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The Man Who Wasn’t There (starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Galdolfini; written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen; directed by Joel Coen; rated R).
Fans of the Brothers Coen, rejoice! The writing-directing team (O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Fargo; Raising Arizona; Blood Simple) have a hit with their latest tale, a film noir comedy of passion, crime and punishment, all presented in glorious black-and-white.
Set in 1949, The Man Who Wasn’t There is the story of Ed Crane, (Thornton) a barber in a small northern California town. Ed is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris’ infidelity presents Ed with an opportunity for blackmail that he thinks will help him to change it. Stir in a few good murders, and the plot thickens, as they say, with all the usual Coenesque quirky characters adding to the fun.
In its world premiere at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival, The Man Who Wasn’t There was honored (in a tie) with the Best Director Award. It’s easy to see why. If you’ve been waiting all year for your Coen Bros. fix, this will definitely do it.
Rating 5 /5
K-Pax (starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, Alfre Woodard; written by Charles Leavitt, based on the novel by Gene Brewer; directed by Iain Softley; rated PG-13).
Enthralled by the tantalizing trailers for K-Pax, I attended this screening with unusually high anticipation. The promos make it seem as if this is really about a stranger in a strange land, a space-y alien from another world, visiting our small planet. And the first part of this film stays true to that promise. At first we are not certain if Prot (Spacey) is from K-Pax or simply insane. It is fascinating to watch Academy Award-winner Spacey create his character, layer upon layer, as his doctor, played adeptly by Bridges, attempts to unravel the fabric of the drifter’s story. Unfortunately, about halfway through, this film devolves into “Yet Another Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” as Prot interacts with his fellow psychiatric patients and inevitably helps them much more than their doctors ever have.
Performances by Spacey and Bridges are excellent, but the final act of the script disappoints.
Rating 3 ½ / 5
Mulholland Drive (starring Laura Harring, Naomi Watts, Ann Miller, Billy Ray Cyrus, Chad Everett, Dan Hedaya; written by Joyce Eliason, David Lynch; directed by David Lynch; rated R).
Originally filmed as a TV pilot, when ABC decided to pass on this as a potential series, Lynch recut Mulholland Drive into a feature, and subsequently tied (with the Coen Brothers – see my review of The Man Who Wasn’t There) for the Best Director Award at Cannes. Go figure.
This is one weird film, but then, that’s what Lynch is famous for. The story focuses on two women – Rita (Harring), an amnesiac following a car crash on Mulholland Drive in LA, and Betty (Watts), a Hollywood ingenue staying in her aunt’s apartment. The two connect and attempt to solve the mystery of Rita’s life.
My problem with this is that after investing nearly an hour and half following the story and trying to figure out the plot’s secrets, the director throws the audience a curve that derails the entire picture. I felt cheated. SPOILER ALERT: Everything you’ve seen up until this point is completely false; the characters are not who they appear to be. The careful (though bizarre) plotting is trashed, and suddenly we’re in another story, with each character actually someone else.
Sorry, this incoherence is not fun. If you crave Lynch films, you’ll probably love this. I don’t, and I didn’t.
Rating 2 / 5