After over a year of waiting, Southland Tales is finally out in theaters. The slightly abridged version, still clocking in at well over 2 hours, boasts an incredibly recognizable cast, and very well done visuals.
But, with such a long wait after the disastrous Cannes screening, and a well publicized year of graphic novel press releases, editing mixing, and many, many reassurances, how does the final product rate up? Now, for me, Donnie Darko was a good, thoroughly fleshed out movie with good dialog and characters that felt real and a situation that was both funny and ultimately horrifying. Though there were plot holes and vague situations that left most of its viewers confused, Donnie Darko was a good film that left people happily asking questions and trying to figure out the films many possible explanations. A young filmmaker creating a movie like that on his first try is pretty impressive, so much so that Richard Kelly was billed for a time as the "next big thing".
By sheer contrast, Southland Tales is a huge step down from his previous film. To be honest, I was looking forward to this movie for over a year, and forced myself to be optimistic in the face of constant signs that this film really WAS looking to be the next Xanadu. The initial concept is not all that unique; an ensemble piece set in the final days of the world. The problem is, Mr. Kelly cannot seem to settle on a singular theme or method of storytelling for this film. Most ensemble films have an underlying theme, whether it be familial distance or redemption in "Magnolia", social distance in "Babel", or prejudice in "Crash". Southland Tales doesn't have any kind of organization in the filming of its scenes. Most of the characters don't have any real motivation behind their actions, and nearly every scene hit a kind of dead-end as to where it was trying to go.
Its hard to see where the director was going with many aspect of the film. The much criticized casting of the film, though very interesting on paper, is in reality just as bad as it sounded. Most of the actors look out of place, the acting is some of the worst that I've seen since the trailer for Baby Geniuses. Sarah Michelle Gellar is completely wasted in this film, Dwayne Johnson is improving, though he still needs work, and a project like this is not the best way to do that, and nearly all other actors in this film act as though they are appearing in a vagisil commercial and are wishing they didn't take the audition. Not all actors fail in these roles though; Seann William Scott is surprisingly flexible in the role, though in the first half of the film he looks uncomfortable, Mandy Moore is only in several scenes, but her acting is some of the most natural sounding in the whole thing. For me, the two most shocking transformations in the film were those of Cheri Oteri (who actually has more to do here than most of the leads, and caries some of her lines very well), and in probably the best special effect of the film, Lou Taylor Pucci done up as a ghetto white boy in probably one of the least publicized roles in the film. Justin Timberlake is good only in his narration, though on camera he actually is a rather pointless character.
Gregg Araki made several films in the mid-90s billed as the "een Apocalypse" trilogy. Though there were no actual teens in it from what i remember, these films had many cameos from actors cast out of type, many random moments that didn't seem to fit into the rest of the film, as well as a director that tried to comment on the modern world while placing the story in a setting that could not possible fit into context of our world. Just like Gregg Araki, Richard Kelly makes much use of poetry that has mostly no real connection to the story. Robert Frost and T.S. Elliot are constantly mentioned, as well as visual references to the work of Philip K Dick. Often in the film, this material, as well as others, are so often used it gets really annoying.
I'm not trying to deter anyone from seeing this film. After Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly has a built-in fan base who will see his work no matter how terrible it is. I'm sure some of those people were in the audience at the sold out showing that i saw this film in. Seeing it that way, i knew that this movie was the kind to be laughed AT, not laughed WITH. I just hope that Richard Kelly with learn from this mistake and organize his scripts better, or with enough of these he will lose the few supporters that he has kept over the past few years.
So, now after ALL that, what was the point of it all? 144 minutes of exposition and false hopes for a logical flow to the whole thing, is there meaning to it all? Spoilers for the ending....the world doesn't end, and if it does the film ends before the big event.
By the way, the much hyped scene where Timberlake lip-syncs to The Killers "Things that I've done", is by far one of the most underwhelming scenes in the film. The whole things feels kinda pointless.
Hmmm, and after using quotes from the book of revelations to justify floating ice cream trucks, nuclear baby bowel movements, and prophetic film scripts, is there a final message that the movie has for us? A sort of finality to it all that will make it sit easier for us to sit through? Quoting the film's final line, "Cuz he is a pimp...and pimps, don't kill themselves". Wow Richard, how amazing...like, totally...wow...
