“I could seduce your wife.”

The Leading Man is a tasty little drama set in London and centered on the marriage of playwright Felix Webb (Lambert Wilson). As the film begins, Webb is helping cast roles for his new play, and he’s secretly having a passionate affair with young talented actress Hilary Rule (Thandie Newton). Meanwhile, his neglected wife Elena (Anna Galiena) sniffs something’s afoot, and this results in increased tension at home while Felix juggles the demands of wife, mistress and new play.

Enter American actor Robin Grange (Jon Bon Jovi). He’s left Hollywood with the intention of working in theatre, but he still draws crowds of fans, autograph seekers, and potential groupies. His good looks, charisma and direct approach to women prove to be a deadly combination, and the women in the cast speculate over his talent as a bedmate. Hilary, however, isn’t interested in Robin. She’s too busy pressuring Felix to leave his wife.

Robin is a complex character. He appears to be just another pretty face, but it’s not long before he makes it clear to Felix that he knows about the affair with Hilary. Dropping hints here and there, Robin seems to be playing a strange game of cat-and-mouse. And then Robin proposes an unexpected solution. He suggests helping Felix by seducing Elena. Asserting that this is the best solution for everyone, Robin smoothly argues the case for seduction stating that a love affair will give Felix some needed space, restore Elena’s confidence and show her that Felix isn’t so necessary after all.

This bizarre turn of events is intriguing. After all, the role of cuckolded husband isn’t exactly enviable. Even adulterous husbands generally don’t want some other man sniffing around the old homestead. But while Felix is at first appalled by Robin’s suggestion, he concedes to the strategy.

The Leading Man reminds me of the domestic politics of a Woody Allen film, but without the comedy–although there are elements of dark humour. The film works so well largely due to the ambiguity of Robin’s motives. Is he malicious or ambitious? Is he truly interested in Elena, or is he out for what he can get? Ultimately this decision is wisely left up to the audience.

I read some criticisms of Jon Bon Jovi’s performance, and this seems unfair. He did an excellent job as the amoral, slippery Hollywood actor who possesses amazing powers of duplicity. This entertaining drama is from director John Duigan.

“I would like you, because you are very attractive, to serve me.”

I recently joined the Film Movement’s DVD of the month club. It’s a great idea. You subscribe for a specific amount of time, and then Film Movement sends a DVD a month–a foreign or independent film. Where I live, the local cinema only plays 10 shades of Disney or the latest Hollywood extravaganza. So for me, signing up for a monthly new release (not yet available commercially) that costs less than the price of a couple of cinema tickets is a wonderful deal. Plus throw into the pot the idea that I like the titles chosen by the Film Movement.

So this brings me to Arranged. This would not have been a film I would have selected because it sounds so clichéd, but it arrived in my letterbox, and since I paid for it, I decided to get my money’s worth and watch it. I’m happy to say that Arranged is a surprisingly sweet and refreshing film that centers on the unlikely friendship between two young New York teachers–an orthodox Jew and a Muslim.

See what I mean about sounding clichéd? But in spite of this, the film manages to rise above clichés, and instead the film offers a different perspective while maintaining freshness and a simple realism.

Written and directed by Diane Crespo and Stefan C. Schaefer, the story revolves around orthodox Jew Rochel (Zoe Lister Jones) and Syrian Muslim, Nasira (Francis Benhamou). They meet in a teacher’s training session where they both stick out as different from the rest of the teachers. While the other teachers introduce themselves with juicy, and usually inappropriate icebreakers, both Rochel and Nasira have nothing grimy to share. They both live at home with their loving, religious families and neither girl has a boyfriend.

Rochel and Nasira don’t fit in with the other teachers, and even though they may have very different religions, they share common values. While everyone else (workmates and family members) is uncomfortable with Rochel and Nasira’s friendship, the two young girls are increasingly drawn to each other for moral support.

Both Rochel and Nasira are marriageable age, and their families begin searches for suitable husbands. Each family has its own approach to the idea of arranged marriage. While Rochel’s orthodox Jew mother takes the initiative, Nasira’s father lines up suitable men for his daughter. Arranged has its moments of gentle humour which are found in the preposterous dates forced upon Rochel. It’s interesting to see that Nasira’s Muslim family is a bit more open to listening to their daughter while Rochel’s mother ratchets up the guilt to ensure her daughter’s cooperation.

