Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
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Hey Harry,
This is the final batch of reviews I have for you. Overall, this has been a great festival. While none of the films I have seen this year were as good as Donnie Darko or Memento, there were a number of wonderful ones and Pieces of April will stand as my pick of the best this year had to offer. The following reviews are for Owning Mahowny, deadend.com, and City of Ghosts as well as the winners for Documentary Grand Prize, Dramatic Grand Prize, and the Audience Award.
Owning Mahowny (4 out of 5)
Director – Richard Kwietniowski
Writer – Maurice Chauvet
Cast – Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chakin, John Hurt
If Owning Mahowny would have just had a little more fun with its story and not be so serious with itself, it could very well be one of finest films about a gambling junkie.
Dan Mahowny (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is an assistant bank manager with a serious gambling problem. He has been on such a losing streak for so long that he owes over 10,000 dollars. Soon enough, he starts making up fake names at the bank and taking out huge loans so he can return to Atlantic City over and over to try and win back his money. It comes to a point where his girlfriend (Minnie Driver) thinks that her existence to him has been lost and people seem to think he is only trying to win so he can lose more. When his debt begins to rise well over a million dollars and he continues to take out more and more loans, he becomes one of the most well known gamblers in Atlantic City and one of the most wanted in Toronto. This is, mind you, all based on a true story.
Thank God that more filmmakers are finally putting Phillip Seymour Hoffman in main roles instead of supporting ones. He proves that no matter how much weight can be put on his shoulders to carry a film, he is more than talented enough to carry it as far as it is needed. While Owning Mahowny might not appeal to enough people to be given a huge release by Sony Pictures Classics, it should be enough to make sure that we see more of Hoffman in bigger roles like this. The rest of the cast turns in fine performances as well, but it is Hoffman who will be the one that every person is talking about when leaving the film.
The only problem this film seems to have is that it is far too serious the majority of the way through. At times, audience members seemed to be laughing at things that I don’t think were meant to be all that funny. A subplot with Mahowny and a cook are the only parts that bring out the real lighthearted side of the film, the rest of it is taken very seriously along the lines of Leaving Las Vegas. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it would just be nice to give the audience some room to breathe throughout Mahowny’s entire story.
But in the end, Owning Mahowny is one of the better films of its kind with one incredible performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
deadend.com (1.5 out of 5)
Writer/Director – S. Wyeth Clarkson
Cast – Harold Amero, Nicole Raven, Adrian Rogers
deadend.com is the suicidal, Canadian version of the Blair Witch Project with a stretched out premise and overlong running time that keeps it from being anything else but boring.
The plot line is simple. Three troubled teenagers decide to go on an 11-day road trip through Canada. In the end of their trip, on the coast of British Columbia, they will commit suicide. It is not really because they live such horrible lives, it is more out of confusion and how tired they are of the society that surrounds them. But on the road trip they will visit parties held by people they know, brother’s who want them to do drug runs, and loners staying at hotel rooms that’ll join them for a beer or two. The film is stretched over two hours and by the halfway point I had Gandalf speaking in my head saying, “What fools! Next time, they need to rid us of their stupidity and get on with it already!”
There is a moment in this film that is actually quite good. Towards the second half, one of the teenagers recognizes porn star Lita Chase sitting alone in a bar and, after confronting her, he is invited by her director to join them upstairs and film a scene with Lita for their new movie. For a film that takes itself so seriously, this is a welcoming moment filled with humor that has been missing throughout the rest of the movie. Sadly, this scene is probably too pornographic to be seen anywhere else outside of a film festival in the US and would most likely be cut if it were ever to be picked up and distributed. It would be a shame too, because this is the only good segment of the entire film.
When this film was first completed it had a four and a half hour running time, then cut down to two and a half hours for the Toronto Film Festival. For Sundance, they trimmed almost another half hour off and it is still too long and painful to watch with its jerky camera movements and annoying characters. For all of those that have seen the longer versions of deadend,com, I hope it wasn’t as painful as I can imagine.
City of Ghosts (2.5 out of 5)
Director – Matt Dillon
Writer – Matt Dillon and Barry Gifford
Cast – Matt Dillon, James Caan, Sereyvuth Kem, Natasha McElhone, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgard
City of Ghosts is likely to be the most exhausting films one is likely to see at Sundance.
Jimmy Cremins (Matt Dillon) is heading to Cambodia after an insurance-scam operation goes out of hand. Once there, staying in a seedy hotel, he meets a number of people whose intentions can appear to be helpful but are otherwise shady. Jimmy is looking for Marvin (James Caan), his professional mentor and father figure, who was behind the failed venture. But Marvin wants Jimmy to join in on another scheme that is bigger but could have a much worse outcome.
As a director, Matt Dillon shows much more talent that you would expect. With the help of a Southeast Asia background, the film looks beautiful the whole way through with excellent locations. The supporting cast of James Caan, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgard help keep the film moving even when its going at a snails pace. And as for Natasha McElhone, I don’t think she has ever looked as gorgeous as she does here.
However, the films pace and storyline move at such a slow pace that you may have checked your watch more times than you can count before the film finally wraps up. The mystery side of it is not as interesting as it should be and will most likely completely bore the audience before the third act finally kicks in. The film would have worked far better as a drama about war-torn Cambodia than a thriller in the setting. At times, it is trying to be both, but it sadly fails to uphold any interest and appears confused.
It would be nice to see another directorial effort from Matt Dillon. He seems like he could be a rather gifted filmmaker and his vision may work on a better story. But City of Ghosts moves just as slow as Insomnia, and it is sadly nowhere near as interesting as that film.
