Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I wish I’d made it over to the showing of this at the Egyptian a few weeks back, because I would have liked to have seen it with Nicolas Cage, who is smack dab in the middle of a career rennaisance on the heels of his epic double turn in ADAPTATION. Leave it to our readers, though... one of them just sent in this sneak peek for us...
Hey Harry and friends, your old pal Brewster Baker here with a look at Nic Cage's directorial debut "Sonny". I actually saw this film some time ago, but needed to wait to send in my review until screenings started, in order to disguise my identity. While this film has some nice moments, and some great performances, overall I was a little disappointed. I understand that film is art, and a medium for telling all different types of stories. I also don't expect that every film should have a happy ending. But lately I find myself coming out of these small indy films asking myself "why?', or "what's the point?" Now I think Sonny will probably find some great reviews, and a bunch of Hollywood people will jump on its band wagon shouting about what a fantastic film it is (much the way they did for other "my life sucks" slice-of-life films like Igby Goes Down), but you can only sit through so much of this, before getting restless. Maybe this would have worked better as a short film, but after 2 hrs (or at least that's how long it felt), it loses any emotional punch it might have been trying to achieve. That being said, here's what it's about - as spoiler free as possible.
Sonny is a character piece about a young man named Sonny (James Falco) coming home to the French Quarter in New Orleans after serving four years in the Army. Sonny comes home to his mother's whore house to tell her that he is giving up the life she trained him for, of being a gigolo, to take a job in a bookstore in Texas. Sonny's mother (Brenda Blethyn) tells him that she trained him to be the best gigolo/hustler that ever lived, and he shouldn't try and escape who he is. The first day Sonny is back he meets and falls for Carol, a young prostitute (Mena Suvari), whose been working out of his mother's house. When Sonny tries to leave and start his new life, he learns the hard way that though he believes that everyone else's lives are better than his, in fact even the "straight" or "square" people have problems too, and nothing is as perfect as it seems. The old "grass is always greener" scenario. Of course, Sonny is pulled back into the world of prostitution by his need to make money, and pressure from his mother.
If there's one bright spot to Sonny it's the acting. Often times when actors turn directors they understand how to pull great performances out of other actors, and that's certainly the case here. James Falco is brilliant. His performance in this film is so strong, that it's almost (almost) worth watching just to see him work. With the exception of Mena Suvari (whose 15 mins need to be up - and even she's not that bad, just hard on the eyes), the supporting cast of Brenda Blethyn, and Harry Dean Stanton are great. Scott Cahn is also exceptional in his small role as Sonny's old army pal, and continues to chew up the screen in everything I've seen him in. The weakest part of the casting was Nic Cages cameo of a coked up gay pimp named acid-yellow. This movie is very dark and dry, and he looks and acts way to comical to take him even a little serious.
Nic Cage's directing isn't great, but it's certainly not terrible. There are a few shots that were very smartly thought out (especially the opening and ending), and others that seemed film school 101 and a little distracting. I did think he showed potential though, and possibly down the line could develop a strong voice behind the camera.
Here's the main problem with the film. Behind the grass-is-greener plot, the relationships just seemed forced and unbelievable. Sonny meets Carol, has sex with her the first night, and instantly they're a couple in love. There's no dialogue, no touching moments, no indication whatsoever that there's any spark between them at all. They meet, have sex, and the next day are in love. There's also a father/son mother/son story going on that just felt forced the whole time. To the point that when one of the characters comes to an untimely demise, it's so set up and unnatural, that I found myself not caring and almost finding it comical instead of sad. I was shaking my head, saying "ugh, who cares?", and the point of a character driven movie IS to walk away caring about these characters.
Sonny's not a bad film; it's just not a great film either. To coin a phrase it's "artistic masturbation" for the point of being artistic. I suppose for all those real life whores and gigolos that didn't feel their lives were represented properly in Pretty Women, this film may touch them in a way that went over my head. It also has a lot of "old nudity" so if you like seeing a bare assed James Falco banging 60 yr old naked women, then you're in for a treat (personally I'm going to try and wash my mind out with Hot Chicks in an effort to forget). But having said that, it does reach the desired effect of making you feel disgusted, and sorry for his character.
For all you talk-backers this is my opinion, and I'm not "stupid" for having one. I, along with all the other movie geeks, come here for that. If you want a review buy a paper and read some idiot who studied film theory and journalism. All I care about is what real people who LOVE movies think, and that's what you're getting here, and that's what I'll continue to give you!
Until next time - Brewster Baker OUT
Well, strong words, no doubt. I’ll still have to check this one out no matter what, just because I’m always fascinated when actors turn to directing...
"Moriarty" out.
