FISHING WITH JOHN SEASON SEVEN

Sorry for the hiatus, but we're back!

It was brought to my attention that on all the previous seasons I never talked about the actual fish that John & his guests search for (an important aspect of the show that I completely ignored), so I'll be correcting that from this point on...

EPISODE 701: NICOLETTA BRASCHI

Braschi, her husband Roberto Benigni & Lurie promoting Down By Law

Relationship/Connection: 

1. Both worked together on Down By Law

2. Lurie did the soundtrack for a film in which Braschi co-starred in (Mystery Train)

Fish Species: Acipenser

Fishing With John is now officially a hit (seven seasons with two more on the way equals success to me). Because of the shows now crossover appeal, Lurie & IFC would end up getting a lot of viewer complaint mail about the lack of women on the show (up to now Claire Denis & Madonna have been the only two female guests). This season would align with the crossover success of Life Is Beautiful - a film co-starring Lurie's personal friend Nicoletta Braschi (wife of season two guest Robert Begnini). This is the perfect opportunity for these old friends to catch up, and for Lurie to get more international exposure for the show by going to Italy (Braschi's homeland). Besides last season's Lars Von Trier episode, which had to take place in Denmark as LvT doesn't fly, this entire show has taken place on North American soil.

EPISODE 702: FOREST WHITAKER

Smoke

Relationship/Connection: 

1. Nothing directly but Lurie did appear (briefly) in the sequel to Smoke (Blue In The Face)

Fish Species: Guadalupe Bass

This one is interesting. Forest Whitaker & John Lurie always seem to "miss" each other in the world of film. Forest Whitaker co-starred in Smoke yet didn't reprise his role in the sequel (Blue In The Face) which featured John Lurie (only a brief scene) as both an actor and music composer. Forest Whitaker worked with Scorsese on The Color Of Money and Lurie would go on to appear in Scorsese's follow-up film The Last Temptation Of Christ. Lurie stopped working with Jim Jarmusch in the 90's, and Forest Whitaker went on to work with Jarmusch in the late 90's (Ghost Dog).
This is probably around the time that Jarmusch & Whitaker started prepping for Ghost Dog, so naturally these guys would have plenty to talk about as they fish for Guadalupe Bass (a fish common in Forest Whitaker's hometown of Texas).

EPISODE 703: BENECIO DEL TORRO & JEFFERY WRIGHT

Basquiat

Relationship/Connection: 

1. Wright & Del Toro appeared in a film about Lurie's friend Jean Michele Basquiat
*Basquiat also features two original Fishing With John alumni (Willem Dafoe & Dennis Hopper)

2. Lurie would go on to score a film co-starring Del Toro (Excess Baggage)
3. Jeffery Wright would go on to work with Lurie's friend Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers & Only Lovers Left Alive)

Fish Species: Porgy

Will John Lurie embrace these two young actors who are on the rise? Or will he use this entire episode to correct them on what they got wrong about both Basquiat's life and the whole down NYC seen shown in Basquiat? You'll have to tune in to find out...

EPISODE 704: JOHN TURTURRO

The Big Lebowski

Relationship/Connection: 

1. nothing directly but both have worked with a lot of the same NYC-based filmmakers & actors. It just makes sense...

Fish Species: Blue Fish

The Big Lebowski would have been around this time so it's the perfect opportunity for Turturro to promote what would go on to become a future cult classic. Both guys are native New Yorkers so I see them travelling to some obscure fishing spot in Queens or Long Island (sidenote - my uncle, another native New Yorker like Lurie, is quite the fisherman so I know a lot of cool fishing spots to go between Queens & Long Island).

I envision Turturro taking this time to ask Lurie why Jim Jarmusch hasn't cast him in anything yet (I don't know about you but I find it odd that Turturro has yet to work with Jarmusch given they both travel in the same circles and have worked with a lot of the same people). John would probably get annoyed at the question because he's sick & tired of being associated with Jim (something that commonly happens in this series). 