Arranged is so enjoyable and works mainly because the relationship between Rochel and Nasira makes sense. The audience understands this perfectly, even though fellow workmates and family don’t understand at all. As for characters–some were very believable–especially the school administrator–a woman who sees Rochel and Nasira as suffering from mental shackles, and she is unable to see that they have been raised in loving environments and both Rochel and Nasira simply want to replicate that. Interestingly enough, Rochel’s rebellion occurs when she senses that she won’t get what her parents have (a loving marriage), but instead is pressured to compromise in choosing a husband.

The film is overly optimistic. The schoolchildren are angelic and cooperative, the husbands dashing and kind. To my jaundiced eye, I seriously doubt that all arranged marriages end as happily as the film depicts them, but I do think the film’s emphasis on shared values–in marriage and in friendship–is spot on.

For more on Film Movement: www.filmmovement.com

“See the real paradise.”

The film Picture Bride is a simple story of Riyo (Youki Kudoh), a young Japanese girl who travels to Hawaii in the early 1900s to meet her new husband, Matsuji (Akira Takayama). This is an arranged marriage, and both parties are required to show the photographs they have of each other to the authorities as a means of identification. Unfortunately, Matsuji’s photo is about 20 years old, and Riyo is shocked when she meets her husband for the first time. While the wedding goes on as planned–Riyo doesn’t actually have much choice here–the marriage begins on a very shaky footing.

Riyo’s frail appearance belies her strong, determined character. From the moment she arrives at the sugar plantation where she is to work as a field labourer, she decides to start saving money to pay back her husband and eventually return to Japan–and this isn’t easy earning just pennies a day from back-breaking labour. Riyo meets and befriends Kana (Tamlyn Tomita) who earns extra money by taking in laundry. Riyo soon assists Kana and starts hoarding money for the trip home. Their friendship ameliorates Riyo’s loneliness but does little to improve relations with the well-meaning, kind Matsuji.

Apparently, more than 20,000 women travelled to Hawaii as ‘picture brides.’ Riyo’s story is just one of many, but no doubt, her experiences mirror the experience of picture brides in general. Conditions in the sugar cane fields were harsh and sometimes hazardous, but the film also emphasizes that a racial hierarchy exists in the sugar plantation–as badly as the Japanese were treated by the European overseers, Filipinos appear to be treated even worse. It seems ironic at best that thousands of people found themselves as dis-enfranchised labourers in a part of the world that is so idyllic. Living in paradise does not bring happiness or even contentment; happiness is an inner state, and the story illustrates this effectively. Fans of Toshiro Mifune will be pleased to note that he makes a brief appearance as a travelling entertainer. The film includes many scenes of breathtaking beauty, but by far the most memorable is the scene in which paper lanterns are placed on the river to remember the dead. Directed by Kayo Hatta.

“Love…I don’t even know how you spell it.”

“I’ll tell him things he won’t be able to forget and believe me, what I can’t invent I’ll leave to his imagination. “
“When I get finished talking, if he ever touches you, he’ll wash his hands. “
“You toss around affection as though it was in mass production.”
“Success and money–that’s what runs the world.”

Extremely successful and popular Broadway stage comedienne Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) has enjoyed a long successful partnership with producer Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames). At one time, their relationship was more than just professional, and when the film The Velvet Touch begins, Valerie wants to break off her relationship with Gordon. There are two reasons for her decision: she’s going to marry straight-arrow architect Michael Morrell (Leo Genn) and she wants to shed her old life (and Gordon) in the process. As part of her metamorphosis, Val intends to drop her sharp, sarcastic comedienne persona and accept the serious role of Hedda Gabler with a new producer at the helm.

It’s closing night for latest popular play, and Valerie thinks it’s the perfect time to confront Gordon and announce her decision to put an end to their partnership. But the working arrangement between Gordon and Valerie is extremely successful and lucrative, plus Gordon, who’s acted as a sort of Svengali to Valerie, still holds a torch for his leading lady. An ugly scene takes place with Gordon threatening blackmail, and in a moment of blind anguish, Valerie kills Gordon.