Capturing the Friedman’s (3.5 out of 5)
- Documentary Grand Prize Award Winner-
Director – Andrew Jarecki
Capturing the Friedman’s is a disturbing documentary about a father and a son that have multiple counts of sodomy and the life they share with their family through these troubled times.
Arnold Friedman is the father of your typical, upper-middle class Jewish family. His sons and him all appear very laid back and enjoy life to the fullest. They recorded home videos constantly, with every holiday and special event kept in their library. After charges are filed against Arnold and his oldest son Jessie, videos were recorded in hope that they would all go back and laugh at this, believing the charges were not true.
Arnold and Jessie both taught a computer course for younger kids, mostly (if not all) boys. After police found a large stash of child pornography in Arnold’s office, these kids’ parents came out of nowhere; filing over thirty counts of sodomy and believing their sons were molested in the classroom. In hopes of taking an edge off his son’s upcoming trial, Arnold pleaded guilty and came forward stating events that took place when he was a little boy, such as having sex with his younger brother when he was at the age of 8.
The documentary is very frustrating at times, simply because the charges brought against these two seemed almost impossible to occur. The children that were apparently raped so long ago are interviewed here all grown up and their mannerisms and almost everything about them saying that all this is true are obviously lying. The lawyers seem to even have trouble believing this since parents could be coming in at any time to check on the progress on their sons and the fact that nothing was ever spoken about these events until much later when child pornography was found. Some events seem like they could very well be true, with molestation charges brought up after some kids were brought to a lake house all alone and the large collection of underground magazines that Arnold kept around his house. That is what makes this documentary hard to watch.
The Friedman’s story is both moving and disturbing to sit through. Having seen no other documentary outside of A Decade Under the Influence, I cannot state whether it deserved winning the award or not. However, if you can sit through the disturbing events that happened to these people, Capturing the Friedman’s is worth checking out.
American Splendor (4.5 out of 5)
-Dramatic Grand Prize Award Winner-
Writers/Directors – Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Cast – Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, James Urbaniak, Judah Friedlander
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Harvey Pekar and his comic books, American Splendor is a must see comedy.
Harvey (Paul Giamatti) has lived in Cleveland, Ohio his entire life. He has always been fed up with people’s bullshit and the everyday routine we go through in life is the inspiration for his comic book. With the help of Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak), he begins to make a comic book about his self and all the things that piss him off, starting with things such as old Jewish ladies in the grocery line that argue over the price of cups. When his comic begins to spread into further reaches of Ohio, he attracts the attention of Joyce (Hope Davis) who marries him not long after she meets him in person. When his comic book spreads even further, he is brought onto the David Letterman show multiple times and even his happy-to-be-a-nerd friend Toby (Judah Friedlander) gets fame on MTV. But even after the nation knows him, he still continues his job at the VA hospital and spends his time alone on his comic books.
Paul Giamatti and Judah Friedlander are just fantastic here. Harvey and Toby are brought to the screen perfectly with the perfect tone and gestures that show off these actors like chameleons capable of playing anyone. Hope Davis is almost unrecognizable as Joyce, with uncombed dark hair that covers her face and thick glasses that are the only way of identifying her. The biopic also uses unique animation and comic subtitles that bring you into the characters world just as well as the actors.
To explain or give any more away about the film would be a crime. American Splendor is one of the finest films to come out of the festival this year.
The Station Agent (4.5 out of 5)
-Dramatic Audience Award Winner-
Writer/Director – Tom McCarthy
Cast – Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Williams
It was hard for me to believe that the Audience Award (and the Screenwriting Award) both went to The Station Agent over Pieces of April. April seemed like the obvious choice and, after the standing ovation at the premiere, I was surprised any other film could give it a run for these awards. In a way, I would still have liked to see April win, but The Station Agent itself is nothing short of a delight.
Fin (Peter Dinklage) was born with dwarfism and stands at four feet, five inches. His life is built around the one true passion that he has found – trains. But what Fin wants most out of his life is to be left alone, even when people of a small, rural New Jersey town want to know more about him.
Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) are loners in the town who have crossed paths with Fin multiple times on his first day in the town. Olivia wants to apologize to Fin after making him jump away from the road every time she drives by. Joe is just interested with Fin, and with his hot dog stand right next door he tries to form a friendship. When the three begin hanging out together, Joe and Olivia begin to join Fin on his passion with trains and form a bond that can range from drinking and smoking while watching one of their train videos to being left alone.
That is all there is to the main story of the film. There is also a subplot with a library clerk (Michelle Williams) and her attraction to Fin even though she is pregnant with a rednecks son, but the majority of the film is so subtle and quiet that it is a pleasure to watch.
The humor is right on the dot, the performances are perfect, and the direction is so good that the films credits are rolling well before you know it. The three leads are every bit as interesting and fun that you could watch a film twice as long without checking the time once. Bobby Cannavale has been cast in small roles in films for over five years now, but after his performance here his career will sky rocket the same way Vince Vaughn and Joe Favreau did in Swingers.
The film will most likely be distributed later in the year and do a small limited release run, slowly expanding by word-of-mouth. When The Station Agent is playing near you, know it will be one of the most delightful and fun movies you may see all year.
That about wraps it up. Thanks.
Best to all,
Castor
Questions or comments? Email me at j.bauer@m.cc.utah.edu
Okay... now I’m off to write a piece of my own. Good lord, you guys did a great job... all our contributors today... but I’m numb from formatting now...
"Moriarty" out.
