Posted by jratzlaff in SUNDANCE TRIPLEHEADER
By: Craig Detweiler (www.purplestateofmind.com)
My first full day at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival included a trio of intriguing premieres. While each has strengths, none would be characterized as a ‘homerun’. Obselidia starts with a fascinating premise. George is a librarian compiling an “Encyclopedia of Obsolete Things.” His apartment is full of old cameras, phones, calculators, and typewriters—formerly cutting edge technology now considered ‘useless’. George’s matter of fact approach to fading formats also extends to love. He considers it a graying protein—enroute to extinction. Until Sophie, a projectionist at the Silent Movie theater in Los Angeles, enters into his closed universe. Sophie drags him out into the wider world, including the Museum of Jurassic Technology and a trip to Zabriskie Point in Death Valley. Yes, Obselidia is loaded with clever film references, with an arch shout out to Au Hasard Balthazar. While that may woo film geeks, it may create a barrier for the average filmgoer. Obselidia stands a bit too far removed from the fray.
First time director Diane Bell has fashioned two memorable characters suffering from “Nowstalgia.” George and Sophie take turns getting stuck in their situation, unable to move. While the panoramic desert vistas are beautiful, the film takes a bit too long to render its “enjoy every moment” theme. Three or four endings dilute the power of what remains a compelling notion. How do we retain a sense of life when the world as we know remains on the brink of extinction?
Welcome to the Rileys also unspools at a deliberate pace, but the powerhouse cast of James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo and Kristen Steward sell a fairly standard story. Doug and Lois Riley lead a rather mundane suburban life in Indiana. Doug plays poker every Thursday, while Lois is stuck inside the house, afraid to leave. They have been in state of limbo since their daughter’s death in a car accident. A convention in New Orleans drags Doug into a surprising vortex with a teenage stripper (probably Kristen Stewart’s finest performance since Speak). Mallory’s obvious need snaps Doug back to his own missing daughter. His protective instincts kick in—he literally moves into Mallory’s run down apartment as a way to make amends. Lois also takes a risk, making the trip to the French Quarter in search of her missing husband. How nice to see New Orleans serve as a site of personal recovery and healing.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen misguided souls like Travis Bickle try to save a teen prostitute in Taxi Driver. Paul Schrader also wrote a similar story of a father searching for his prodigal daughter in Hardcore. So we have a sense of where the Riley’s plot will unfold. But director Jake Scott (son of Ridley) and screenwriter Ken Hixon burrow into the characters and their intertwined choices. The teen prostitute may not want to get cleaned up. Parents may not find a substitute daughter to fill in their loss. Welcome to the Rileys doesn’t sugarcoat any ending. But it allows viewers to grief for lost spouses, children, and lives.
Holy Rollers is an effective cautionary tale rooted in real events. Google “Hasidic Jews” and “ecstasy” and the elements of Holy Rollers start to emerge. Yet director Kevin Asch and screenwriter Antonio Macia have crafted a compelling character in a downward spiral. Sam has been a dutiful son. Yet his rigorous commitment to becoming a rabbi fails to secure his reward—an arranged marriage. Sam falls under the spell of his next door neighbor, Yosef, who dazzles him with all kinds of forbidden fruits: women, drugs, gold watches and Nikes. Hurt in the matchmaking game, Sam trades in his faith and family traditions for a flashier lifestyle.
Holy Rollers depicts both competing cultures (Hasidism vs. the party scene) with reverence and respect (maybe too much respect). This is not a Jewsploitation movie! We root for Sam to escape the strictures of religion and yet fear that his days of smuggling ecstasy will result in tragedy. Jesse Eisenberg offers a compelling variation on the awkward teen we’ve seen before in Adventureland. He is simply hungry for love and affirmation. Yet, the film never quite catches fire. It is a slow and steady downward spiral. Sam must consider God’s first question to Adam from the Book of Genesis: “Why are you hiding?” The filmmakers suggest that we’re either moving towards God or away from God. Director Kevin Asch calls it a film about “faith versus blind faith.” Sam runs, but ultimately proves unable to hide.
