Hey folks, Harry here with the first look at ANASAZI MOON, a flick from the director of SHINING THROUGH and starring Gary Oldman (that's right... the baddest badass around). Well this time he's got a flick that seems a bit uneven from this description from Secret Agent. The film has screened at Cannes, but it is not complete... so this is still a review of a work in progress... you must note that the very problems that Secret Agent is bringing up... in all liklihood.. they are being worked on at this very moment. Here's the scoop....
Hey, Head Geek- I have just returned from the wonderful city of Los Angeles and was lucky enough to have managed to get passes to a screening of the Gary Oldman film "Anasazi Moon". Having been a fan of Gary for many years, I was really excited to see a film he was involved in before they had completed it. This being my first time in L.A. and also attending a test screening, you will have to forgive me if I sound a bit star-struck by the whole experience. I was and I make no apologies for it.
As we waited in line in the heat, I kept looking around the Warner Bros. lot... "surely these people realize I'm just gonna spill my guts to Harry when I get back ", I'm thinking. I suddenly realized that these people simply must be more careful whom they allow to just show up and watch a film, and sadly I came to the conclusion that the only way they would learn was for me to scoop this film. I do so with tears in my eyes, Harry, but I stand firm.
I was momentarily shaken from my musings as a Suburban pulled up and none other than Gary Oldman stepped from the car with his lovely (wife? girlfriend?) escort and walked calmly two feet from me and into the building. I was cool about it, and I feel sure Mr. Oldman hardly noticed me wetting my pants. Uh... ahem! Anyway, on to the film.
Writer/director David Seltzer was kind enough to speak to the crowd in the theater and explained that the soundtrack was not written yet, and that some of the voice-over work by Skeet Ulrich was not yet complete. David went on to ask us to please write down any errors we may find as we watch the show and asked us to enjoy ourselves. The great thing is that David seemed like a really down to earth person who was genuinely interested in what we had to say.
Settling into the film, I was surprised by how funny it was in just the first ten minutes. The basic set-up is that Oldman and Ulrich are habitual criminals who have a long history of being jailed together for a variety of offenses. Right off in the film, the pair are arrested and only escape through dumb luck. Going their seperate ways, Ulrich hitch-hikes and is witness to an accident on the road, the only survivor being a small baby. Ulrich is the only one alive to try and take care of it.
I know, I know. Everybody right now is thinking "great, another Three Men And A Baby rip-off", and to a certain degree you're right. The characters of Ulrich and Oldman have no business taking care of the baby, and this is where the comedy springs from in the story. But the tone of this film is very different, and it has sort of a "trailer trash boy makes good" feel to it as Ulrich tries to be a father to this child.
Unfortunately, this would have been better as a fish out of water story about a trailer trash boy trying to juggle taking care of a baby while trying to manage fitting into a more posh society. Instead, what we get is Ulrich trying to take care of the baby in an actual trailer park with "wacky" neighbors. One of these neighbors is a young woman who Skeet falls for immediately. This lady rejects Skeet as she is shacked up with her abusive boyfriend played by Peter Greene. I am a huge fan of Greene's past work, but Greene simply sleepwalks through yet another bad guy role. Still I must admit that the role did not offer Greene much in the way of stretching, but he is still wasted.
But people going to waste is unfortunately a recurring theme of this film after the afore-mentioned very funny first ten minutes. Matthew Modine is underused in the part of a successful man who wants to adopt the baby, and none of the actors are given a chance to shine except for Oldman and Mary Steenbergen, who is moving as a woman burned by too many bad experiences and who now is totally without hope.
But the real problem aside from a script that simply does not engage the audience, is that there is no clear direction by Seltzer as to what reaction he is going for and the result is a mish-mash of styles that do not work together. At times the film goes for broad comedy a la "Something About Mary", but the scenes never work us into the frenzy it takes to make us laugh on that level. And when broad comedy flops, it flops HARD. At other times, Seltzer seems to want to want merely to shock. In the middle of this sweet story of a man trying to love and care for a child are a couple of scenes that are quite bloody and violent.
