Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 February 2002

I’m probably going to spoil most of the film from here but it must be done to have a full appreciation of just how senseless it really is.  Just as Rick is about to say “I do” at the wedding, an old friend, Ray Coleman (Buscemi) appears on the scene.  It turns out that Ray has been in jail and has come to claim his share of the loot that Rick ran off with.  A few weeks after the wedding, Rick agrees to give Ray a large cash sum to settle the ledger.

That same night, Susan comes home to tell Rick that she’s pregnant.  Danny overhears the conversation and is upset.  When Rick says he’s going into town to do some work, Danny hides in the back seat of Rick’s car to sneak a ride into town to see his bad.  But it turns out Rick isn’t “working”.  He picks up Ray (who’s waiting for his money), kills him and then burns the body in the oven of an old warehouse.

At the warehouse, Danny manages to sneak out of the car undetected and runs to his dads house where they call the police.  However when the police arrive at the warehouse, there’s no evidence of any murder and everyone believes Danny is just causing trouble because he’s upset at his mother’s new marriage.  Of course Frank still believes him and with the police not helping, begins an investigation of his own to find out who Rick Barnes really is.

I’ve done a rough calculation in my head and I think the odds of this happening is about 400 billion-to-one.  Let me look at some of the striking coincidences that occur for this to take place.  (1) Ray arrives just as the wedding takes place; (2) Frank sees Ray at the wedding and introduces himself - and hence he knows his name; (3) Frank runs to Ray in a restaurant a few weeks later and asks why he’s still in town whilst at the same time, Rick sees them having lunch; (4) Susan tells Rick she pregnant the same night he’s going to murder Ray; (5) Danny decides to sneak the ride in Rick’s car and somehow goes unnoticed; (6) just as Ray realises Danny is in the back seat, he is killed, (7) the police somehow find no evidence of Ray’s body or whereabouts and don’t seem to care.

I’d go and talk about the second half of the film but I couldn’t be bothered.  Let’s cut right to the chase then.  Frank discovers the truth about Rick months later when he does a simple internet search using the name “Ray Coleman”.  How weak is that?  Just how dumb are these people?

The only saving grace for the film are decent performances from the cast.  Without excelling, they at least look interested even if their scripted lines and reactions are completely illogical.  Very poorly written and directed, Domestic Disturbance is unworthy of cinema release and should have been seen straight off the video shelf.  Then again, it shouldn’t have been seen at all.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 January 2002

Her last book, Jackson’s Dilemma, was written as dementia set it and critics sensed something amiss.  One particular paragraph had the term “then suddenly” appear three times.  Following its publication, Murdoch’s mind began to fade fast and her devoted husband, Professor John Baley could no nothing to help her.  One of the world’s most radiant minds could no longer string a sentence together or recognise any face.  After years of struggle, Murdoch was placed in a home in Oxford where she died in 1999.

Alzheimer’s disease is a tragic condition that is perfectly depicted on screen in Iris.  It is estimated that 50% of all those over the age of 85 have some form of the disease.  It is important to remember that the disease is not a normal part of aging.

Oscar winner Judi Dench plays the pivotal role with an amazingly gut-wrenching performance.  Jim Broadbent won a Golden Globe last Sunday for his portrayal as her husband who tries to come to grips with the realisation that the woman he’s always loved now has the mind of a 3-year-old.  Short flashbacks from when the couple first met are creatively woven into the story but not enough is made of these scenes (a small weakness).  Kate Winslet plays the young Iris and Hugh Bonneville (who looks strikingly similar to Broadbent) plays the young John.

Dench, Broadbent and Winslet are all touted for Oscar noms next month but the film itself is receiving little other attention.  I guess the story’s quietness and simplicity has seen it swamped by other more “meaningful” releases.  Don’t be petered - it’s a touching emotional drama made more significant by the realisation that this is a true story.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 February 2002

Take something old and make it new again.  What would ordinarily be an overworked coming-of-age story has been transformed with the simple adding of a new dimension.  Based on a novel by Stephen King (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) and adapted by dual Oscar winner William Goldman (All The President’s Men, Misery), Hearts In Atlantis is an absorbing story told with immaculate precision.

The past can come flooding back when you least suspect it.  Successful photographer Robert “Bobby” Garfield (Morse) is married with two children.  Out of the blue, he receives news that Sully, one of his childhood friends, has passed away.  As a child, Bobby, Sully and the final member of the trio, Carol, were inseparable.  They spent weekends and holidays together in search of adventure.

The sudden news causes Bobby to reflect back on their last summer together - back in 1960 when he was just 10-years-old.  Since his father died at the age of five, Bobby (Yelchin) has lived a tough life with his mother (Davis).

On his 11th birthday, a stranger arrives to take residence in the upstairs flat of their rented home.  Revealing little of his past, Ted Brautigan (Hopkins) develops a connection with Bobby who hungers for an adult male influence.  With his eyesight failing, Ted offers Bobby $1 a week if he’ll read the daily newspaper for him.  Further, he asks Bobby to keep his eye out for “lowmen”.  When quizzed, Ted speaks of those who hunt him - mysterious men in big cars who leave calling signs and cast long shadows.  Bobby thinks Ted’s “lowmen” to be a figment from a senile imagination but he’s soon to find there’s more to his story and more to the man himself...

