Hey folks, Harry here with a look at a film that isn't coming to a theater near you or me till way way mid-September... That being said though, I'm quite excited to see that what I once thought was a comedy/noir with Steve Martin is apparently a hard-nosed noir style film... and that Steve Martin apparently kicks ass in the film. (All those that remember DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID say "Aye") Beware of spoilers, but this fellow is comparing this film to flicks like THE LAST SEDUCTION, BOUND, RED ROCK WEST and SEXY BEAST... Sit up! Pay attention... I can't wait to see this one!
Ahoy there, Harry. Part-time poster Johnny Ahab here - with an advance peek on a very cool little thriller called "NOVOCAINE" from the folks at Artisan. Can't reveal how I got to see an early cut, but this is a terrific little gem of a film and definitely something to watch out for.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot as the fun in seeing this was having absolutely no advance prep for it, and not having a clue as to where it was going. It's a twisting, turning, sardonic little noir suspenser a la "RED ROCK WEST", "BOUND" and "THE LAST SEDUCTION" - three of my favorite films in perhaps my favorite genre (and add to this category "SEXY BEAST" which I saw at Sundance this year and can't stop thinking about - okay, tangent over, back to the film at hand). Here's what I'll tell you about "NOVOCAINE" in the following paragraph (and skip it if you want to see this movie spoiler-free, which I highly recommend):
Steve Martin plays a dentist with a very lucrative suburban practice, and he's got it all. Tons of patients, lots of money, a great house, and a gorgeous fiance/dental assistant in the pleasing form of Laura Dern. But despite his seemingly perfect life, he yearns for something he can't quite put his finger on - until bad girl Helena Bonham Carter plops into his dental chair. She's a flirty little tease with a bum tooth, and begs Steve the dentist for some painkillers. When he prescribes some over-the-counter pain pills, she plays him for some harder stuff. Against his better judgment, Martin writes a prescription for a few Demarols…and this fateful act will slowly sink him into a spiral of lies, blackmail, scrapes with the law, even murder. (That's about the first 20 minutes in, so I haven't revealed too much.)
The writer-director is a first-timer named David Atkins, and based on what I saw, he's a guy to watch. The writing and direction are not only tight and clever, slowly ratcheting up the tension on our hapless dentist (the classic, Hitchcockian "ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances"), but it's creepy, dark and edgy in places, as well as sardonically funny in an unexpected, understated, hits-you-a-beat-later kinda way. It's tricky juggling tone like this, but Atkins handles it with all the assurance and aplomb of a guy who's on his tenth film. Most of all, it's entertaining throughout, and always kept me guessing up until the end. And just about all of the performances are really strong.
Now let me first say that I am an unabashed Steve Martin fan. I love this guy. Grew up watching his early comedy routines in the 70s on "SNL", all of his early, more farcical films, and I was even lucky enough to see him onstage in the famed "WAITING FOR GODOT" in the late 80s in NYC co-starring with Robin Williams and - unlike Mr. Williams who mugged and improvised all over the place, Steve played it cerebrally, wittily, wistfully. That was my first indication that the guy had range. And that's what I admire most in actors, especially movie stars - the ones who don't just play the same safe persona over and over again. The ones who challenge themselves and their following, who play the whole spectrum and go out on a limb. (Not only in acting either - look at the guy's writing career: screenplays, a play, essays, a novel. Not to mention his sparkling turn on the Oscars - the guy is just a class act all the way). Okay, so I'm a little biased here. But after all of the above, the guy could just coast for the rest of his life, right? But what does he do instead? Stretches himself with a low budget, well-crafted, indie-style thriller. And he scores bigtime. This is not the whacked-out dentist from "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS", it's a leading man performance. Steve Martin fucking steps up here. Plays it straight, more like "THE SPANISH PRISONER" mode (but less icy and robotic). His dentist is completely human, a guy you identify with and root for, like any good noir hero - an everyman who learns what he's really made of when the going gets tough.
And then there's Laura Dern. One of those actors I'm hot and cold on, mostly cold. Thought she was good in "CITIZEN RUTH", "RAMBLING ROSE" and "BLUE VELVET", but in just about everything else: wood. Yet here in "NOVOCAINE", she's a revelation, leapfrogging past everything else I've seen her do. I've spent lots of time in suburbs of DC and Chicago, and there's this type of woman - let's call her the Suburban Hottie - upbeat, fun, sexy (in a squeaky clean, sorority girl kind of way), but knows it and plays up those qualities (and in my experience, they're usually not rocket scientists either). I don't think I've ever seen an actor portray that archetype so totally and convincingly as Laura Dern does here. Nails it and OWNS it. I felt like I was watching a completely different actress. She's especially good as she's trying to comprehend just what the hell Steve's gotten himself into, standing by her man with wide-eyed shock from her total naivete about life's dark side. A really terrific performance which has made me completely re-evaluate my opinion of Ms. Dern.
Alas, then there's Helena Bonham Carter. Okay, I've raved about Mr. Martin, and was blindsided by Ms. Dern, but I've gotta say, I just don't get Helena B.C., and I don't think I'm likely to. She plays a similar character to her role in "FIGHT CLUB" - feral and tough -- but she's the femme fatale of this piece, the noir vixen that leads the guy down the road to ruin. She should have every guy in the audience eating out of her hand, completely seduced by her even though everything about her spells danger - but I'm afraid she didn't for me. Does she ruin the film? No, the whole thing still rocks, although Helena's performance (for me, anyway) keeps this film from being perfect. It's like Lara Flynn Boyle in "RED ROCK WEST" - I'm absolutely crazy-nutty about that film, but for me, Ms. Boyle was miscast. Sultry, yeah, but too young in my mind to play J.T. Walsh's lying, scheming wife (especially if they've scammed and ripped off some mill years before and have established new identities in Red Rock). She looks all of 20 in that film. But I'm able to look past her performance and recognize that the writing & direction work just fine in spite of the actor - I just wish John Dahl had cast someone else. Same here with Ms. Carter. Can't have everything, can you?
There are also strong supporting turns by Elias Koteas, Scott Caan, Keith David and a hilarious, from-left-field surprise cameo (at least it wasn't credited upfront in the temp main titles) that I won't give away (and I hope reviewers don't either). I was told the score I saw was all temp tracks, but Danny Elfman was listed in the main titles!!! I can't wait to see what he does with this, and how his own style elevates an already cool little movie even higher.
My source couldn't tell me when this was coming out, but keep your eyes peeled for it. Can't wait to see this movie in its finished form, especially after the slew of intelligence-insulting studio shite that's come down the pike since New Year's. And big mad props to Artisan for backing new talent here. I hated the first "BLAIR WITCH", was gleeful the second one tanked, but then caught "REQUIEM FOR A DREAM" in December, and went batshit-crazy for it. A damn brilliant piece of filmmaking, and now I'm rooting for this little film company with big brass balls. And especially after watching "NOVOCAINE".
Okay, Harry, I'm typed out, tapped out and the pegleg's all itchy from sitting too long. Johnny Ahab, over and out.