But, with such a long wait after the disastrous Cannes screening, and a well publicized year of graphic novel press releases, editing mixing, and many, many reassurances, how does the final product rate up? Now, for me, Donnie Darko was a good, thoroughly fleshed out movie with good dialog and characters that felt real and a situation that was both funny and ultimately horrifying. Though there were plot holes and vague situations that left most of its viewers confused, Donnie Darko was a good film that left people happily asking questions and trying to figure out the films many possible explanations. A young filmmaker creating a movie like that on his first try is pretty impressive, so much so that Richard Kelly was billed for a time as the "next big thing".
By sheer contrast, Southland Tales is a huge step down from his previous film. To be honest, I was looking forward to this movie for over a year, and forced myself to be optimistic in the face of constant signs that this film really WAS looking to be the next Xanadu. The initial concept is not all that unique; an ensemble piece set in the final days of the world. The problem is, Mr. Kelly cannot seem to settle on a singular theme or method of storytelling for this film. Most ensemble films have an underlying theme, whether it be familial distance or redemption in "Magnolia", social distance in "Babel", or prejudice in "Crash". Southland Tales doesn't have any kind of organization in the filming of its scenes. Most of the characters don't have any real motivation behind their actions, and nearly every scene hit a kind of dead-end as to where it was trying to go.
Its hard to see where the director was going with many aspect of the film. The much criticized casting of the film, though very interesting on paper, is in reality just as bad as it sounded. Most of the actors look out of place, the acting is some of the worst that I've seen since the trailer for Baby Geniuses. Sarah Michelle Gellar is completely wasted in this film, Dwayne Johnson is improving, though he still needs work, and a project like this is not the best way to do that, and nearly all other actors in this film act as though they are appearing in a vagisil commercial and are wishing they didn't take the audition. Not all actors fail in these roles though; Seann William Scott is surprisingly flexible in the role, though in the first half of the film he looks uncomfortable, Mandy Moore is only in several scenes, but her acting is some of the most natural sounding in the whole thing. For me, the two most shocking transformations in the film were those of Cheri Oteri (who actually has more to do here than most of the leads, and caries some of her lines very well), and in probably the best special effect of the film, Lou Taylor Pucci done up as a ghetto white boy in probably one of the least publicized roles in the film. Justin Timberlake is good only in his narration, though on camera he actually is a rather pointless character.
Gregg Araki made several films in the mid-90s billed as the "een Apocalypse" trilogy. Though there were no actual teens in it from what i remember, these films had many cameos from actors cast out of type, many random moments that didn't seem to fit into the rest of the film, as well as a director that tried to comment on the modern world while placing the story in a setting that could not possible fit into context of our world. Just like Gregg Araki, Richard Kelly makes much use of poetry that has mostly no real connection to the story. Robert Frost and T.S. Elliot are constantly mentioned, as well as visual references to the work of Philip K Dick. Often in the film, this material, as well as others, are so often used it gets really annoying.
I'm not trying to deter anyone from seeing this film. After Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly has a built-in fan base who will see his work no matter how terrible it is. I'm sure some of those people were in the audience at the sold out showing that i saw this film in. Seeing it that way, i knew that this movie was the kind to be laughed AT, not laughed WITH. I just hope that Richard Kelly with learn from this mistake and organize his scripts better, or with enough of these he will lose the few supporters that he has kept over the past few years.
So, now after ALL that, what was the point of it all? 144 minutes of exposition and false hopes for a logical flow to the whole thing, is there meaning to it all? Spoilers for the ending....the world doesn't end, and if it does the film ends before the big event.
By the way, the much hyped scene where Timberlake lip-syncs to The Killers "Things that I've done", is by far one of the most underwhelming scenes in the film. The whole things feels kinda pointless.
Hmmm, and after using quotes from the book of revelations to justify floating ice cream trucks, nuclear baby bowel movements, and prophetic film scripts, is there a final message that the movie has for us? A sort of finality to it all that will make it sit easier for us to sit through? Quoting the film's final line, "Cuz he is a pimp...and pimps, don't kill themselves". Wow Richard, how amazing...like, totally...wow...