dj-58

If there has ever been a movie with worse acting, I have not seen it. And I don't think it's possible. The only thing this "film" is good for is if you build some kind of drinking game around it: drunk people might be amused; sober people will be appalled. A high school student with an iPhone and untalented friends could have made a better movie. I watched it because of F. Murray Abraham's name. Which makes me think that F. Murray and I have something in common. We both have experiences in our past which make us cringe, They might, perhaps, have had a good script. It's actually not terrible. In the hands of a qualified director this might -- might -- have been a good film. So I can see how F. Murray or his agent could have read the script and given this a go, without any idea of how bad the other actors might be, or how badly directed the film would be. But I wouldn't have wanted to be that agent when F.Murray saw the finished project!!!

The plot is a cliché, and the acting is barely B-movie serviceable, but the film is an interesting look at the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. The film features a C-47 (DC-3) on skis, an Air Force glider (similar to those used at the Normandy landings in WWII), and the rarely seen F-82 Twin Mustang. Incidentally, the aircraft used in the film indicate that principal photography must have taken place well before the film's 1955 release; the Air Force retired its very last F-82 in June, 1953, and the piston-powered B-36 bombers featured in the melodramatic formation flight that closes the film were old news by the mid-1950's, by which time jet powered B-52 had begun to replace them.

Rent this movie for the special features! Now, this IS the single worst movie I have ever seen; it looks like it was made with a home camcorder, the acting is terrible, the plot is stupid, the characters are hollow, the script is inane, and the sex is gratuitous and poorly done. But the compelling reason to rent this DVD are the actor interviews in the Special Features, which are like a Christopher Guest movie come to life. The "actors" self-serious comments about their "work" are hilarious, and truly worth the rental. Their unintentionally deadpan delivery, filled with "ums" and pauses, after which they completely contradict the inane statement that came before, are Christopher Guest at his best, only they are real. For anyone who thinks Mr. Guest just makes his characters up, rent this movie. True, the interviews are funnier if you have watched the movie, but that would be such a painful task that you can watch the bonus material by itself.

This film is beautifully written, photographed, and acted. The fluidity with which the film moves between memory and reenactment is astounding and almost dreamlike. In lesser skilled hands, this concept could easily have seemed trite or silly; in Lilies, it is innovative and masterful.

While it is wonderful to see a film in which the gay characters' sexuality is merely incidental to the story (in other words, a "regular movie" in which the characters just happen to be gay), this aspect is about the only redeeming feature of the film. (The only other highlights are the incredibly realistic and effective special effects involving gunshot wounds). Otherwise, the acting is rather wooden and formulaic; the cinematography is somewhat amateurish (although there are a few creative and ambitious shots); and the lighting are sound are just plain awful. Moreover, the screenplay is not especially creative, even somewhat trite, and contains a number of hard-to-believe plot elements. All in all, the film is a great idea but a poor execution.

In addition to its excellent cinematic qualities (including an intelligent and powerful script), this heartbreaking film's message about the depth of a gay father's love for his child is a moving and important statement.