Indie Movies

The Brothers Bloom is a new twist, or series of twists on a familiar movie theme: con artists whose schemes are so elaborate that we are never sure until the very end (if then) who is conning whom and what the real story is. Because this kind of story has been done so many times, as in the films of David Mamet, I expected to be less than impressed with it. Yet I found it surprisingly entertaining and original.

Director Rian Johnson, who also directed Brick (the film noir set in a contemporary high school) creates a surreal world in The Brothers Bloom, one that has many elements of atmospheric thrillers from bygone days while apparently taking place in the present. The brothers, the younger and naive Bloom (that’s his first name, played by Adrien Brody) and the more sophisticated and conniving Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) are shown growing up as orphans kicked from one foster home to another in a comical montage sequence. As children, they appear to be refugees from a Dickens novel, dressed in old fashioned dark suits and hats.

Even as adults, they inhabit a strangely noirish world of atmospheric trains and steamer ships while the world around them seems ordinary and contemporary. Bloom wants to escape the “scripted” life of the con man, though Stephen convinces him to take on the proverbial one last job. The mark is the beautiful rich recluse Penelope (Rachel Weisz), who lives in an absurdly anachronistic mansion in, of all places, New Jersey. Predictably, Bloom and Penelope fall in love, but whether this will prevail over the brothers’ lifelong habit of deception we don’t discover till the end. Maximilian Schell, a long time veteran of traditional mysteries, adds to the ambiance as a sinister Russian mobster with an eye patch.

So what makes The Brothers Bloom stand out among the countless other entries in this genre? Mainly in its audacity at blatantly calling attention to its own machinations. This itself has become a popular postmodern gimmick in many contemporary films, and is something that risks annoying or completing alienating the audience. After all, the conventional notion of a story is that we, the reader or viewer, is supposed to get absorbed by the narrative, forgetting that it’s something made up. The Brothers Bloom does not go so far as to identify itself as a movie; rather, it suggests that life itself, especially the lives of grifters, is inevitably scripted.

By making Stephen, who openly calls himself a scriptwriter, unapologetic about his nature makes the whole twistiness of the plot more palatable than the typical movie of this kind. At least that’s the effect it had on this reviewer. I am, in general,
over-saturated on twists and clever endings, where the actual outcome seems arbitrary and whole intent is simply to fool the audience, not a very difficult endeavor when you are the author or director.

The Brothers Bloom turns the very concept of twists into an existentialist issue, and thereby puts a new and fresh spin on it. While its questionable if the brothers in this movie can legitimately be considered existentialist heroes, they do provoke some interesting thoughts about the nature of things like life, love and truth, and that’s more than you get from most movies.

The Brothers Bloom

Overall Rating:

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indie films Brothers Bloom

Simon (James Urbaniak), a shy garbage man, lives with his sister (Parker Posey of Party Girl and Waiting for Guffman, among dozens of other movies) and mother, who both treat him with minimal respect. Into Simon’s life comes Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), a heavy-drinking self-proclaimed great writer who goads Simon into writing an enormous poem. The poem becomes the source of great controversy, proclaimed by some as a great work of art, denounced by others as perverse trash. As…
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indie films parker posey

Parker Posey was the It Girl of independent film in early 1997, the year this film (along with three or four others in which she starred) all played at the Sundance Film Festival. This film was the toughest of the bunch to embrace, based as it was on a self-consciously quirky off-Broadway play about Thanksgiving at the home of a particularly strange family. Oldest son Josh Hamilton comes home from college for the holidays, with fiancée Tori Spelling in tow. What he hasn’t told …
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Two Lovers (2008) is a surprisingly good, low-key indie type romantic drama directed by James Gray. Set in contemporary Brooklyn, it stars Joaquin Phoenix as Leonard, the sensitive and somewhat unstable young man who finds himself in the seemingly enviable position of having to choose between two very attractive women, Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) and Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Two Lovers does a good job of portraying a particular ethnic milieu, that of traditional Jewish business owners -immigrants or children of immigrants- in Brooklyn. The way his parents treat the thirty-ish Leonard might seem a bit of a stereotype -the overprotective Jewish parents. It is a little amusing to see him trying to sneak out of the house before his mother (played by Isabella Rosellini) can interrogate him about his plans. But it is made clear early on that Leonard is disturbed -the opening scene shows him in a half-hearted suicide attempt- which makes his parents’ smothering behavior a little more understandable.

