Our old friend IGOR files this his final report from the Big Apple and their New York Film Festival. He tell us about two films, one he likes and one he doesn't. Well at least he justifies his point of view, unlike his buddy Frank's simple GOOD...BAD...!
The New York film critics are all going nuts about Todd Solondz's new film "Happiness." The film was shown this past weekend at the New York Film Festival and the reviews that followed have praised the film, and the filmmaker, to no end. Solondz has become the toast of the indie scene. In his review, Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly said that "Happiness" marks the "emergence of a major American filmmaker." He even compares him to people like David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Janet Maslin, from the New York Times said he was the new Woody Allen!
Wait a minute. Are these people out of their minds or something? Solondz a "major American filmmaker?" Give me a break. The guy's mediocre. "Happiness" may be ambitious, but it isn't nearly as fully accomplished a film as "Welcome to the Dollhouse." That movie was truly funny. It had moments of real tenderness and honest emotion. "Happiness" is a prefabricated Altman- wannabe with some lame Woody Allen humor thrown in. That's all it is.
The problem is that the characters in the film are so damn stereotypical. They're like cardboard cutouts, they're hardly human. For example: Jane Adams plays a waifish sales rep who can't help being too nice. Cynthia Stevenson plays a chirpy housewife. (She even says things like "I am the happiest woman in the world" or something like that) and is Jane's older sister. Lara Flynn Boyle plays the third sister, a successful writer with all the charm of a steel pole. She never smiles in the film, ever. I mean, are we supposed to indentify with these people? Solondz surrounds these women with a bunch of disfunctional men. A pedophile, a dissatisfied divorcee, a pornography- addicted nerd (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, so great in "Boogie Nights" and "Last Stop Wonderland") and a wifebeater. The movie is supposed to reveal the dark side of people who are like you and me, people who are "easily recognizable." Gleiberman says that's the film's "true shock." Oh, so we're supposed to be shocked? How can you, when most of the characters are mere caricatures?
Solondz seems to think that adding a pinch of sexual or social dysfunction to a cast of stereotypical characters is going to make them interesting, or human in some way. Well, I didn't feel for any of them. To me, they're just sketches. Maybe Solondz should've written another draft of the script before shooting. I think he should've given each character a back story so that at least we understand why the characters are so dysfunctional.
Sitting through "Happiness" is not a pleasant experience. You are completely detached from what's going on on the screen. It's like staring at tropical fish in a fishtank. It's nice to see them swim around, but when they die, or even kill and eat each other, it's not really all that disturbing. Plus, the fish in "Happiness" are not nearly as exotic or as colorful as the ones at the local pet store.
I must say, however, that the pedophile character (played by Dylan Baker) is totally frightening. Not because of what he does, but because he is so utterly aware of what he is doing and yet he can't help himself. That might be the only human quality exhibited by any of the characters.
The NY Film Festival ended Sunday evening with the screening of the French import "The Dreamlife of Angels." It's a small, well-acted picture about the importance of friendship. It concerns two women, Isa and Marie, who form a bond after meeting at a clothing factory where they both work. They both come from working class backgrounds and are desperate for companionship. Isa gets fired from her job shortly after they meet and Marie offers her a bed in her flat. They confide in each other and help each other during hard times. But soon their friendship begins to deteriorate. Marie wants so desperately to get out of her impoverished situation that she starts sleeping with a man she doesn't love because she sees it as her only way out. She becomes so obsessed with this man that she tranforms into a completely different person. Isa realizes what's going on and tries to help Marie, but it's already too late. Marie has lost her dignity and her sense of self.
"Dreamlife" is a movie that asks us to reevaluate our relationships and our motivations. It makes us realize that people can't really survive on their own, that we need other people to accompany us and guide us through life.
It's more a movie with a message than a plot. But it's a good message. One that seldom gets explored in films. "The Dreamlife of Angels" is not what you would call a great film, but it's honest and well-meaning and worth taking a look at. Unlike "Happiness," its characters are fully human. We really get to know these two women on a deeply intimate level. That's the true achievement of this film. We really get to discover their humanity, as opposed to "Happiness," which only lets us see the disturbing traits of its characters.
Well, this is IGOR, signing off from the New York Film Festival. It was great to share my festival-going experience with you guys. Thanks HARRY for the opportunity. I'll do my best to keep you informed of whatever's going on in New York regarding new films and festivals in the coming months.
So long, for now.
IGOR