Also, I have a problem with people putting children in situations that are clearly uncomfortable and off-putting unless I am watching a drama. There is one scene where the baby is choking on something and no one knows how to make it breathe, and another where Greene does something to make you think he has put the baby's life is serious danger out of hatred. This might have played funny if the actors had played this tongue-in-cheek, but the parts are played seriously and there in lay the problem. All I could think as I watched was "where is the humor in you hurting a child? This is a comedy??"
There are those who may disagree with me on that detail. I am touchy on the children subject, but not overly so. When Jim Carrey pushes the kid's head in the fountain in "Irene", I laughed like everyone else. But when a boy was molested in the incredibly hateful comedy (?) "Happiness", it was all I could do not to throw up. The way I see it, make a statement if you must, tell any story you like, but if you want children to suffer and insist on showing it, you can just blow me. I can see how a dysfunction like the misery of a child molestor can be funny if done very carefully (again, like the split-personality in "Irene"), but I do not want to watch as you drug a child and then hear him complain about his pain when the sick person responsible has finished. I am not for banning any idea, but Todd Solanz (God I hope I spelled that wrong) should have been taken in the street and beaten for "Happiness". I thought we went to movies to escape assholes like that. At any rate, I was not a big fan of the baby not being able to breathe. You'll have to decide for yourselves on that.
But there are some really good things about "Anastazi Moon" and I would be remiss in not pointing them out. First off, Gary Oldman really shines in this film, but what else is new, right? The thing I love about Oldman is that he brings real humanism to every part he plays. In this film, Gary is almost totally bald except for shock red hair (you gotta love that, Harry!) and a red handle-bar mustache. Gary is the very picture of trailer trash in this film and he plays his character as delightfully dumb as a stump as you can hope for. His acting alone is worth seeing "Anastazi" just to form an opinon of your own about the film. Once again, Oldman slips into his part like he has zipped on the skin of the character and he proves that he is very capable of being the comic relief in a film and it is my hope that Hollywood will remember this and start casting him in films where he does other things than shoot at people.
Also, even though some aspects of the treatment of the baby were an issue for me, Seltzer clearly wears his heart on his sleeve in this film and he very upbeat except where I have noted. I did not like his use of the "Raising Arizona" music for the temp soundtrack as I felt it made it's comparrison point too strongly, but at least you got a feel for what he was shooting for. The end is very positive and designed to bring on the tears in a good way, and frankly I am for that. Not enough films are positive anymore and most of society certainly isn't so I applaud the effort.
At the end of the movie, I had a chance to speak to Seltzer and he was actually VERY interested in what I had to say, which shocked me as it was a very un-Hollywood attitude to take.
But for me, the best thing about the experience was getting to speak to the man himself, Gary Oldman. Instead of acting like a big-shot, Oldman calmly stood outside the entrance smoking cigarettes and being very accomodating to what surprisingly few fans spoke to him. When I stood behind him to get his attention and said "Excuse me, Mr Oldman?", he spun around to me and for a moment my mind worked a million times a minute and I was reminded of the officer who asks Oldman in "The Professional" what he means by asking the officer to bring him everyone... for a second I was petrified Oldman would just turn and scream "EEEEVVVVEEERRRYYOOONNNEEE!!!!!" in my face. But instead, I was greeted with a hearty "Hi!" When I told him I admire his work he said "Well thank you! I'm Gary, what's your name?" He then proceeded to introduce himself to my friends and take very brief compliments before we left him alone, but it was an experience I will never forget. It's good to know that some actors out there appreciate the fans.
So, the low down on "Anastazi Moon" is that it will not be for everyone. I expect it to do poorly as it just tries to be too many films in one. But somehow, this film makes you WANT to pull for it. It's not like seeing a horrible film and waiting with irritation while you hope that a good part will come up soon. It's more that you appreciate what's good in it and keep crossing your fingers that you will get that big payoff at the end because so many scenes come so close to getting it right. About the best I can say is that Seltzer gets a "A" for effort here, but the result will not please audiences. A decidedly starnge experience is what this film is. Off-putting in the worst way at times, then terminally sweet in a way that makes you wanna pull for it. I'm not sure how it was possible to do such a thing, but it has been done. It'll be up to you to decide if that's a good thing.
Thanks for the time, Fellow Geeks,
Special Agent
