Over the past few days with Primus and my wife out of town I
have been watching a number of little movies on the television. One movie I saw that was kind of interesting,
flawed but interesting, was Liberal Arts.
A second little movie I got caught up in was 28 Hotel Rooms. A third was Venus with Peter O’Toole.
Of the three the most perfectly executed was Venus. Peter O’Toole turned in a subtle tour de
force in this very small movie about an aging actor who is also a letch. It is a very English movie filled with
several character actors you will surely recognize. Maybe I really liked this movie because I
empathized with the main character, the whole old man and the letch thing. Maybe I am still thinking about the film is because
I like nuanced performances. Venus is a
drama but there is warmth too. If you
saw My Favorite Year it is sort of the end game for that character. It is however performed with far less yuks
and far more emotional realism.
I liked the film because it is the complete package, not because
O’Toole character endures prostate cancer surgery (uh like me). If I remember right O’Toole was nominated for
an Academy Award for his performance. It
was well deserved. I think he lost to
Forest Whitaker, for his role in the Last King of Scotland.
The second film 28 Hotel Rooms is a flawed movie with lots
of sex and relatively realistic depictions of conflicted emotions. Adultery,
mental and physical is at the film’s core but so is the subtle sub textual tale
of how hearts, souls perhaps search for real meaningful emotional connection.
28 Hotel Rooms is bittersweet and its conceit is somewhat
strained. Two young relatively attractive
but not knock out gorgeous people meet in a hotel bar. The male is an up and
coming writer and the woman is an actuary/accountant numbers geek. After a few drinks they sleep together; it is
the whole zip less fuck thing. However
this spontaneous encounter between two lonely road warriors gets more complex.
On another trip they meet again and then they keep meeting.
As they keep hooking up their lives evolve with each taking a spouse and facing
their own personal successes and failures.
Each of the participants at times seems to more drawn to their
relationship. There are numerous fights and while some of the dialog feels
awkward some of it has some real resonance.
I had never heard of the movie before it showed up on the
Showtime schedule, maybe it was the Movie Channel. Ultimately I have to say I
enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would but it is not light fare.
On the other hand Liberal Arts is to some degree pure mental
floss. The first thirty minutes or so
show real promise but then it devolves into a standard romantic dramedy. However it has the wonderful Richard Jenkins
in it. Jenkins was nominated a few years
back for a best actor Oscar for a film called The Visitor. If you have not seen The Visitor rent it at
once.
The other stars of this film are Josh Radnor and Elizabeth
Olsen. Josh Radnor is playing a variant
of his character in How I Met Your Mother.
Elizabeth Olsen has far more talent that is required of her in this
movie. She is the second strongest actor
in this film. Her portrayal of a 19 year
old college student lusting after a mid thirties man is fairly well developed
and fun. The best scene in the film is a
conversation between Radnor and Jenkins in a dark college bar. His comments about
aging and boundaries are spot on. I guess my comment on this film is ultimately
this; the movie is fun and awkward and has Richard Jenkins in it.
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