One always reflects on one’s past with sentimentality and the regret of great times gone by.  Hearts In Atlantis begins with a teary nostalgic feel but becomes harder to predict and even more engrossing as it develops.  Hopkins’ character is the key and the mystery surrounding him leaves you searching intently for any minor detail that can explain him.  He also touts some wonderful lines like when he predicts that Bobby will soon kiss Carol - “You will and it will be the kiss by which all others in your life will be judged... and found wanting”.

Director Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling On Cedars) adds to the mystique with great settings and delicate camerawork.  Very much like his style in Cedars, his panoramic locale and soft colouring consume us in a 1960s world.  He is currently the best director in the business.  As a small criticism, the film wanders at the midway point and the emotional imprint wavers.  The heartfelt conclusion does restore credibility though and its open-endedness is valuable in maintaining the mystery.

It’s nice to see quality stories and when you mix Stephen King and Scott Hicks you’re know going to get a damn good one.  A beautiful story I could watch repeatedly and still find new nuances to appreciate.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 January 2002

The film begins with a lady (Harring) about to be shot in a limo high on Mulholland Drive.  A car from the opposite direction then crashes into the limo.  Shaken, the lady makes her way down the mountain and after spending the night in a garden, sneaks into a swanky apartment the next day.

The same day, an actress named Betty (Watts) moves into the apartment and finds the lady in the shower.  Betty asks what she is doing but the lady does not even know her own name.  Making up the name Rita, she can only recall a car accident on Mulholland Drive.  Checking her handbag for identification, she finds $50,000 cash and a blue key.  How did that money get there and what is it for?

Terribly frightened, Rita then remembers a name - Diane Selwyn.  They track down her name in the phone book and decide to pay a visit to see if Diane can identify who Rita actually is.  En route, Betty stops at an audition and makes a dazzling impression on the casting agent.  She’s only just moved to Hollywood from Ontario because she’s always “dreamt” of becoming an actress.

When they reach Diane Selwyn’s house they find her dead.  They then return to Betty’s apartment and make passionate love.  Rita then wakes at 2am and the two travel to a nightclub where they witness a bizarre show.  Finding a mysterious blue box in Betty’s handbag, they again return to Betty’s apartment to unlock the box with the blue key from the handbag.  And from there, it goes nuts...

I’ve read varying reports on the web to help understand the final third of the film.  To avoid revealing secrets, please do not continue reading this paragraph if you don’t want it spoilt.  Here’s my interpretation.  The film doesn’t begin until the final 40 minutes.  Betty is actually Diane Selwyn, a struggling actress who wants to be a star but lacks the talent.  She is sleeping with a Hollywood starlet named Camilla Rhodes who manages to get her small parts in some of her films.  Camilla then leaves Diane for the director of her latest film, Adam Kesher (Theroux).  Feeling her career is finished, she hires a hitman and Camilla is killed.  Regretting her actions, she then masturbates and creates her dream world - one in which she is the starlet and where Camilla is still by her side (this is the first two thirds of the film).  Following this, she takes her own life.

My great simplification in describing the film doesn’t do it true justice.  Director David Lynch (Twin Peaks) originally made this film as a pilot which would become a television series.  The TV series was rejected (probably because the executives couldn’t understand it) and so Lynch chose to release it as a movie.  On its initial screening, the film won best director at the Cannes Film Festival.  Since then, it’s picked up awards from the critics society’s of Boston, Los Angeles and New York.  It also won best picture from the National Society Of Film Critics and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Australian actress Naomi Watts gives the best performance of the year as Diane/Betty.  Some audience members failed to recognise both roles were played by Watts which is the ultimate tribute to any actor.  Lynch hasn’t used a well-known cast but has certainly drawn wonderful performances from them to suit his mind-blowing script and direction.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 January 2002

These are ordinary people which makes what happens to them all the more extraordinary.  What transpires, I cannot tell you.  In a sudden twist, a tragedy strikes the Fowler tragedy.  Then, just when you come to grips with the changed scenario, a second twist takes the film on a tangent much removed from the way it started.

As the parents, Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek deliver unbelievable performances.  Spacek now has a trophy cabinet full of awards (including a Golden Globe) but Wilkinson is equally as good and hopefully will receive admirable acclaim before the award season winds down in March.  They play a long married couple for whom the communication process has completely broken down.  They still love each other but there’s too much water under the bridge and something has to give.

Marisa Tomei is an easy target amongst film buffs.  Many consider her the worst Oscar winner in history (she won for My Cousin Vinny) and that presenter Jack Palance read her name by mistake on the award podium.  After almost a decade in the wilderness, she returns with a strong role and perhaps the urban legend can be put to rest with another Oscar nomination when announced in two weeks.

These characters are real which is why the film is so passionate and moving.  Expecting another strong Thomas Newman score, I was shocked to see such minimal music in the film.  Aside from the opening and closing credits, the film has a very quiet backdrop and with many scenes containing little dialogue, the silence is literally deafening.  It makes an awkward situation even more awkward and some scenes were very difficult to watch.

Actor turned director Todd Field has broken out with beautifully subtle direction.  He doesn’t fall victim to Hollywood commercialism and is happy not to rush the story or use familiar techniques.  I must be careful not to reveal too much but the story doesn’t preach the lessons it tells.  It’s a simple story and it’s up to you to decide whether right or wrong has been done.

In The Bedroom arrives in Australian cinemas during peak award season and deserves to be seen by any serious filmgoer.  It’s a reinvigorating look at how movies can have value and leave you thinking emotionally.  With Mulholland Drive also released this week, it’s a pleasant change from the standard “popcorn and coke” flick.  So what are you waiting for?