EPISODE 705 & 706: TAKESHI KITANO

Fireworks

Relationship/Connection: 

1. Again - nothing directly but it just makes sense

Fish Species: Sanma

I know Takeshi Kitano doesn't need to work in "Hollywood" or English-speaking cinema. He has his own fanbase/following in Japan but I really think Hollywood/English-speaking cinema dropped the ball by not casting him as a villain in more mainstream films over the years. Perhaps his appearance on this now hit show could give him some more exposure to American audiences.

Kitano's homeland of Japan would serve as the perfect backdrop for this two-parter (parts of Japan are obviously big on fishing) yet the language barrier might cause some friction (if I'm not mistaken, Takeshi Kitano speaks little to no English).

A SPECIAL READING OF DO THE RIGHT THING AT THE LINCOLN CENTER

This past Monday I was at a screening of Andrei Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music with my friend Mtume Gant when he got a text from Newlyweeds director Shaka King about reading for the role of "Buggin' Out" in some kind of special intimate reading of Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing at The Lincoln Center. As it turned out, Shaka & Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler, in conjunction with the activist organization; Blackout For Human Rights, were organizing/curating a free screenplay reading of Lee's original script as a way to raise awareness towards some recent high profile humans rights violations caused by public servants/police officers (the choking death of Eric Garner, the shooting of both Oscar Grant & Mike Brown, etc) and to counter the madness of "Black Friday".

On a side note - this Black Friday nonsense is not a good look for Americans. I'll be the first to admit that I can't stand when other countries criticize America/Americans (unless your Canadian or Icelandic, you really have no right to criticize what any country does even if your current track record is OK at the moment. Just sayin'...)

But no other country acts as ridiculous as we do when it comes to consumerism. It's gotten to the point where all the craziness associated with Black Friday (riots, fights, deaths, lining up outside a store in the cold weather at 12am to get a good price on a TV or a blender) has reached the news in other countries, and they're laughing at us. I was in Paris a few years ago and some of my Parisian friends were inquiring about Black Friday with these smirks on their faces almost as if they were saying; "you dummies".
...strangely enough, everyone who attended this reading of Do The Right Thing (myself included) did have to wait outside in the cold for a while in order to get in. But the event was free and more than worth it. Not to sound dramatic but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for both cinephiles & socially conscious folk that are fed up with what's going on in the world today (especially in the U.S.)

And in my opinion, it's much better to wait 90 minutes out in the cold for something like this instead of waiting for a flat screen TV that'll break in a few years...

The intimate reading of DTRT last night was many things. It was yet another deserved (and possibly the most unique) celebration of the 25th anniversary of Spike Lee's film (I'm privileged to have personally attended two of three 25th anniversary events for DTRT here in NYC); it was a mini reunion in that some of the original cast members (John Turturro, Frankie Faizon & Joie Lee) were able to come together again, and, as I already noted, it was an appropriately timed event with all that's been going on concerning police brutality & gun violence in America these days.

Throughout this special raw, lively, rehearsal-like reading of Spike Lee's original script, there were photos & images of recent protests concerning everyone from Oscar Grant up to Mike Brown projected on a large screen behind the actors.

Last night was also a bit of a torch passing on Lee's part as the reading was co-curated/directed by two of the few young/up & coming American filmmakers of color working today (Coogler & King). In fact, many of the actors they've worked with were featured in the reading playing various roles (Michael B. Jordan, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Melanie Diaz, etc). 

Although Spike Lee couldn't be in attendance, he sent along a personal message/dedication for Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis & Danny Aiello Jr.

At this point, I'm sure most people reading this have seen Spike Lee's groundbreaking film. And even if you haven't seen it, I'm sure you've seen it referenced everywhere in mainstream pop culture in the last 25 years from outlets ranging from The Simpsons & SNL to the films of Kevin Smith. But this scripted version of Do The Right Thing had a few slight differences from the movie version - certain lines were changed and/or removed, some scenes were added, and the famous climactic riot at the end had a slightly different outcome. 