The two women represent opposing directions Leonard can take. Sandra is the daughter of his father’s business partner, and a marriage between the two is practically being arranged, Old World style. Michelle, meanwhile, is a Manhattan girl, albeit one with problems of her own, including a tendency to pop pills. Michelle is also manipulative, stringing Leonard along while she maintains an affair with her married boss.

Everything about Two Lovers is nearly perfect, in a way that it’s easy to overlook because of the ordinariness of the circumstances. All of the characters, as well as the setting feel real, and the story, while simple, has a real poignancy. I can’t say I really liked the ending, but I can’t elaborate on that without giving too much away. Besides, even if I would have preferred a different outcome (not so much in Leonard ending up with one woman over the other, but his apparent overall life direction at the end), it was probably realistic and in that sense in keeping with the film’s authentic spirit.

Two Lovers

indie films

LOOK takes a not very well known cast and a gimmicky plot and turns it into a surprisingly effective and original drama. The gimmick is the now ubiquitous presence of video cameras that film so much of our existence. Look combines this with the by-now familiar device of interconnected lives in a big city (Los Angeles, where so many of these films are set).

Look maintains a compelling pace and the acting is good, even when the characters seem a little exaggerated for the sake of intensifying the story. A sleazy retail store manager, for example, seems to do nothing all day but seduce the female employees. An equally amoral female high school student plots to entrap one of her married teachers. A pair of crazed gunmen, meanwhile, are committing seemingly random acts of violence.

The somewhat over-hyped nature of the characters is matched by their apparent ignorance of the modern age of video cameras. No one seems to have any idea that they are being filmed. Another strange thing about this film is the lack of any real message. At the beginning, we are told the rather sinister fact that the average American is videotaped 200 times in a day. I have no idea if this is accurate, but either way this intro suggests that the film is going to be a critique of this invasion of privacy. Not so. In fact, by the end, the video cameras are, if anything, made to appear more benevolent than creepy. Yet I don’t think that was the intent. This was, rather, an attempt to simply view the chaos of modern life through the eyes of these cameras. Any moral judgments are left to the audience.

The lack of any blatant moralizing about the video phenomenon is perhaps what gives Look its sly quality of being something deeper and more memorable than the sum of its parts. Like the surveillance cameras themselves, the film itself remains coldly detached and simply lets its often absurd characters make fools (or worse) out of themselves. This is one of those films that makes you think about the very nature of them medium you are watching.

Look is the sort of imperfect independent film that I enjoyed more than many superficially superior -but more predictable- Hollywood movies. At the lower end, most mainstream films are little more than sequences of by-the-numbers action; at the higher end, they tend to be filmed versions of stage plays with actors giving resounding performances as they re-enact the familiar themes that hark back to Shakespeare and Greek tragedies.

Look, by contrast, is a truly contemporary film that could only be a film. Despite its imperfections, it makes us look at the world, and its many hidden cameras, a little differently.

indie films

Parker Posey is an actress who, perhaps like no one else, embodies the spirit of contemporary independent films. This, of course, may be debated, depending on your definition of independent films, what kind of films you like and how you feel about Parker Posey and the movie’s she has been in.

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another female star who has been in so many cutting edge and orginal films. For males, I can think of Steve Buscemi, who is another actor whose mere presence in a film practically defines it as “indie.” This brief look at some of my favorite Parker Posey films is by no means comprehensive. Do a search for her name, and you’ll find a surprising number of movies, some not very well known. For someone in her thirties, she already has quite a resume.

Dazed and Confused is one of the more original and indie type teen comedies. Parker Posey does not have a very large role in it, but it’s one of her earlier appearances (her first? I’m not good at movie trivia and am lazy about looking stuff up, sorry). This was directed by one of my favorite indie directors, Richard Linkletter, who I will soon put up a page about. It’s an episodic, comedy-drama about high school students as they party, hang out, attempt to hook up with the opposite sex, get into trouble and so forth. It has some of the same themes as many standard Hollywood teen movies, but it’s way better than that mostly mindless genre.

I have not seen Waiting For Gufmann or the follow-up, Best In Show, both “mockumentaries,” but I am mentioning them in passing because Posey is in them and they have a cult following.

Party Girl is a fun, light movie that does not pretend to be anything beyond what it’s title suggests. I enjoyed it, but this is one that is mainly for her fans.

