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Shaking
the Tree WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE: Directed by John Curran. Written by Larry Gross, based on novellas by Andre Dubus. Produced by Harvey Kahn, Naomi Watts, Jonas Goodman. Executive producers, Ruth Epstein, Mark Ruffalo, Larry Gross. Cinematography, Maryse Alberti. Production design, Tony Devenyi. Editor, Alexandre de Franceschi. Music, Michael Convertino. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts. Warner Independent Pictures, 2004. R. 103 minutes.
One of the smartest films of the year, We Don't Live Here Anymore looks at four people locked into the drama of straying, splitting, or staying when their marriages hit the rocks. The principal characters — Jack Linden (Mark Ruffalo), Terry Linden (Laura Dern), Hank Evans (Peter Krause) and Edith Evans (Naomi Watts) — find themselves in precisely that predicament one booze-drenched evening. Jack and Edith leave to get some beer; Hank and Terry stay at the party. Switcheroo time. It isn't that simple, of course. Complications and denials keep coming. Maybe no one did anything, but everyone thought about it. If this sounds uncomfortably like your own past or present life, you'll receive little comfort from the movie being set vaguely in the 1970s, although economically and sociologically speaking, that was a fertile time for changing partners. Remember Ang Lee's great American film, The Ice Storm? Also set in the Nixon years, the picture's spouse-swapping was a parlor game, where a married, female participant picked up car keys from a pile on the coffee table and went home with the owner. Lee's film was based on a Rick Moody novel. John Curran's film and Larry Gross's screenplay are based on two stories by Andre Dubus. The original material in both cases is literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction by, say, Stephen King. The characters' thoughts and feelings play a big role in literary films. Terry (Laura Dern) is the most honest character in We Don't Live Here Anymore. Terry knows what's up, expresses her feelings in emotional outbursts, owns up to her failings and doesn't believe her lying spouse for one minute. Edith, on the other hand, believes her husband doesn't care what she does or doesn't do. So Edith, lonely, apathetic and grateful for attention, does what she likes. Dern gives a deeply felt performance; Watts is radiant. Edith's husband, Hank (Peter Krause), is a frustrated writer and academic. Detached from their domestic life, Hank appears to have no feelings. He just goes from home to work and work to home. Oh, yes. He often runs competitively with his friend and academic colleague, Terry's husband, Jack. Jack plays the film's unreliable main character, who orchestrates the psychodrama. Before the film is over, we have a pretty good idea what Jack feels, but we don't know his motives for stirring things up — probably that deadly cocktail of booze, sex and boredom. Ruffalo shows us this complex, often sympathetic man, while Krause's character remains a blank. Another way We Don't Live Here is like The Ice Storm — and like the 1970s — is that the kids are not at the center of the parents' lives. It's shocking, but the children are pretty much ignored. They're not abused, not neglected, just not considered. Naturally enough, the kids reflect the turmoil in their parents' relationships. In The Ice Storm, the parents' self-absorption leads to tragedy, but in Curran's movie, leaving the kids in the dark points to a critical weakness. Why have children in the picture at all if we learn nothing about them? It's as if we are given permission to not care what happens to them, and that makes today's viewers uncomfortable. Australian director Curran's 1998 film, Praise, earned its title, according to Elvis Mitchell's 2000 review (The New York Times). Despite its starkness, the film's emotional honesty made an admirer of the critic, who recognized the rarity of such openness. Curran's direction in We Don't Live Here has produced another quality work. I will see it a second time before I move it into my 2004 top-10 contenders' file, but it leads the pack at this time. A thoughtful examination of a not-uncommon marital itch that's accompanied by guilt, self-revulsion, confused sexuality and indecision, the film pictures a condition that's no fun while you're going through it. But from the distance of time, we can see a human, funny side to our foibles. When we can laugh at ourselves, we may count ourselves mature. Now playing at Cinema World through Thursday only, We Don't Live Here Anymore gets my very highest recommendations.
Class
Be Damned VANITY FAIR: Directed by Mira Nair. Written by Matthew Faulk, Mark Skeet, Julian Fellowes, based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray. Produced by Janette Day, Donna Gigliotti, Lydia Dean Pilcher. Executive producers, Howard Cohen, Pippa Cross, Jonathan Lynn. Cinematography, Declan Quinn. Production design, Maria Djurkovic. Editor, Allyson C. Johnson. Music, Mychael Danna. Costumes, Beatrix Aruna Pasztor. Starring Reese Witherspoon. With Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Geraldine McEwan, James Purefoy, Tony Maudsley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Focus Features, 2004. PG-13. 137 min. Mira Nair's ambitious, flawed epic is set in early 19th century Britain. Spurred by the new wealth pouring in from its far-flung empire, the country's split between the privileged classes and the dirt-poor underclass widens. The racial barriers erected within colonial society also come in for comment.