The roles of Mookie (Spike Lee) & Tina (Rosie Perez) were played by Michael B. Jordan & Melanie Diaz, respectfully. Turturro & Joie Lee portrayed the roles of Sal (Danny Aiello Sr.) & Mother-Sister (Ruby Dee). Mtume Gant & comedian Godfrey read for the roles of Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) & Mister Señior Love Daddy (Samuel L. Jackson), while a slew of other actors (Gbenga Akinnagbe, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, etc) wore multiple hats portraying various roles throughout the screening (original cast member Frankie Faizon was the only actor to reprise his original role).

For a cold reading (some of the actors who participated in this event never even met prior to it), this thing went off incredibly smooth and the (privileged) audience fully enjoyed themselves. It was almost like getting an inside look at the pre-production/rehearsal/workshopping process that goes in to filmmaking & acting.

As a person of color/cinephile/film critic/somewhat socially conscious person I couldn't think of a better way to spend a post-thanksgiving evening (I'm not even sure if the reading was even filmed which makes this even more special in this viral/instant world we live in)

DOUBLE FEATURE: PRINCE AVALANCHE & BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO

These two films may not have much in common to you all but to me they share a few connections. Both Prince Avalanche & Berberian Sound Studio represent "the return" of two separate groups of artists who I love/loved very much. With Prince Avalanche, this was a return to form for director David Gordon Green & his cinematographer; Tim Orr, while Bereberian Sound Studio represented Broadcast's return to recording music after the passing of their lead singer. Both films are also about loneliness among men to a certain extent, and lets also not forget these were both released last year and are set in the past...

PRINCE AVALANCHE

Immediately after posting on facebook about how pleased I was with Prince Avalanche, PINNLAND EMPIRE contributor Matt Reddick's girlfriend; Catalina, noted the film's serious bromantic quality which brought me to the realization that David Gordon Green doesn't get enough recognition for his exploration into the world of male bonding. This lack of recognition is partially his fault due to his last two films being quite bad which turned a lot of people off to his work (myself included). But prior to Your Highness & The Sitter almost every film he made dealt with friendships between males of various ages (All The Real Girls, George Washington & Pineapple Express) or the bond between brothers (Undertow). Hell, even Your Highness is about bonding between two brothers when you really think about it.

Prince Avalanche fits right in with the rest of Green's filmography more than anything he's done in quite some time.

No matter how Malick-ian & artsy Green's past work was, he always expressed the desire to want to make a comedy since he first started making movies (refer to his Charlie Rose Interview back in 2000). It's just his previous two comedies were awful. With Prince Avalanche it seems like he's found a balance. On one hand he went back to the beautiful sprawling cinema he was once known for over a decade ago while at the same time still holding on to the comedic elements that he's been exploring for the last six years.
Prince Avalanche feels like a mixture of All The Real Girls and Pineapple Express (Gordon's one & only successful comedy in my opinion). Paul Rudd & Emile Hirsch's chemistry is pretty similar to Rogen & Franco - the grumpy cynic (Rogen/Rudd) constantly fussing at the dopey idiot (Franco/Hirsch) which is a relationship that dates back to the first comedic duos of stage. And certain moments in Prince Avalanche felt like extensions (or deleted moments) from All The Real Girls. There's an exchange of dialogue between Paul Rudd & Emile Hirsch in Prince Avalanche that reminded of a quote Shea Whigham delivers to Paul Schnieder in All The Real Girls...

Lance (Emile Hirsch): At least I don't go around thinking I'm a great dancer when I actually stink at dancing

Alvin (Paul Rudd): You've never even seen me dance

Lance: I've seen you do a lot of things when you don't think I'm looking

 - Prince Avalanche

Tip (Shea Whigham): No, we ain't friends no more! ...YOU AIN'T EVEN IN MY TOP 10! 

