| Like a calm, still pool (spoilers) |
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| written by brakhage |
May 13, 2005 - 7:45 AM PDT |
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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Slow-paced and deliberate, with some very imaginative visual flourishes from Lepage. I was initally put off by the stiltedness of Swinton and McCann's performances, but I realized that they suited the material perfectly. Very nice photography aside from overreliance on polarizing filters (I'd never seen the sea made to look like Mountain Dew before). Very brainy, cool, and clever. The running gag about the well-meaning lieutenant's thickness is really funny as well. It doesn't feel like an adaptation of a stage play - there are too many locations, and the dialogue while being the impetus for the film, isn't overwhelming in its density.
Spoilers: initially the audience is expecting a Lathe of Heaven-style meditation on parallel universes, and when it's revealed to be more of a Open Your Eyes/Vanilla Sky brain-in-a-jar thing, I was disappointed - but only briefly since there's so much subtlety to ponder and appreciate about the film. Lepage doesn't beat you over the head: when George studies the glass bowl at Joyce's apartment, he's of course wondering how it came to be there, since it should really reside in another universe. Lepage knows we're quick enough to pick up on it, and doesn't slip in a cut to the bowl's introduction earlier.
This is one of those quiet films that stay with you for a long time, that leads you to think about your identity, your future, your decisions. Unlike the films I've mentioned above, it introduces the idea of parallel universes and isolated consciousness not as the means to drive a thriller or create a shocking twist ending, but to make you think. I could also stare into Swinton's eyes forever, so that's a bonus!
With respect to Mr Deming, I detected absolutely no plot thread dealing with Joyce's murder. As far as I can tell she was never a target, but I may have missed something. |
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