Just how Valerie copes with her guilt is the subject of this film. The story flashes back to when she met Morrell and how he managed to break through her brittle, practiced exterior to the woman underneath. The film is loaded with ironies–including the fact that Valerie, in a desperate bid to hide the truth from her fiance, wants him to believe that she’s every bit as good as he thinks she is. The wonderful Sidney Greenstreet appears as Captain Danbury, the sagacious detective assigned to the case, and Claire Trevor stars as Marian Webster, a woman who plays second fiddle to Valerie both on and off the stage. Some of the film’s best scenes occur between these two actresses who square off every chance they get, and the words they exchange are loaded with spiteful double meaning. As an aside, pay attention to Leon Ames’s hair. In The Velvet Touch, it’s combed to give him a rakish, slightly untrustworthy air, and it works. Directed by Jack Gage.

The Bono of Lahore

Man Push Cart, from director Ramin Bahrani is a simple tale heavy on gritty realism that portrays the daily life of Pakistani immigrant, Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi). Ahmad’s grueling routine begins in the early hours on the dark streets of New York as he collects his food cart stored in a warehouse. He then drags the cart through traffic until he reaches his regular corner, and here he sells bagels, coffee, cream cheese and soft drinks. At the end of the day, he hauls the cart back, returns to his hovel of a room, sleeps a few hours, and the next day begins the process all over again.

Ahmad’s Sisyphus routine is supposed to have a goal. He makes payments on his cart with the idea in mind that one day he’ll own it free and clear, and no doubt linked with that is the idea that he’ll be an independent businessman and own a piece of the pie. Perhaps Ahmad is thinking that once the cart is paid, an uphill climb to success will replace the monotonous, endless grind that seems to get him nowhere.

Ahmad is a widower with a small son and hostile in-laws who blame him for his wife’s death. We don’t really know what happened to Ahmad’s wife, but over time, we discover that Ahmad was a famous pop star in Pakistan. In New York, his relationships are limited to casual greetings called out to fellow workers or customers, and at times his alienation seems to be something he chooses. During the course of the film, a few opportunities land in Ahmad’s direction. There’s the possibility of a romance with a young Spanish girl, Noemi (Leticia Dolera) and fellow Pakistani, Mohammed (Charles Daniel Sandoval) offers Ahmad some extra work.

Not a great deal happens in the film, but that doesn’t stop Man Push Cart from being a small masterpiece of detail and characterization. The plot flirts with elements of hope and love, but lands squarely on reality and realism; there are no Hollywood tricks here–just craftsmanship and an eloquent attention to detail.

The Art of Seduction-Beware the man who quotes poetry!

In Unfaithful Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) is married to busy, distracted husband, Edward (Richard Gere). He owns a security company which occupies a great deal of his time, and she is the housewife who maintains the beautiful house in the country, and juggles such stressful issues as fundraising, and car-pooling their only child.

On a shopping expedition in New York, circumstances lead Connie to bump into Paul Martel–literally. He is young, looks like a male model, and cashing in on his French accent, he invites Connie into his bachelor lair. Connie is a bit naive–that’s obvious, but even she cannot completely ignore the flagrant messages Paul sends her way. Paul, who claims to be a bookseller, offers to give Connie a small souvenir of their chance encounter. When he directs Connie to a particular book shelf, to a specific book, gives her the page number to turn to, and then starts quoting poetry, it’s quite clear that Paul isn’t quite the innocuous bookseller he claims to be, but rather he is a practiced seducer. But it’s too much too fast, and Connie exits–runs is a closer description.

Connie can’t forget Paul, and soon thoughts of his physicality invade her everyday domestic life. Connie returns to Paul with some flimsy pretense to explain their renewed contact. A game of cat and mouse ensues, and by degrees, Connie begins her slippery slide to adultery. She is too tantalized and mesmerised by Paul to think of little else, ignores all the warning signs, and doesn’t stop to seriously consider the consequences of her actions. Soon it becomes obvious to her husband (his area of expertise is security, remember) that Connie is distracted by something–or someone.