-All The Real Girls

You have to remember that both scenes I just quoted involve grown men. There's something incredibly funny, sad & intriguing about that. Its like David Gordon Green knows there's this level of immaturity that men will never lose no matter how much we age.
When I watch how grown men interact with one another in Green's work I'm sometimes reminded of John Cassavetes, Peter Falk & Ben Gazzara in Husbands...

BRO-ING OUT: MALE BONDING IN THE CINEMA OF DAVID GORDON GREEN...

George Washington (2000)

Undertow (2004)

Pineapple Express (2009)

Prince Avalanche (2013)

I have to give Green credit for crafting a solid film centered around two traditionally frustrating cinematic archetypes: "the idiot" (Emile Hirsch) and "the unpleasant cynic" (Paul Rudd). But in the case of Prince Avalanche, Green twists the screws a little bit and makes Hirsch's idiot character ("Lance") not only stupid but also without much of a conscience (at one point in the film he openly brags about sleeping with his best friend's girlfriend without fully realizing how fucked that is). And Paul Rudd's "Alvin" is one of those unpleasant people who only knows how to communicate through negativity and is just someone you don't want to be around for more than 20 minutes (he's easily agitated for no good reason, prefers to be depressed & lonely and he almost never smiles). And with the exception of two other supporting characters who show up sparingly, Alvin & Lance are all we have to deal with for pretty much the entire film.

Set in the late 80's, Prince Avalanche (a loose remake of the 2011 Icelandic film; Either Way) is the story of Alvin (Rudd) & Lance (Hirsch) - two road workers at odds with each other doing repair to a highway that's been severely damaged by a massive flash fire. Their job, which pretty much consists of painting the yellow divider lines in the middle of a long stretch of highway, forces Alvin & Lance to be away from home for days at a time. Alvin is currently going through a rough break up with his ex, who just so happens to be Lance's sister. As I already said, Alvin is a pretty unhappy guy with no friends who isolates himself from the world (we get the sense he's always been a pretty negative person which is what led to his break up) while Lance is a dopey guy in his early 20's more concerned with women and dreams of leaving his small town for "the big city". As the story progresses, tension in each of their separate personal lives comes to a head along with their relationship with each other. Do they work things out and become buddies or not?
In my opinion, David Gordon Green does Either Way justice with his remake. He maintains the same sparse ambiance and uses the same type of awkward adult humor. Hirsch & Rudd even deliver some of the same dialogue from Either Way line for line a couple of times.
I don't know if I'd label this a dark comedy like so many others have been so quick to do. While Prince Avalanche has plenty of funny moments, there's also just as many serious and/or touching moments that balance everything out making this David Gordon Green's first true dramedy (there's a difference between the two genres). Paul Rudd has worked outside of comedy in the past but this is probably the best non outright comedic performance he's ever given (he really channeled his performance from the 2007 dramedy; Diggers).

Visually, Prince Avalanche is the best looking thing Tim Orr has shot for Green since All The Real Girls. Once again, Orr makes rural/nowhere U.S.A. look nice & calm. There's also a couple of editing moments that are very reminiscent of recent Terrence Malick (specifically The New World & To The Wonder) which was ultimately what showed me that Green had returned to his old style while at the same time still growing and trying out new things as a filmmaker (for those who only started following his post-Pineapple Express work, Green was very much influenced by Malick in the first half of his career)

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO

Not since Judgement Night (1993) had I been more initially excited about an original soundtrack more than the actual film the soundtrack was intended for. Ever since the untimely passing of Broadcast's lead singer Trish Keenan, I wondered if one of my all time favorite bands would call it quits. Even though they've experimented with instrumental music in the past (Microtronics 1& 2) it was Keenan's voice that really made them so great. But the score they put together for Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio is proof that the remaining members can still make great music even without Keenan's presence (I sincerely hope they don't ever try to find a new lead vocalist because it just wouldn't be the same).

