Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Keep ‘em coming, guys. I hear that THE ARISTOCRATS has been impossible to get into, which means that SOMEONE saw it. I’m glad to hear that everyone’s having such a good time this year, and here’s Grib to talk about what he’s seen so far:
Hey, Harry,
Grib here with my second report from Sundance '05. I've seen some amazing films in the past day and a half. I'll report here on "Layer Cake," a British gangster action flick produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, who produced "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." This film is in the same vein as those two (indeed, Guy Ritchie was originally slated to direct), but is, in my view, vastly superior. Taut, crisp and well acted across the board, "Layer Cake" puts you on the edge of your seat with a literally explosive opening sequence, and leaves you there until film's end. The film crackles with energy but also offers more well-developed characters than "Snatch" or "Lock, Stock...," which allows the audience to connect with the story beyond the level of pure adrenaline rush. Make no mistake, the action is still there, and it leaves you breathless. This is at times a shockingly violent film, but the brutality serves the story and never feels gratuitous. A stunningly assured directorial debut for Vaughn, the film features a superb leading effort by Daniel Craig, who delivers a controlled performance amidst the chaos and never lets things go over the top. Great supporting turns come from Colm Meaney and especially Michael Gambon as a godfather type who takes it upon himself to educate Craig's character in the ways of the upper echelons of crime. To try to summarize the plot would be futile, as its twists and turns bear multiple viewings. Suffice it to say that Craig, as the middleman in a drug distribution network, finds himself perpetually squeezed from both ends of the chain as the stakes continue to escalate. You won't see the last twist coming. This film opens stateside April 15. Go see it.
I'll second the raves for "Brick," which I saw this morning. Joseph Gordon-Levitt channels Raymond Chandler in a performance that no one saw coming.
Also excellent is "After Innocence," a documentary about the plight of wrongfully imprisoned individuals who are freed based on DNA evidence, only to be ignored by the same state governments that give parolees back-to-work assistance and other transitional services.
Finally, there is Don Roos' "Happy Endings," a wonderfully dizzying film that features Lisa Kudrow's best big-screen work to date and a great performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal as a gold-digging torch singer who has flings with both Tom Arnold and his son, played by Jason Ritter. It has screwball elements mindful of David Russell's "Flirting with Disaster," but also plumbs surprising emotional depths, particularly in Kudrow's performance as an emotionally numb abortion counselor seeking the baby she gave up for adoption twenty years earlier. The film makes ingenious use of split-screen to deliver title-card commentary on the action (althought this trick is used a tad excessively toward film's end). The soundtrack is wonderful, and includes a standout performance by Gyllenhaal, who has a surprisingly nice voice. I expected little from this film, but found it to be quite rewarding.
Short but sweet. Thanks, Grib, and keep us posted on what else you end up seeing.
"Moriarty" out.