This was the best role I have ever seen Richard Gere play, and Diane Lane (one of my favourites) was simply incredible. This film really does a spectacular job of laying the foundations of human nature with the three main characters, Edward, Connie and Paul. Connie has everything a woman is supposed to want–a loving devoted husband, financial security, a beautiful home etc., but she’s on a tedious, boring, treadmill, and she has the looks, means and the time to get in trouble. Edward is busy–too busy–providing all those goodies for Connie. He makes the mistake of being a husband and a provider rather than a lover, and while he vacates this role, Paul is happy to take it. The film displays the culture of adultery unflinchingly. Connie discovers that small attentions from a complete stranger are seductive and outweigh complete devotion from her spouse. There is an evitability in this film which parallels the inevitability of Connie’s submission to Paul’s practiced, subtle assaults. While the film doesn’t make any overt moral statements against adultery, nonetheless, it does illustrate the incredible pain, futility, and destruction suffered by all those involved, and the film remains one of the best statements I’ve ever seen on the subject. Unfaithful is a remake of the Claude Chabrol film, La Femme Infidele, and while I liked the French version, this is a rare instance in which I prefer the remake. From director Adrian Lyne. 

Sleeper Hit

Cherish is directed by Finn Taylor–who previously directed Dreaming With the Fishes. Taylor is a native of Oakland, California, and the film is set in San Francisco. It’s the story of a girl, Zoe Adler (played by Robin Tunney) who isn’t exactly much of a social success. She works in an office full of other employees who would rather ignore her, and she’s the one who’s never invited to parties. She tries to make conversation with workmates, but nothing seems to work–she’s always on the outside looking in at those who “fit in.”

She decides to change all that by inviting herself to a party held at a local bar. Fate intervenes, and by the end of the evening, she finds herself in jail. Zoe’s lawyer argues that Zoe should be placed on the “bracelet programme”–under house arrest pending her trial. At first, this option seems preferable to jail, but Zoe soon discover new degrees of isolation. Forced to sell her condo to pay lawyer fees, she is confined to a warehouse-style apartment, which measures 57 feet from one end to another, and so the warehouse becomes, in effect, her prison, and yet another method of isolation.

One of the very few people Zoe interacts with is Bill, a lonely policeman who maintains Zoe’s ankle bracelet device. At first he feels no sympathy whatsoever for Zoe, but barriers gradually wear down, and Zoe discovers that “trust has to be earned.” Slowly, Zoe builds a network of odd friends–other outcasts who are also isolated for a variety of reasons, and so Zoe, in her forced isolation, is accepted and assisted by others.

The fantasy sequences are quite remarkable and add significantly to the film’s beauty. This is a strange story, full of strange characters, and I was very quickly transfixed. As an added bonus, the film has an incredible soundtrack, and the DVD’s “alternate ending” is worth watching. Don’t pay much attention to the cover–it really gives the wrong impression of this rather serious film.

The rise and fall of the Mitchell Brothers

In Rated X Jim (Emilio Estevez) and Artie Mitchell (Charlie Sheen) are in the right place at the right time–San Francisco in the 70s–when they began building their empire founded on pornography. Artie’s vision was to “make the product and sell the product” and thus make and control more money in the process. They opened the O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, and wrote, directed, and produced their own pornographic films–including an ‘adult’ classic–Behind the Green Door. In fact, the Mitchell Brothers ‘discovered’ Marilyn Chambers, and she catapulted to fame as an ‘adult’ actress–thanks to her performance in Behind the Green Door.

Plagued by arrests for obscene materials, the Mitchell Brothers battled all and any charges brought against them by claiming their right to Free Speech. When Behind the Green Door was released, the millions rolled in–but only a relatively small amount of money came the Mitchells’ way as pirated copies popped up in adult theatres all over the country. So then the Mitchell Brothers took on organized crime to protect the copyright of their products.