If you refer to my review of 12 Years A Slave you'll recall my growing annoyance with those Hans Zimmer/Howard Shore-style film scores. If I see a slave being brutally beaten on screen (like Chewital Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave) I don't need the heavy handed string music blasted directly in to my ear to remind me that I should feel sad. I know how and what to feel without the added music. Thankfully quite a few filmmakers in 2013 turned to contemporary musicians for more ambient/non-traditional music than any recent year I can think. The Place Beyond The Pines (Mike Patton), Only God Forgives (Cliff Martinez), Berberian Sound Studios (Broadcast), etc. and even though Shane Caruth isn't on the same level as the aforementioned musicians, his work on Upstream Color was great too. Its not like this is some new phenomena. Almost all of Jim Jarmusch's films are scored by contemporary musicians (Tom Waits, John Lurie, Rza & Neil Young), Claire Denis practically works exclusively with various combinations of The Tindersticks lineup and Olivier Assayas has used Sonic Youth a couple of times. But 2013 seemed to be a mini-explosion of contemporary musicians scoring films.

Broadcast's sound is perfect for cinema. They often incorporate visuals in to their live performances and their retro sound is reminiscent of old 60's films like Blow-up which, coincidentally, is a film that had an obvious influence on Berberian Sound Studio.

I know it seems strange that I spent a good portion of 2013 listening to a film score without seeing the film but I was so disappointed by a lot of what I saw last year that I thought Berberian Sound Studio would be just another letdown. The reason I finally got around to watching it is because it landed on a few "best of..." lists in the contributors section of my end of the year wrap-up and its been compared to classic works like The Conversation & Blowout..
After finally watching this (courtesy of Netflix Instant) it makes sense that Berberian Sound Studio is being compared too and group in with The Conversation & Blowout by just about every movie critic out there. All three films are neo-noirs/mysteries about sound engineers in situations that get way out of hand. But to me, Berberian Sound Studio also feels like a mixture of Barton Fink & Roman Coppola's underrated CQ. If you're familiar with either of those films then you know that they're also heavily influenced works. With Barton Fink you have the obvious Eraserhead influence, while CQ is an homage to everything from Roger Corman B-movies & Italian horror films (like in Berberian Sound Studio) to European art house. Like Black Dynamite or Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive & Only God Forgives, Berberian Sound Studio is another retro "movie mixtapes"/movie collage, although slightly less obvious with the movie references...

Berberian Sound Studio / Barton Fink

In Berberian Sound Studios, Toby Jones plays "Gilderoy" - a British sound engineer hired to work on the post-production of a low budget Italian giallo film ("The Equestrian Vortex") in the vein of the style of Mario Bava or Dario Argento. The minute Gilderoy arrives at the Italian movie studio (Bereberian Sound Studio) we realize that he's out of his element. His timid nature causes him to be bullied around by the loud, boisterous, passionate Italians he's working alongside, there's clearly some inner turmoil between the cast & crew which he's now in the middle of, someone is trying to sabotage the film and it's also heavily implied that Glideroy has never worked on a low budget horror movie before. This immediately reminded me of the basic plot to Barton Fink - an off-Broadway New York City playwright (John Turturro) is hired to come out to "Hollyweird" to write b-movie screenplays. And the idea of a foreigner going over to another country to work on the post production of a sabotaged European B-movie is part of the basic plot to CQ. And like CQ, Berberian Sound Studio is a film within a film that's also about the making of a film that schools the audience on the little tricks that went on behind the scenes in order make a cheap movie come to life.
Through the course of the film Gilderoy becomes more & more uncomfortable working at Berberian Sound Studio and he starts to sense that the same mysterious force that's trying to sabotage the film hes working on is also out to sabotage him. There's no visible or immediate threat (outside of the Italians who dislike him for no legitimate reason) but you do start to feel that there's something creepy out to get him. ...Or is there?
Berberian Sound Studio is the kind of psychological thriller in the vein of Fear X or The Tenant where the longer you watch the more you start to question if our main character is really in trouble or slowly going insane. This is the part of the story that I thought got wrapped up a little too quickly. In the last 20 minutes Peter Strickland does a Demonlover/Mulholland Drive to the plot and we're given a sudden twist that felt hurried & rushed. This is a very entertaining film but parts of it felt kind of empty. There seemed to be more effort put in to the style and ambiance and less in to the story. I thought the sudden plot twist/split personality angle was unnecessary. Stirckland could have kept things more straightforward/based in reality like Blowout or The Conversation which I found to be a lot more effective in the end. I don't mean to insult Berberian Sound Studio because, again, I did enjoy it overall, but part of it felt like Peter Strickland couldn't come up with a good enough ending so he threw a hail mary and just decided to make things surreal & Lynchian at the last minute.
This makes the Coen Brothers influence even more evident given that's a common thing they love to do when they cant end a film. SNAP!

