orson-13

Scott Fitzgerald's romantic portrayal of boy wonder Irving Thalberg (renamed Monroe Stahr), head of MGM production by age 25, but in a power struggle with Louie B. Mayer, studio head, is essentially a romance set against a fierce struggle for business supremacy. Fitzgerald wrote that Thalberg's "race" (Jewishness) was nothing and that the Stahr/Kathleen romance was front and center. In this production lurid and ridiculous Nazis stop a major production because the leading lady (Stahr's dead wife)had been Jewish. The clumsy politicizing of the novel continues with a homeless camp right outside the gates of the glamorous studio, and story threads connecting them.

In short, Fitzgerald's work is being murdered. Handsome Matt Bomer is perfect as Stahr, but they have him looking like a waxworks, with slicked down '20s hair (this is mid-thirties). Kathleen, who steals Stahr's heart because of her resemblance to his late wife, should have been brought in early in the demo, as in novel.Dump the Nazis and political stuff not in the novel and have a good business/conflict story like Cameron Hawleys "Executive Suite," but with a stylish romance added.Plenty of time to make these changes.

This 2005 film was surprisingly good, thanks to very deft and often subtle direction by Emmanuelle Bercot, who co-authored the script. She establishes an intense mood, a dark song of love, that nevertheless remains rooted in ordinary reality, despite occasional histrionics by one or another of its leads. A superb supporting cast (including Noemie Lvovsky) provides human touches and Emmanuelle Seigner, as the adored diva, and Isild Le Besco as the smitten fan, approach one another with a mix of curiosity, fear, and affection. This theme has been done before, notably in Tom DiCillo's sentimental and funny "Delirious," but "Backstage" has a European air, like Chopin's "Tristesse" Etude. Bercot is careful not to let it go over the brink, keeping the mood disciplined and the story within the boundaries of reality, despite the younger woman's often neurotic behavior. A relationship movie that is intriguing.

Patrick Wilson seems born to these sensitive professional male roles that require a rethinking of the smooth path the character is on. Director Tracey Hecht has a firm hand on an interesting and large cast and her script meshes the characters deftly,creating some drama without knocking heads. The film is realistically and interestingly placed within the world of architectural design and construction while at the same time offering an older New York office milieu kind of story. Without being cliché wealthy types, the main characters are likable genteel professionals on the way up, but reconsidering some avenues of personal and professional fulfillment. Amy Smart is charming, Wilson spot on, and Lynn Collins solid. Cinematography is excellent as are sets and locations. It's a truly unpretentious film and so may not be exciting enough for some.

This is a really nice little indie romance from writer/director Jay DiPietro, with two of the most attractive young talents in films - both Weixler and Ritter are irresistibly likable and the film is well written and is photographed (by Frank DeMarco) with wit and polish in a quality production. Ritter's excellent work in "Good Dick," is carried on here and why Weixler is not a bigger Hollywood personality is beyond me (and I've been reviewing movies professionally since 1981). She is smart, has depth, and has a fascinating look. He is an actor with a gift for naturalism. They are very much in sync in this cleverly woven Manhattan tale.

What is remarkable about this meandering documentary is that it contains archival footage before the sinister murder, by radioactive poisoning, of the FSB defector who is the subject of the film. It leaves no doubt that the Putin regime murdered Alexandre Litvinenko in London in a particularly brazen crime. It imparts some warmth to Litvinenko and his wife and a few other dissidents, but the downside is the overwhelmingly dark, and apparently accurate, description it provides of a Russia hopelessly corrupt at the top and hopelessly servile in the mass. It is a disturbing film, made on a shoestring (with a bad musical score tacked together), but the human tragedy at its heart is inescapable.

"Eye of the Beholder" makes little sense in terms of the motivations of the characters (who would fall in love with a brutal killer?) but it makes sense cinematically in a bravura visual display, with a story line strongly reminiscent, in varying degrees, to "Vertigo," "The Conversation," and "Rear Window." Basic acting is good, especially in the lead roles (Ashley Judd and Ewan McGregor), there is an authority to the visual telling of the tale, a weird and entertaining surrealism to the whole thing, and a sense of truth, but dislocated from all norms. Call it a lark, a display, a wild gesture, an earnestly silly escape - it has its moments, but don't expect logic, or a satisfying ending.

Don't be intimidated by Stanley Kubrick's reputation and the finality of this career-ending film - "Eyes Wide Shut" is contrived, tedious and uneventful most of the way. It is a major disappointment, despite superb technical detailing. Ultimately, it is voyeuristic and un-engaging. Film geeks are foaming at the mouth over a movie that will bore the average intelligent moviegoer to tears.

Alexander Payne should jump into the front rank of comedy filmmakers with his second feature, "Election," a wickedly funny, beautifully acted satire of high school life, with a smash performance from Reese Witherspoon as a ruthless goody-two-shoes running for school president. Reversing his Ferris Bueller persona, Matthew Broderick is perfect as the naive (but inwardly corrupt) foil of those around him, playing a dedicated high school teacher whose one mistake unravels his life. Chris Klein, a newcomer, is perfect as a sweet, dumb guy also running for school president. The cinematography of James Glennon ("El Norte"), plus clever editing, including comical freeze frames, makes this a visually witty film that also has a clever script from Payne and Jim Taylor (based on Tom Perrotta's droll novel). The satire is cutting, the composition polished - and this flick is light years ahead of Payne's debut film, "Citizen Ruth." Delicious.