One of my favorite films of last year was IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, a very very sick and twisted black comedy that left some people so shaken that they became physically ill. It was about the destruction of a woman's soul, and as such it affected a lot of women in a very negative way, so I thought it would be very interesting to have our spy, Virginia Hill, take a gander and Neal LaBute's latest.... YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, which promises to be quite dark. But without further ado, here's Virginia Hill...
In February when I was offered to see Neal LaBute's Your Friends and Neighbors, I expected a mediocre sophomoric effort, but at least I knew that the film would take chances based upon its predecessor In the Company of Men. In the Company of Men was a four star movie, and as a woman I was not horrified as many of the reviews stated at the time, but rather I was exhilarated by its top-of-the-line actors, and extremely gratifying ending that I could not have anticipated. The movie had major payoff, and I don't remember the last time during the last five years I was that satisfied with an ending--actually I do, it was Seven. If you enjoyed the fresh but authentic dialogue of In the Company of Men, and its familiar yet non-specific locations, then Your Friends and Neighbors proves to be even more fulfilling in these categories.
But prepare yourselves, because my little review cannot begin to explain or introduce the awesome intensity of LaBute's new film. It is easily the best movie of the summer, if not of the year. It is acting, directing, and writing at its best. It is brave and offensive. It is what movies based on character studies should be, and it art that Robert Altman and Quentin Tarantino combined could not produce.
The plush Polygram screening room had me hooked as I sat in front of Jason Patric--executive producer--and girlfriend Christy Turlington, and a few rows back, sat the young Coppola look-alike Neal LaBute. Before I go on to tell how this is the role that Jason Patric was born to play, I must say that up until that point, I have only been annoyed and irritated with Jason Patric's presence in movies from Lost Boys and Rush on through Geronimo and Speed 2, I just hated that ugly head, cocky attitude, and wanna-be introverted genius persona. The film opens and closes with his character, who is a frightening combination of Travis Bickle and Frank Booth, but frankly blows them out of the water. He is so normal in behavior and appearance--a single, dating, gynecologist--that you can never really anticipate how sick he really is. The film follows the seemingly plain lives of three couples and the one outsider who interacts with us-the viewer-and each of characters. The relationships between the couples, between the men, and between the women becomes more intertwined and sticky, and seem to slowly culminate in more revealing sadistic behavior. The outer shells of the characters are chipped away to reveal their truth of thought, personality, and sexuality. If we americans think that only european films border on the margins, and offer more avant-garde film making, then this is proven wrong by Your Friends and Neighbors, which supersedes those european efforts by combining complex film making with entertainment value. LaBute seems to comment not only on relationships between men and women, but also on relationships between men and sex, women and sex, men and art, women and art, childhood, inner pshychosis and many more. One of the most revealing character scenes in the movie takes place in a men's steam room, where the connection between all three men seems to be revealed, and this is just one of the scenes where the talents and efforts of Jason Patric and Aaron Eckhardt really burst through. Nastassia Kinski is the outsider that links us to the characters, and eventually the characters to each other. She is the sort of truth-revealer of the picture, and her naive muse-like quality works really well. The entire movie is shot indoors--in a museum, in a theater, in the bedroom, at the kitchen table, in a grocery store--and without naming a specific city or location, LaBute makes each scene familiar and intimate to us. Each character--Nastassia Kinski as the artist assistant, Ben Stiller as the college drama professor--seems abnormally normal, and that is the problem. Aaron Eckhart is a scene stealer, and really seems to grasp his character. Nine out of ten people in the focus group thought it was great, and the consensus was that the movie was awesome. During the screening people stood up and walked out, and this reaction didn't seem to come as a surprise to LaBute. The music score, especially the awesome opening version of a Metallica song, works really well with the film. I can't say enough about the film, besides that it is intimidating film making. I just can't imagine what LaBute could and would do with a movie like Batman if he had the chance. He blows away his young up and coming peers of film makers, and he has a whole bag of tricks which I can only look forward to.