I was surprised to learn that director Peter Strickland wasn't a music video director prior to becoming a filmmaker given his emphasis on style over plot which is a trait many music video-turned movie directors have (Anton Corbijn, Mark Romenak, Jonathan Glazer, etc). Even David Fincher, Michel Gondry & Spike Jonze (who all got their start making music videos) get caught up in that from time to time. I think if Peter Strickland hooked up with a talented screenwriter he'd find that one key element that's missing.
But with all that being said, I still highly recommend this for anyone who loves old Italian horror films, psychological thrillers or Roman Polanski. Actually, this is a role I could see Roman Polanski playing. Toby Jones' performance, which is really good, did remind me of Polanski in The Tenant in certain parts.
No matter how empty some of the story may be, this is the kind film that's bound to bring up the kind of discussion brought on by films like Mulholland Drive, 3 Women, Black Swan, Persona, The Tenant or any other film that deals with split personalities, pressure, broken dreams, loneliness, being consumed by the art you create or all of the above.

THE WHOLE HISTORY OF MY LIFE PART TWO: FEAR X (The Pink Smoke)

Read part two of what's become a therapeutic writing experience for me over at The Pink Smoke...

Click link: The Whole History Of My Life Part Two: Fear X

FEAR X: MISUNDERSTOOD MASTERPIECE

***MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY MUCH MORE IN-DEPTH WRITE-UP ON FEAR X OVER AT THE PINK SMOKE CLICKING HERE***

'Fear X' is part of a group of films that I consider to be "misunderstood masterpieces". Not to be
confused with underrated.  Others include; 'Trouble Everyday', Steven Soderbergh's 'Solaris' remake, 'Claire Dolan' (wow @ Vincent D'noffrio's performance in that) and 'Ghost Dog'. These are films directed by great directors that received either bad or mixed reviews upon their initial release, but are finally starting to getting the recognition they deserve now. Nicolas Refn is an interesting director. The John Cassavetes-style 'Pusher' and the Tarkovsky-esque 'Valhalla Rising' are probably his best films. Even his movies that I think are a bit problematic like 'Bronson' or the 2nd & 3rd 'Pusher' movies still have somee redeeming qualities. They cant just be totally written off as "bad". And to be honest, my opinion of 'Bronson' seems to be in the minority. Most people like that movie. It rightfully draws (some) comparison to Kubrick, specifically Clockwork Orange so its understandable why 'Bronson' is slowly turning in to one of the new cult-ish movies of this era.
'Fear X' is Nicholas Refn's most peculiar film. People who have seen this movie look at me like I'm crazy when i tell them how much i love it. After hitting the festival circuit in 2003 and ultimately going straight to DVD, this movie pretty much fell in to obscurity. False advertising played a huge part in people's disliking of it. Ads for it were ran in fangoria magazine (which makes no fucking sense), so people were expecting some kind of a horror/thriller movie. 'Fear X' does fall in to the 'thriller' category, but its not your typical thriller. Another thing about this movie was that it was the first and only screenplay written by 'Requiem for a Dream' author; Hubert Shelby Jr, so naturally people assumed 'Fear X' would be similar (lol, they couldn't have been more wrong).
The movie still sparked a few people's interest due to John Turturro being in it and Brian Eno working on the soundtrack. But even those two elements couldn't save 'Fear X'. I first discovered this movie working at a video store in 2004. I don't think any of the 3 people who rented it had one nice thing to say upon returning. Even today, with more people who are starting to come to terms with the fact that this movie isn't as bad as people make it out to be, many people still haven't come around. LOL just look at some of the comments this movie gets on crackle.com where you can watch it for free... (i realize this doesn't help my case, but i found it to be very funny)