The film opens on busy streets, where carriages haul the wealthy through thoroughfares clogged with people from a variety of backgrounds. Inside a small, dark and none-too-clean house, a drunken man paints, while his young golden-haired daughter plays nearby. A stranger, a gentleman, enters and asks about a painting. The artist sets a low price for the soulful portrait of a beautiful woman, but the child interrupts and asks for the largest sum she can imagine. The painter explains the painting is of his late wife, the girl's mother, and she doesn't want to let it go at all. The man looks directly at the girl, as if he can see her deepest thoughts, then gives her the price she asked. This first meeting between Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) and the Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) won't be the last. Maybe the girl's sudden understanding of wealth and status awakens the urge to better herself. Although many years transpire before they meet again, their class relationship stays the same: he the patron, she the one in need of his patronage. As the story proper begins, Becky is leaving the girls' school where she scrubbed floors for her education. She is going home with her friend, Amelia Sedley (Romola Garai). Amelia hopes to interest her brother, Joseph (Tony Maudsley), home from India, in Becky. But Amelia's social-climbing boyfriend, George Osborne (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), squashes the plan. And while the Sedleys are quickly running out of their old money, the Osbornes are new to the social ladder. Mr. Osborne (Jim Broadbent) thinks George has made a bad bargain to marry Amelia. He offers a New World princess. But George is a callow bounder, and he runs off to the military when war with Napoleon breaks out. George's best friend is Dobbin (Rhys Ifans), an army officer who actually loves Amelia. Meanwhile, Becky takes off for her position as governess for Mr. Pitt Crawley's (Bob Hoskins) young daughters. The family in this unkempt manor makes a strong case against inbreeding. Becky whips the house in shape, orders the servants to clean and cook properly, teaches the girls to speak French, and brings a bit of culture into the old homestead. The family matriarch, Matilda Crawley (Eileen Atkins), arrives in the company of the family's son and her favorite nephew, Rawdon Crawley (James Purefoy). The old lady takes to Becky and insists she accompany her home. Now the characters are set in place, and the social merry-go-round begins. Fortunes rise and fall. Love affairs and friendships begin and end. Secret marriages and alliances are made. Wars start. Men die. Children are born. The movie's fault lies in too many characters and stories covering too much time. Unlike a contained ensemble work such as Robert Altman's rousing upstairs/downstairs picture, Gosford Park, the canvas here is so vast the characters (except for Becky) are dwarfed and their stories cut short. Better to have chosen fewer stories to tell and to have told them in more depth. Recommend de-spite its failures, Vanity Fair is playing at Cinema World and Cinemark.
Archaeology Film Fest, Best of 2003: Films includeSocotra, The Island of the Phoenix and The Human Odyssey, The Dawn of Man. Films start at 12 noon, Sun. Sept. 12, at the Bijou. $6. Cellular: This Phone Booth-like thriller stars Kim Basinger, William H. Macy, Chris Evans and Jason Statham. A carefree young man (Evans) receives a phone call from a woman (Basinger) imploring him to save her life. She's been kidnapped, and he's her only chance. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Cinderella Story, A: Teen romance comedy stars Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael Murray and Regina King. Mark Rosman directs. PG. Movies 12. Door in the Floor: Adapted from a John Irving novel, film is about a family tragedy and aftermath. Stars Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers and Bijou Phillips. A.O. Scott (NY Times) says Bridges "offers perhaps the wittiest and richest piece of screen acting by an American man so far this year." See it soon. R. Cinema World. Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry: Eugene premiere. DVD will soon be released. Shows at 7 pm on 9/12 at DIVA. Resident Evil: Apocalypse: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Sandrine Holt, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps and Zack Ward must survive and escape near certain death by the ravenous undead and bioengineered weapons. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Terminal: Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks as a tourist who has to live at Kennedy airport because his homeland disappeared in a civil war, so his passport is no good. He falls in love with Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose comic talent is wasted in a dumb-dame role, while Hanks only works part-time. Too long and too cute. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: Alien vs Predator: The scary monsters from earlier film franchises duke it out on Earth. Wow! PG-13. Cinemark. Anacondas: Hunt for the Blood Orchid: Horror thriller set in a jungle in Borneo where scientists travel down a river looking for a rare orchid said to the be the source of a youth-preserving serum. PG-13. Cinemark. Anchorman: Subtitled "The Legend of Ron Burgundy," this comedy stars Will Ferrell as an unctuous, untalented newscaster who's a legend only in his own mind. Funny moments. Recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Around the World in 80 Days: Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan star in this remake. PG. Movies 12. Bourne Supremacy, The: Paul Greengrass (writer, director of Bloody Sunday) directs Matt Damon as assassin Jason Bourne in the second installment of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers Also stars Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Kurt Urban and Franka Potente. One of the summer's best films. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Collateral: Michael Mann's thriller stars Tom Cruise as an LA hitman and Jamie Foxx as his taxi driver, who's surprised to discover he's a hostage. Together, they're like fire and ice, feeling and nothingness. A character study in action, the film is one of the best movies of the year. Very highest recommendations. Don't miss. R. Cinemark. Online archives. Cookout: Comedy directed by Lance Rivera stars Tim Meadows, Eve, Ja Rule, Farrah Fawcett, Jennifer Lewis, Danny Glover and Queen Latifah. PG-13. Cinemark. Corporation, The: Documentary directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, is a professional work about the powerful forces and resources that today's corporations wield. It's a call to educated activisim. Highly recommended. NR. Bijou. Online archives. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story: Social rejects save their local gym from gentrification in this goofy comedy directed by Rawson Thurber and starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor and Rip Torn. Inspired lunacy recommended for your summertime enjoyment. