Last week, “World Trade Center” came out. It is the second drama of the year about 9/11, and Oliver Stone’s latest after the “Alexander” debacle. This week, “The Illusionist” debuts, featuring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti in the first of a coming trend of magic movies. These two films are the first in a series of ambitious movies that the studios hope will also collect a portion of any summer blockbuster money still lying around.
First off, we have two film noirs that come out within one September week. They both explore the seedy side of Hollywood, intertwining violence and sex to show the danger that always seems so close to the rich and powerful in L.A.
“Hollywoodland,” in theaters on the 8th, is being sold as Ben Affleck's comeback vehicle, but it really is Adrian Brody's movie. Brody plays a detective trying to find out the real circumstances of the death of George Reeves (TV's Superman). Affleck plays Reeves, in what should be a good performance, given his familiarity with both overexposure and forgotten talent. Bob Hoskins and Diane Lane play a studio boss and his wife, who both might have been involved. Since Lane’s daring performance in “Unfaithful”, she has mostly stuck to romantic comedies. Lane has always been an up-and-down actress, after a starting out with a great run in the ’80s in Francis Ford-Coppola movies, Lane had taken less risky parts until “Unfaithful.” “Hollywoodland” could signal a return to exploring more intense sides of her talent.
The second noir, “The Black Dahlia” (September 15th), also focuses mainly on the detectives and aftermath of a killing, and not the victim. Brian De Palma directs, in what hopefully will be a return to form in one of his favorite genres. He has been in a slump lately, coming off the thriller "Femme Fatale". Technically, it was an amazing, but it added up to a thunderstorm of imagery which signified nothing. The aesthetic and emotional feeling that has been so often present in De Palma's work was nowhere to be found.
The last film of his to really make an impact was “Carlito's Way”, the crime redemption tale with Al Pacino and Sean Penn. A flipside to “Scarface” (the last time Pacino and De Palma collaborated), it was a sad, lonely tale about a just released career criminal, and his self-delusion of going straight. Pacino gave a heartbreaking performance, which played like a classical symphony when combined with De Palma's swooping camera. Hopefully De Palma can explore some of the same humanism in “Dahlia”, along with his usual mastery of the noir technique.
Michel Gondry's “The Science of Sleep” opens in limited release on September 22nd. It is the first fiction movie he has written without Charlie Kaufman, and it is a natural progression following “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. “Mind” had a great script, but the inventive visuals dreamed up by Gondry propelled it to one of the defining romances of the still-young 21st century. “The Science of Sleep” once again delves into fantasy and relationships, and stars Gael Garcia Bernal as a Gondry stand in, a romantic who lives his life through his dreams. Gondry made his early career on videos for Bjork and The White Stripes, and Bernal’s character’s dream life will allow Gondry to stitch together short, imaginative chapters, which with a bit of luck will come together for an aching, beautiful opus of sound and image.
Finally, also on the 22nd, “All the King’s Men” opens wide. The most anticipated element is the cast, which includes Sean Penn, Jude Law, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, and Partricia Clarkson. I’m most excited about seeing Ruffalo and Gandolfini – both will finally have a chance to stretch after giving good performances in mediocre movies (including one they shared, “The Last Castle”). “Men” is a remake of the 1949 political drama, based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. Sean Penn plays Willie Stark, who rises to power but becomes corrupt along the way. The trailer focuses mainly on what looks like a powerhouse performance from Penn, but only gives us glimpses on the supporting players. It also exhibits some images reminiscent of “Citizen Kane” – it will be interesting to see if it can weave it story through its all star cast as well as “Kane” did.
So, there are four movies which at least show the potential of being interesting and daring entries in the September schedule. If they can fulfill their pedigrees, they will kick off the fall movie season with ferocity, whimsy, and passion.
• Alex Mechlin writes about the movie industry monthly, exclusively in Lumino Magazine. E-mail Alex at alex.mechlin@luminomagazine.com.
