SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg) *1/2
Another notable filmmaker wrestles with very stupid material, but not even Cronenberg -- and a few tepid attempts at bringing his body preoccupation into the mix (tattoos, fingers, and the ways people bleed and decay, all make conspicuous appearances) -- can lend this trashy pseudo-noir much credibility. It doesn't help that the Russian Mafia ranks among my least favorite movie targets, or that the single greatest actress in cinema right now (Naomi Watts, excellent here as always) is inexplicably relegated to the sidelines.
LOVE SONGS (Christophe Honoré) *
If you're going to make a musical, it'd help if the songs weren't awful, or at least well photographed. And if you're going to make a bad musical, it'd help if you didn't invite explicit comparisons to Demy (the structure -- right down to the intertitles -- are swiped directly from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). And if you're going to make a bad musical that unwisely invites explicit comparisons to Demy, it'd help if the non-musical portions weren't even more insipid than the music (extremely serious plot turns don't mesh with the music's frothiness). Beautiful opening mood of Paris and Ludivine at dusk, though.
THE GIRL IN THE PARK (David Auburn) **1/2
Promising debut, with an attention to character detail and a commitment to tragic implications that most filmmakers either shy away from or treat too literally. But it's so frustrating to find that even writers as talented as playwright Auburn (he deservedly won the Pulitzer for Proof) can't help but pile up contrivances when they shift their efforts to cinema. Kate Bosworth is the standout, helping over the plot humps and finally delivering on the enormous potential I commented on after Blue Crush and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!. I knew she glows and never condescends, but here she also probes wounds and exposes the makings of a major screen comedienne.
BILL (Bernie Goldmann, Melisa Wallack) *
[Digital projection]
Painfully broad comedy of the Park City variety (large bellies poking into frame, same penis size gag repeated ad nauseum, kindly gay brother who is ordered to stop being so gay, men modeling women's underwear, addiction to Snickers bars, etc.) Not a good TIFF for Eckhart, miscast here as a complete loser.