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Exorcist: The Beginning: The backstory to the 1973 blockbuster commences in 1940s Africa with a disillusioned Father Merrin's (Stellan Skarsgard) first meeting with the demon Pazuzu. The film was bedeviled, too. It ran through directors John Frankenheimer and Paul Schrader before Renny Harlin came in and basically reshot the whole shebang. Also stars James D'Arcy and Izabella Scorupco. R. Cinemark. Garden State: Zach Braff wrote, directed and stars in this funny, resonant romantic comedy, which co-stars Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and Ian Holm. Braff and Portman help the film get to a truth about what it is to be 20-something in the early years of the 21st century. Highest recommendations. R. Bijou. Online archives. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban: Brilliantly directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), now teenagers, return to Hogwarts, where they confront an escaped prisoner, Sirius Black (Gary Oldham), who poses a great threat to Harry. They must also contend with the Dementors, who are sent to protect them from Black. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Hero: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen star in this rousing martial arts epic. Set in a war-torn China at the violent dawn of the Qin dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, three opponents plan to assassinate the king, but one loyal subject stands in their way. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. I, Robot: Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) directs Will Smith as a police detective investigating a crime thought to be perpetrated by a robot. Also stars Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride and Bridget Moynahan. Based on Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi stories. Recommended for its strange ambiance. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. King Arthur: Excellent cast includes Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgard, Stephen Dillane, Ray Winstone, Ioan Gruffudd. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, this revisionist history, action adventure is Open recommended for its performances. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Manchurian Candidate, The: Psycho-logical thriller stars Denzel Washington as an ex-career officer disturbed by his experiences in Desert Storm. Liev Schreiber plays a former squad sergeant, now a vice-presidential candidate and son of a powerful senator (Meryl Streep). An especially fine performance from Jeffrey Wright as a damaged vet suffering hallucinations. Very highest recommendations. R. Cinemark. Online archives. Napoleon Dynamite: Jared Hess' indie comedy stars Jon Heder as a high schooler, who lives in Idaho with his grandmother. The Village Voice says, "the film is an epic, magisterially observed pastiche on all-American geekhood, flooring the competition with a petulant shove." PG. Cinema World. Notebook, The: Nick Cassavetes directs Gena Rowlands, James Garner, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Depicts real first love, with a great performance by McAdams. Recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Open Water: Chris Kentis directs this thriller based on real events. A couple get left behind by a scuba diving group, in the middle of a shark-filled ocean. Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis spent 120 hours in the water with real sharks to make this movie. R. Cinemark. Paparazzi: Drama thriller directed by Paul Abascal stares Cole Hauser as a celebrity bent on revenge against a persistent photographer he holds accountable for a family tragedy. Also stars Dennis Farina, Daniel Baldwin and Robin Tunney. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Princess Diaries 2 Royal Engagement: Anne Hathaway is being groomed to be queen of Genovia, but she has to land a husband before she can be crowned. Garry Marshall directs. Julie Andrews costars. G. Cinemark. Riding Giants: Film about history of surfing, interviews with surfers, the time-based revolutions in surf-board technology. a film of bewitching grace and sublime delight as well as athleticism of the highest order. NR. Bijou. Online archives. Shrek 2: Mike Myers returns as Shrek, Cameron Diaz is his new wife, Princess Fiona, and Eddie Murphy's his sidekick, Donkey. Now the newlyweds face Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) and King Harold (John Cleese). Fairy godmother (Jennifer Saunders), Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and the ferocious Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). Sequel is so-so. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Spider Man 2: Peter Parker aka Spidey (Tobey Maguire) returns as a college student by day who still loves Kirsten Dunst and a superhero when needed against his new nemesis, Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Sam Raimi directs. Excellent film! See it. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Stepford Wives, The: Frank Oz directs Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill and Glenn Close in this updated comedy-thriller about a perfect, 1950s-era community. Recommended for its entertainment value. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Suspect Zero: As murder victims pile up, the FBI sends two agents against a killer who taunts them with his ability to get into the minds of his victims. Directed by E. Elias Merhige, film stars Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss. R. Cinemark. Vanity Fair: Mira Nair's version of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel. Stellar cast includes Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp, with Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue. We Don't Live Here Anymore: Directed by John Curran from two novellas by Andre Dubus, the film chronicles the marital discord in two marriages. Stars the outstanding Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Peter Krauss. If you read this on Thurs., Sept. 9, today is your last chance to see this highly recommended film. R. Cinema World. See review this issue. White Chicks: Comedy about FBI agents who go undercover as high school debutantes to investigate a kidnapping ring. Stars director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn and Marlon Wayans. PG-13. Movies 12. Wicker Park: Josh Hartnett stars in this psychological drama as a man caught in an obsessive search for a woman (Diane Kruger) who disappeared. Also stars Matthew Lillard and Rose Byrne. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Without a Paddle: High-speed comedy adventure stars Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard as clueless adventurers who go into the Oregon wilderness in search of lost treasure. PG-13. Cinemark.
