For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Solitary Man
The Impression:
Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse
Eisenberg in a film produced by Steven Soderbergh?
Excitement was burbling a bit.
The Reality:
You know, Solitary Man isn't a great
film. The story of Ben Kalmen, a fallen car-salesman
superstar, who spends his hours seducing women and spewing
psychological blather is a simple character piece done well.
It
isn't flashy or visually outstanding, but it is, in such
stark contrast to the films I've been seeing lately, a well
put together, original piece of cinema. It
follows a basic story arc of a defeated man sinking lower
and lower and lower, until he's forced in to a strange
situation, but what plays well in this film, is the fact
that Ben Kalmen places himself, time and time again in to
these moronic situations. He's
self-destructive, but enjoyably so, and Kappelman and Levien
do a stellar job of balancing his character. As
much of an asshole as he is (a sort of odd cross between
Gordan Gekko and Wonder Boys Grady Tripp) we as an audience
like him. We
almost cheer him along as he stumbles deeper and deeper in
to the shit pile. I
rooted for Mr. Kalmen, even as I sort of despised him, and
that, to me, is the sign of a well crafted leading man.
The cast, across the board, is excellent, and there is a
show-stopping scene from Mary-Louise Parker as a lover
rightfully scorned, that floored me.
The Lesson:
Choose your movies carefully, Noah. If
all of them were as good as this, I'd be a happy film
reviewer.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
- -
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