Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. I'm actually really glad I didn't know that Guillermo del Toro was an executive producer on this film until after I was done watching it and had formulated my thoughts and feelings on it. Not by any means that having Del Toro's name attached to a film means it gets an instant pass in my book, but knowing that going in would have forced me to look for something, anything, about this movie that would have drawn Del Toro to put his name on it. My guess is that he had nothing to do with the making of the WHILE SHE WAS OUT, but saw it completed and liked it enough to lend his name to the production as a sort of seal of approval. If I'm wrong, I'll happily admit it. But the fact is, there is something remarkably twisted about this seemingly straightforward story of a frustrated housewife named Della (played with horrified glee by Kim Basinger) who is being chased through her suburban world by a group of wanna-be gangsters, led by the surprisingly effective Lukas Haas as Chuckie, a guy who looks like he just decided to become a tough guy earlier that same day, bought a gun, and just went ape-shit crazy during the Christmas rush at the local mall. Co-written and directed by first-timer Susan Montford (a producer on SHOOT ‘EM UP and the upcoming Del Toro-produced SPLICE), While She Was Out thankfully takes the time to map out Della's unsatisfied life as wife and mother of two. She lives in a great neighborhood, drives an SUV, and has an abusive asshole of a husband (Craig Sheffer) who demands a clean house and well-behaved kids. I was getting a littler nervous in the beginning of the film when Sheffer walks into their home, sees toys scattered everywhere, and wonders out loud why the house isn't clean ("What do you do all day?" he screams.). It seemed just a little too patented "Evil Husband" for my tastes. But blessedly Della has places to go once her husband gets home, and she hops in her car and heads to the mall for some last-minute shopping. Again, Montford lingers longer than most films might to show Basinger watch happier women, couples, and families at the mall go through their holiday rituals. It's a very sad opening that serves to make what Della goes through later and how she handles all the more poignant. After leaving a note on a car taking up three parking spaces in a jam-packed mall lot, she returns from her shopping to find the owners of the car waiting for her--four young punks who seem intent on at the very least verbally harassing her, at the very worst, raping and/or killing her. After a mall cop attempts to stop anything bad from happening, he is shot dead by one of the hooligans and Della gets the hell out of there with the carful of punks hot on her trail. What follows is a fascinating chase that lands the hunted and hunters running and hiding through an under-construction subdivision. Della is forced to abandon her vehicle, but she does think to grab her faithful small red toolbox, which seemed hilarious to me...at first. But as anyone handy with a set of tools (or anyone who has seen THE TOOLBOX MURDERS) can tell you, a well-stocked toolbox is just a shiny collection of weapons waiting to be used in creative ways. What's even funnier is that the gang of thugs is convinced that Della has something valuable in the red box, and they amp up their pursuit even after one of their numbers dies accidentally while chasing after the lovely MILF. When the chase leads the remaining four into the woods surrounding the housing development, things get a bit more surreal. But you can't help but be impressed by how handy Della is with her tools, and she comes up with some damned creative ways to disable or dispose of her assailants. I was impressed by the films never-stop-to-breath pacing, and Lukas Haas as a deranged stalker grew on me as well. What never quite works is the United Colors of Benetton make-up of the gang--one white guy, one black guy, one Asian, one Latino. Uh huh, just like in real life. Still, that bit of silliness only added to my giddiness as I watched the still-beautiful Basinger get put through the paces. There are even less than subtle hints that she finds Chuckie more of a man than her own husband, and considers falling for his creepy seduction tactics. Look, WHILE SHE WAS OUT is no prizewinner, it's not particularly ground-breaking, it probably cost about $2.50 to make, and the plot is thread bare. I'm certainly not trying to make a case for this film being a masterpiece on any scale. But, I got into the spirit of the chase, and Basinger made me care about what happened to Della, a smart and resourceful woman who does pretty much the same things I would have done under the circumstances--she grabs anything she thinks can be used as a weapon. You know how I'd like to see this film again? With a group of friends on a Saturday night with the lights off and sound turned up just a little too loud. If you have a "horror night" with your friends once a month, or something like that, this film would slide in that rotation quite nicely. The film is in the midst of a nationwide limited release before its DVD release on April 28, so you may have to search around your immediate vicinity to see if it’s playing near you. -- Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com