House of Yes is a weirdly original, very dark comedy that really showcases Posey’s edgy personality. Here she plays a complete nut case, a woman who spends her life playing at being Jacqueline Kennedy. She brings a hapless boyfriend home to her house, which she shares with her equally deranged brother. This is bizarre, funny and completely original.

Clockwatchers may be my favorite movie Posey has ever been in, though its a little obscure. It’s another comedy-drama, this one about the grim lives of temp workers. Clockwatchers, however, has an unexpected depth that you would not guess at by looking at the posters for it or hearing a brief summary of the plot. It is really a modern piece of existentialism, that looks at the basic alienation of the modern workplace and how it makes people feel worthless and anonymous. It accomplishes all this with a superficially slight plot, and really hones in on the meaning (or lack thereof) of everyday life. Another of my favorite indie directors, Jill Sprecher.

Personal Velocity is another very original indie effort, this one telling separate stories about women in a state of transition. Posey only stars in one of them, but all are well done and thought-provoking, especially compared with standard movie fare.

I will mention You’ve Got Mail even though it’s my *least* favorite Parker Posey film. This is almost an anti-indie film, with values that celebrate 1980s yuppie culture. Then, how indie can a movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan be? Even a typically edgy Parker Posey cannot save this from being a basically insipid Hollywood romantic comedy. The title, of course, comes from the annoying (and ungrammatical!) message that is endlessly repeated on America Online to remind subscribers that they have e-mail.

Oh In Ohio is more of a vintage Posey film, one that takes a theme familiar to Hollywood romantic comedies, but treats them in a far more adult and less cliched manner. Posey here is a wife whose frigidity is threatening her marriage to a rather insecure man, a high school biology teacher. Both end up on a quest for fulfillment, sexual and otherwise, that is funny, moving and unapologetically amoral. This is the type of indie film I like for the reason that, at the risk of repeating myself, it doesn’t go off the deep end trying to be arty and original for its own sake, but takes familiar material and puts a new spin on it. I can imagine this very premise being made in a more mainstream way, with a cliched ending that Oh in Ohio has the integrity to avoid.

These are some notable films Parker Posey has been in, with at least a few omissions I’m sure. I look forward to adding to this list as I dig up some more older ones and, hopefully, some new ones as well in the near future.

indie films

What the Bleep Do We Know was a surprise cult favorite in 2004. Last year, an expanded edition, called Down the Rabbit Hole was released, containing new footage and a special feature that allows viewers to play the film in different sequences.

What the Bleep is a fascinating quasi-documentary about recent discoveries in quantum physics and some of the philosophical and metaphysical implications of this new science. This makes the movie controversial, and it has attracted almost as much hostility as praise. To hardcore rationalists, What the Bleep is full of pseudo-science and unproven mystical theories. They especially dislike the presence of J.Z. Knight in the film, who is a channel for Ramtha, allegedly a spirit from ancient Atlantis.

Yes, from a traditional scientific or rationalist point of view, What the Bleep is easy to criticize or make fun of. Yet it could also be argued that this “traditional scientific” point of view is quite obsolete, relying as it does mainly on Newtonian physics. I am not even remotely qualified to discuss the validity of the physics experiments or commentary in What the Bleep. However, I can say that the film is a truly interesting and thought provoking exploration of a certain point of view, one that bridges science and mysticism. What the Bleep is really exploring the metaphysical ideas such as “you create your own reality” and attempting to show how modern physics supports this.

I call it a “quasi” documentary not because of the controversial nature of the science (after all, most documentaries contain debatable opinions or points of view), but because there is also a dramatic element to the film interspersed with the interviews. Marlee Matlin stars as a rather unhappy person who is searching for a more meaningful existence. Her travels through an unamed city (Toronto?) lead her to encounter people and ideas that gradually change her perspective. This adds a dramatic and human quality to the purely theoretical content, though some viewers have complained that it’s distracting to go back and forth between drama and documentary styles. I did not have a problem with it.

I would recommend What the Bleep, or Down the Rabbit Hole to anyone interested in scientific or metaphysical topics, no matter what your point of view. It may change your mind about some things, or it may convince you further of your present point of view. Either way, it can be a worthwhile piece of modern (or postmodern) thought to consider.

indie films

Do you work in an office? If you do, or if you have ever worked in one for any length of time, the environment probably reminds you of the Dilbert comic strip. Absurd rules, meaningless corporate mission statements, dimwitted, self-important managers, and so forth.

