. The movie doesn't have much substance, but it's never less than entertaining.

A minor amusing point: Almost no one in the principal cast uses their real accent. Nivola, who was born in Boston, plays a Brit; Beckinsale, who's a Brit, plays a character born and raised in Boston. Bale once again plays an American (is his U.K. citizenship in danger?), and McElhone plays . . . an Israeli. McDormand is the only one speaking in something close to her own voice, and maybe that gives a clue about the characters.

M.

Edwin Pereyra · 03-08-2003, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Not much activity of late. Is no one seeing alternative cinema, or is there just diminishing intererst in reviewing it?

Blame it on the theater exhibitors, Michael, that would rather open Bringing Down The House in my area on 7 screens and not even 1 screen in sight for any new 2003 released alternative film since the start of the year. And here we are almost a quarter way through the year already.

~Edwin

Michael Reuben · 03-08-2003, 03:21 PM

The number of available screens shrank last year, which was considered a healthy thing (economically) for an overextended industry. Maybe the lack of screens devoted to alternative films is a side effect. Too bad.

According to Box Office Mojo, Laurel Canyon is playing at all of ten theaters, four of which are here. The Safety of Objects, which I may see tomorrow, is only at 32 theaters.

I made a conscious decision to skip Bringing Down the House. I feel like I've already seen it after watching the trailer a dozen times.

Side note: Before Laurel Canyon, AMC ran the trailer for Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things, which I'm eager to see. The version staged in New York, with the same cast, was a truly memorable evening, and I'm curious to see how it works on film.

M.

Bruce Hedtke · 03-08-2003, 04:07 PM

I'm just now getting films like Far From Heaven, Talk To Her and Ararat to show around here. And that's at the only arthouse theater in the vicinity. They might also be screening Rabbit Proof Fence, but probably not before the DVD hits the market. But, as you have said...there is no shortage of places to go see Bringing Down the House.

Bruce

Jason Seaver · 03-08-2003, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Not much activity of late. Is no one seeing alternative cinema, or is there just diminishing interest in reviewing it?

I'm not seeing a whole lot of anything lately. I did see All The Real Girls this week, but didn't really have a whole lot to say about it.

Michael Reuben · 03-09-2003, 12:06 AM

Quote:

I did see All The Real Girls this week, but didn't really have a whole lot to say about it.

I know how you feel.

M.

Michael Reuben · 03-09-2003, 03:46 PM

Primarily because of comments in this thread, I changed course today and went to see He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. Wicked fun, and a sure-fire antidote to Amelie. (I realize that many people don't feel they need an antidote to Amelie, but I did.) Any reasonably alert viewer will pick up on what's happening pretty quickly, but that doesn't detract from the pleasure of watching things unfold. It's the utmost in manipulative cinema, but I don't mind being manipulated when it's done this well.

M.

Mark Pfeiffer · 03-09-2003, 06:10 PM

Criminy, hasn't anybody seen Gerry? It isn't playing here yet, but I know it's out there. It's a great film that I can't wait to see again, although I'll admit that some here will probably hate it. Anyone else?

Michael Reuben · 03-09-2003, 07:03 PM

Gerry is playing here, but I won't be seeing it. Too many other things rank higher on my list.

M.

Jason Seaver · 03-10-2003, 07:11 AM

Only played for a week here in Cambridge (when something with Damon & an Affleck only lasts a week here, that's worrisome), and I don't have the time to fit a trip to Brookline in.

I guess all those "I liked it, but you'll hate it reviews" weren't the best thing for the movie.

Kirk Tsai · 03-13-2003, 03:15 AM

Saw He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not based on the good word in this thread. Enjoyable movie. I don't think the narrative of the film is a gimmick because it is the main reason why the film works at all. The pleasure of the movie comes from the narrative style, it is therefore the subject of the movie rather than a cheapshot.

But The Son casts a much longer lasting impact. The movie can be difficult: it has very little dialogue (almost none for exposition), almost no reaction shots, lots of handheld, long take shots, and focuses on an ordinary looking man. The movie follows a carpenter who teaches ex-convict adolescents the trade; we are thrust into his daily life patterns, and a key new boy who arrives. There is an important plotpoint revealed relatively early in the film, and the tension it generates from there on with its seemingly slow pace is amazing. Olivier Gourmet is great as the main character.