The relationship between the brothers is the most fascinating aspect of this film. There’s a little background information given on the family, and it’s obvious that the brothers are abnormally close. Even their wives were shut out of Jim and Artie’s relationship. The brothers are interesting characters–flexible, innovative and ready to respond to market change. Unfortunately, when given oodles of money, endless narcotics and alcohol, the chemicals inevitably created a highly explosive situation that was exacerbated by money squabbles. Like most partnerships–things soured. Estevez’s direction is marvelous, and my only complaint is the bald-skull caps the brothers wore–they looked hideously cheap.

Surprisingly good film

In Diamond Men, Eddie Miller (Robert Forster) is a middle-aged travelling diamond salesman who has maintained the same sales route of a string of small jewelry shops in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. He is an exemplary employee, a good salesman, and he was a faithful, loving husband until his wife’s death from cancer the year before.

Following a heart attack, Eddie is told to train a new employee to take over his route. Eddie isn’t ready to retire–this is due to the fact that he still has his wife’s medical bills to pay, and he also really has no life outside of his job.

The new employee, Bobby Walker (Donnie Wahlberg) is the complete opposite of Eddie. Bobby is single and not interested in selecting one woman when there are so many around for him to pick up on a nightly basis. He is also very cocky and confident, but in spite of all this, Bobby is a likeable sort, and the mistakes he makes are derived from carelessness–not malice. The relationship gets off to a bumpy start, but evens out when Bobby accepts that he still has a lot to learn, and Eddie has a great deal to teach. Eddie finally mellows out enough to cease being annoyed with Bobby and to stop dismissing everything he has to say.

This is a fairly familiar theme–the older seasoned character who passes on his knowledge to the younger companion–and the gruding respect they finally find for each other. But in Diamond Men, the old theme is given new life and new twists, so that the film is interesting and surprising. The elevation of this film is due mostly to the two main characters. Forster plays Eddie in a very low-key style, and it is easy to believe that he is a great salesman who enjoys his job. There is one scene in which Eddie explains why one particular diamond is worth more than another that looks strikingly similar. Eddie sees that the jewelry salesperson is losing the sale due to the customer’s skepticism, and he steps in and enraptures the customer with his romantic presentation of the uniqueness of each stone. Donnie Wahlberg as Bobby also does a credible job, and he is at once obnoxious, charming, and just what Eddie needs to give his life a much needed boost. Donnie Wahlberg’s nightly escapades–his disappointments and his triumphs–are very well acted. Directed by Dan Cohen.

“You can control your heart.”

Laurel Canyon from director Lisa Cholodenko is the story of the problematic relationship between record producer mother Jane (Frances McDormand) and pyschiatrist son, Sam (Christian Bale). Sam, about to begin a residency programme, brings fiancee Alex (Kate Beckinsale) to his mother’s house in Laurel Canyon. Jane isn’t supposed to be there, but thanks to yet another tumultuous end to one of her many relationships, Jane is at the house with a British rock band trying to finalize a record. Sam is very annoyed by his mother’s presence and apologizes in advance to Alex for his mother. Obviously just being in the same house sets Sam’s teeth on edge, and his unease and impatience is in direct contrast to his mother’s laid-back attitude about everything except music.

Jane, who is in her 40s, is currently involved with boy-toy rocker Ian Macknight, and Sam clearly doesn’t approve of all the frolicking that’s going on while he’s hard at work. Alex, who is supposed to be working on her dissertation, is slowly seduced away from her work and into the fun-loving company of the rest of the Lotus-eating residents.

The film was flawed and does not reach the heights of perfection of High Art–Cholodenko’s earlier film. Natascha McElhone as Sara–the beautiful resident attracted to Sam was a bit much for me. She looks like an international model dressed up as a doctor. The film would have been much better if Sara and Sam had an attraction that was a meeting of the minds rather than Sam’s jaw dropping to the ground whenever he looks her way. Alessandro Nivola as Ian Macknight was marvellous. He played the role with a debonair decadence that was quite perfect. However, the main applause here must go to Frances McDormand. She was incredible. She plays the intense, successful and driven Jane with fire. Jane’s character is very genuine, and while I marvelled that anyone like Sam could be related–even remotely–to someone like Jane–I also believed the relationship. Sam has spent a lifetime trying to be the opposite of his mother, but he may be more like her than he wants to admit. The film also had a great soundtrack.