Several movies have used the sillier and more depressing aspects of modern work life as a theme. I am dubbing this genre of film Office Noir. I’m sure there are more examples than I am listing here. As I think of them or discover them, I’ll add to the list.

Office Space , directed by Mike Judge, is the best known, and has achieved something of cult status. Starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Anniston, it is a black comedy that, sadly, rings true in its portrayal of office life. I found the best part of it the early scenes that illustrate the overall mindlessness of corporate culture . Several cubicle serfs rebel by concocting a farfetched plot to steal money from the company. Office Space is an often hilarious, sometimes depressing look at a way of life too many people are stuck in.

My favorite of the “office noir” genre, however, is a lesser known film called Clockwatchers . Directed by Jill Sprecher, who also did the brilliant 13 Conversations About One Thing, this movie is more subtle and slow moving than most, which probably accounts for its obscurity. The cast includes Toni Collette, Lisa Kudrow and Indie film favorite Parker Posey. Clockwatchers is about the grim lives of temp workers in a company setting that seems intent on reducing their lives and personalities to that of non-entities. By focusing on small things that make life miserable, and an increasing sense of anomie and paranoia, Clockwatchers captures a kind of existentialist mood that, sadly, is appropriate in many ways in regard to the modern work place.

A more recent addition to the genre is He Was a Quiet Man, directed by Frank Capello and starring Christian Slater (who is almost unrecognizable as a balding, middle-aged nerdy type). This film is the most uneven and ambiguous of the three. It hovers between drama and very dark comedy. Slater plays Bob, the stereotypical repressed, inwardly seething “quiet man” who fantasizes about killing his coworkers. In a bit of movie contrivance that stretches credibility to the limits, on the day he plans to carry out his mission, another killer emerges and Bob ends up shooting him.

Bob ends up being not only a hero, but winning the love of a young woman whom he saved. This film is less about the day-to-day absurdity of office life (though it uses this effectively as a backdrop) and more about the psychological complexity and inner struggles of potentially violent people like Bob.

indie films

Richard Linklater has directed at least as many innovative, cutting edge films that are also highly entertaining as any other director out there. The only other director I can think of who may be his equal in this regard is Jim Jarmusch (who has an equally original but very different style).

Slacker was his first film, an underground tour of Austin, Texas and its quirky inhabitants. I’m not sure if this is a pure documentary or mockumentary, but it is funny and enjoyable all the same. Look for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has appeared in later Linklater efforts as well.

Dazed and Confused is a teen comedy without the mindless quality of most Hollywood versions of this genre. It takes place in the 70s on the last day of high school. It’s an episodic tale of the various kinds of kids who populate any school and their goals, desires, fears and, as the title suggests, confusion.

Before Sunrise is one of the best dialogue-centered movies ever made (among the others I’d include the sequel, Before Sunset, My Dinner With Andre and Coffee and Cigarettes). It’s very difficult to pull of a film with little conventional action, almost all talk, that is not only interesting to watch but doesn’t feel like a play. The fact that it takes place in scenic European cities, and on board trains, doesn’t hurt, nor do the performances by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. The conversations seem real and spontaneous rather than scripted, yet they are intelligent and interesting as well.

Before Sunset is one of those rare sequels that is just as good as the original, no small feat in this case. Delpy and Hawke continue where they left off, rekindling their tentative steps towards romance.

Waking Life is another of my favorite Linklater films. This is an animated exploration of dreams, and it raises some timeless philosophical questions, such as how can we ever be sure what is “real” and what is a dream? Waking Life features the voices of many Linkater favorites such as Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and radical libertarian activist Alex Jones. A fascinating film, worth seeing several times.

Fast Food Nation is based on the book by the same name, though this is a fictionalized version while the book is nonfiction. While this film has a definite and somewhat heavyhanded political message, Linklater’s good sense of dialogue and character save it from being tedious. Still, I would not call this his best film.

A Scanner Darkly is based on Philip K. Dick’s paranoid dystopian world of the near future where the Drug War is the dominant fact of life. This is a strange film, full of ambiguity and not always easy to follow. We are never sure exactly what is going on, but then neither are the characters themselves. Perhaps being familiar with Dick’s work (which I’m not, unfortunately) would make it clearer, but the movie is still interesting and illustrates some of the contradictions and hypocrisy inherent in the war on drugs.

independent film directors, indie films Before Sunrise, Richard Linklater, Waking Life