Hey Folks, Harry here... Docsisx is one lucky filmgoer... I missed STATE AND MAIN when it played during the AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL, but from what I heard... it was a complete success for Mamet. The trailers and the reviews coming early have all been quite good... This is definitely one to catch. Here's Docsisx...
Docsisx at your service. The other night I saw David Mamet's new flick "State and Maine". First thing is first, it is quite a departure from previous Mamet efforts. It is a light-hearted comedy, not a screaming man movie like "American Buffalo" or "Glengarry Glen Ross". And it is just grand. William H. Macey shines, as usual, portraying a persuasive and totally impassionate film director who takes his crew and caravan of actors to a small town (where exactly escapes my mind) and basically invades their peaceful lives.
The townspeople become immersed in the production and Hollywood lifestyles and some of the film people become a bit enlightened by small-town living.It is mainly the little character quirks like Alec Baldwin playing the top box-office star in the world who cannot help continuously sleeping with very, very, young women, teenagers in fact, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in perhaps his most brilliant role (playing with a subtle maturity unlike many of his eccentric past roles) as the soft spoken, timid and teased writer of the screenplay for the film, who simply cannot explain his work, or Sarah Jessica Parker playing the lead actress who cons the producer into giving her more money for a nudity scene for which she already was contracted to do, that drive the stories plot which is really just a bundle of mishaps after mishaps.
Mamet directs with smooth yellows and greens, such was the case with his "Spanish Prisoner" but here it is more evident. Widely criticized for his lack of directing, I feel that Mamet grows with each and every movie, here, once again, it is evident. As with all of Mamet's works, there is sharp politically motivated dialogue including an electoral college gag (think of the timeliness) that had the audience in hysterics. You can also expect the usual Mamet "twist", the one that came with "The Spanish Prisoner" was perfect and although this one is not exactly plausible in its implications it is still nicely executed.
Even though I found "State and Maine" to be overwhelmingly enjoyable in most aspects I had two strong reservations. My first problem was the awful score by Theodore Shapiro ("Girlfight", "Safe-Men"), which shamefully ripped off the song "Momentum" by Aimee Mann, put to wonderful use in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia". And it is there, throughout the entire film accompanying some of the same actors from "Magnolia" including Ricky Jay, and the aforementioned Bill Macey and Phil Hoffman, the music against those actors reminded me of "Magnolia" throughout the entire film and it distracted me often. The second was Mamet's implanting of such cynical undertones in what should have been an all around light movie, happy movie...but then again...cynicism is Mamet's touch...it just seemed a bit out of place. To sum it all up, "State and Maine" is a good picture show. Mamet will show you a good time. See it.
Docsisx
