Hey folks, Harry here with the second report of the fest from Shogo... This time he's chiming in on 3 festival darlings from around the globe... DOGVILLE, ELEPHANT and THE COOLER have all been picked up for distribution and most likely you'll get a good chance of seeing them. I know I'm dying to see all 3...
Hey Harry Day 3 for ya :)
Film Fest Day 3
DOGVILLE
Dogville is the story of how a town is changed when a stranger comes to their town. We see distrust turn to trust and to anger. Nicole Kidman plays the stranger with a past.
This is a great esemble piece with a strong all-star cast. Kidman brings depth and soul to her character. The male lead is both strong and shows many facets to his character. Tiers yet again shows why he is a master of direction. Using few props he forces his actors to not only give great performances but convay the places they at as well.
9/10
ELEPHANT
Elephant marks the return to more mainstream work for Van Sant. It is the story of a Columbine style shooting told from various perspectives. We learn about characters through flashbacks. We learn of what kind of people they are. As the flashbacks progress, we slowly see how the characters eventually end up at school during the shooting. The ending is not only shocking but is also open ended.
Van Sant's direction is excellent. He not only shows an intimate look at each of the characters but he also allows us to follow them on their journey to their various destinys. His use of handheld and "realty tv" style camera work brings an immediacy.to the story. The two main leads who We first meet (Alex Frost and Eric Duelin) are two young actors who bring these characters depth and life. This film won Cannes this year and Van Sant won best director. I can see why this was a popular film though I don't think it will be released dometically due to the Columbine-like scenes.
9/10
THE COOLER
A cooler is a person who has the ability to throw the luck of a gambler in a casino off and is the title of the film. Bernie Lootz is a cooler for a major casino in Vegas. The problem with Lootz is he brings bad luck to everyone near him including himself. He is a loner and someonewho hasn't has a serious relationship in a long time. After many .long years of working at the casino he tells his boss Shelly Kaplow that he is leaving. Shelly attempts to force him to stay with no luck. That's when he meets Natalie (Maria Bello). They fall in love and suddenly Lootz brings everyone around him good luck. Shelly can't Have this and decides to take matters in his own hands to force Lootz to have bad luck again and to stay at the casino.
This first time director demonstrates you don't need a large budget or many stars to make a pretty good film. Macy as Lootz yet again plays a man who is troubled and doesn't quite fit in. Like many of Macy's other roles he brings charm and charisma to it. Maria Bello who plays his love interest is not bad as well but because the plot isn't too well written has little to work with. The plot is a bit on the dry side borrowing bits from Casino and Leaving Las Vegas and other films. The film itself looks good with okay camera work.
7/10 .
Shogo