If you're a fan of neo-noir, i really don't understand how you cant like this movie (no matter how "slow" it may be). Its one of the best films to come out of that genre in recent years. I consider 'Fear X' to be on par with other great recent noir films like; 'Memento' and 'Irreversible'. And John Turturro's performance is just as powerful as Guy Pierce or Vincent Cassell. Coincidentally, all three actors play similar characters with the same motivation: an ordinary man trying to find the person responsible for hurting or killing their wife. Actually, 'Fear X' and Andrea Arnold's 'Red Road' (another movie i always speak highly of, but no one ever seems to realize its true brilliance except me) share a lot similarities now that i think about it. With the exception of the genders being reversed, both movies involve characters working as a security guard trying to find the person who killed their spouse by investigating old security tapes where they believe the crime was captured. Both movies are extremely atmospheric, have similar music and are shot with minimal light in many scenes. A big difference between the two films however is that 'Red Road' got a lot more praise than 'Fear X'. And on a side note, anyone who's a fan of Andrea Arnold's most recent feature; 'Fish Tank' (which came out on criterion 2 months ago), should really check out 'Red Road'. Its a much better movie as far as I'm concerned.

FEAR X:

RED ROAD:

Acting is another unique element about this movie. I already mentioned John Turturro's performance, but the supporting cast does an excellent job as well. In 'Fear X', the actors create a real paranoid vibe. All of the other characters in the movie look suspicious, creepy or like they have something to hide. This is good for a noir film, because it adds to the mystery and makes everyone a suspect. A lot of the performances in the actors are delivered through the expressions on their faces. Almost anyone that John Turturro comes in contact with in the movie has this strange, almost unspoken aggression. They all have a stone face. I'm not even sure anyone smiles in the movie. One scene in particular where Turturro is being questioned by the police highlights this well. Almost at the drop of a hat, the policeman questioning him start to act a bit mysterious and a little off. Of all the supporting characters, James Remar, the man we're eventually lead to believe is the person who killed Turturro's wife, gives the best performance. You can tell he knows something and is a suspicious person (once again, he delivers a lot of the performance on his face), but you get that he's not the "villain" that we're used to in most conventional movies. In fact, James Remars character makes me wish the movie was a lot longer, because i think they should have delved in to him a little more. It may take a few views to realize how well the acting is, but if you watch it enough times, you'll get it. The performances are "cold". Some may mistake the acting as "flat", but that's an incorrect label.

If you don't like slow movies or open endings, which is somewhat understandable, this movie may not be for you. Although as far as I'm concerned, the mystery of 'Fear X' is not so open ended as people make it out to be. I think the movie is clearly solved as the credits role (similar to Michael Haneke's masterpiece; 'Cache'). You just have to pay attention. If you like any of the movies i mentioned earlier (irreversible, memento or red road), or even David Lynch's noir stuff like; 'Lost Highway', 'Mulholland Drive' or 'Twin Peaks', you'll dig 'Fear X'.