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
Theaters
NEW
RELEASES ON VIDEO Angels in America (2003) If you only purchase DVDs you can see more than once and will continue to love, this is the one. Tied for my top film of 2003, Angels is outstanding by any standards. Kudos to director Mike Nichols, writer Tony Kushner and actors so good they break your heart: Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Mary- Louise Parker, Justin Kirk, Ben Shenkman, Patrick Wilson, James Cromwell, Michael Gambon, Simon Callow. Bless them all. NR. Baadasssss! (How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass) (2004) Mario Van Peebles directed this film homage to his father, Mario Van Peebles, the independent filmmaker who single-handedly created the 1970s-era phenomenon called Blaxploitation. Film stars Joy Bryant, T.K. Carter, Terry Crews, Ossie Davis, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Saul Rubinek. J. Hoberman (Village Voice) wrote: “Baadasssss! vibrates with crazy energy and cartoon-like perfs. It's packed with Hollywood wiseguys, self-promoting hotties, craven agents, hippie stoners, porn purveyors, ghetto hotheads, and miscellaneous white weirdos.” The DVD includes commentary by both Van Peebles, a featurette called The Birth of Black Cinema and more. Heir to an Execution (2004): HBO documentary on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed as spies in America’s Cold War in 1953. Home on the Range: Disney animated feature features voices by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, Steve Buscemi, Carole Cook and Governor Ann Richards, while singing comes from k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and The Beau Sisters. PG. Jersey Girl: Written and directed by Kevin Smith, film’s about a music publicist (Ben Affleck) trying to balance work and fatherhood as a single parent. Also stars Jennifer Lopes, George Carlin, Liv Tyler, Jason Biggs. Raquel Castro is his independent daughter. Roundly rejected by audience and critics alike. PG-13. Ladykillers, The: Based on the 1955
British comedy starring Peter Sellers and Alec Guiness, Ethan and Joel
Coen’s adaptation stars Tom Hanks and Marlon Wayons. When these
bank robbers move into the “no hip-hop” house of a Southern
church-going woman, anything goes. R. Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed: Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Seth Green, Peter Boyle, Tim Blake Nelson. Some scary action, rude humor and language. PG. Simpsons Gone Wild: Single disc collection includes "Homer's Night Out," "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday," "The Mansion Family" and "Homer the Moe." THX 1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut (1971): Digital restoration with surround sound of George Lucas’ first film. Set in a future where names are letter/number combinations and emotion is forbidden, THX1138 (Robert Duvall) and LUH 3147 (Maggie McOmie) fall in love. Also stars Donald Pleasence. Collector's Edition includes commentary by co-writer/director Lucas and co-writer/sound designer Walter Murch, Watermelon Man (1970) Director Melvin Van Peebles directs Godfrey Cambridge plays both roles, as bigoted white man who went to sleep one night and woke up black. With Estelle Parsons. Music also by Van Peebles. Young Adam (2004): Written and directed by David Mackenzie, film’s about Joe (Ewan McGregor), a young drifter who finds work on a barge owned by the down-to-earth Les (Peter Mullan) and his enigmatic wife Ella (Tilda Swinton). Joe and Les find the corpse of a young woman floating in the water, and the questions begin. Accident? Suicide? Murder? As police investigate, it becomes clear that Joe knows more than he wants to admit. Meanwhile, Joe and Elle embark on a passionate affair. NC-17. Online archives. Next Week: The Battle of Algiers (1965), Carandiru (2004), Coffee and Cigarettes (2004), Epidemic (1988), John Cassavetes: Five Films, La Dolce Vita (1961), Mean Girls, Star Wars Trilogy. |
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