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FILM REVIEWS |
The Door in the Floor The Door in the FloorFocus Features
The sad theme child lost in this film reminds me a bit of Atom Egoyan’s “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997). Written and directed by Tod Williams, the Door in the Floor is both understated and flamboyant. It is an adaptation of a portion of John Irving’s novel “A Widow for One Year.” Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) is a lumbering and overbearing philanderer with a shy wife named Marion (Kim Basinger). They live on an upper middle class getaway on the Long Island coast with their young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning). Ted's marriage is faltering, partly due to Ted's affairs, but also the tragic death of the Coles' teenage sons some time earlier. Their 4-year-old daughter, Ruth (Elle Fanning), might remember Tim and Tom, or she might only remember their photographs: She spends much time in the hallway of the family's beachside bungalow examining the pictures on the walls.Ted hires a summer intern, 16-year-old Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster), a junior at Exeter (where Ted went) and a would-be writer. There's not much work for Eddie to do, as Ted spends much of his time at the home of Evelyn Vaughn (Mimi Rogers), allegedly drawing her but more precisely having sex with her. Predictably, Eddie develops a crush on Mrs. Cole, a somber, beautiful woman whose seriousness matches Eddie's. Soon they are sleeping together. When such things happen in real life--is it really that often-- the boys can scarcely believe their good fortune. But director Tod Williams, who adapted the screenplay from Irving's novel, deals with it well and refuses to milk the sentiments. (Eddie and Marion's initial encounters are not exactly romantic.) There is also wonderful slapstick humor about Ted's problems with his most recent mistress, Evelyn Vaughn (Mimi Rogers), whom he claims to be using as a nude model for the illustrations in his projected book. Scenes if the breakup are quite hilarious, particularly the one in which one of Ted's nude drawings slaps the window of the car of a prospective mistress he's trying to woo. The resolution is believable and the the final enigmatic scene almost qualifies as a surprise ending. Now playing at the Dedham Community Theatre, 380 Washington Street, Dedham, MA. --Peter Bates RATING © © © © 28 Days LaterFox Searchlight Pictures
The feeling is one of being trapped, surrounded by a thick darkness, while the bloodthirsty phantoms on screen tower over us. Will they follow us home and haunt our dreams? Probably. Faithfully modeled after George A. Romero's infamous zombie trilogy ("Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead"), right down to the zero-status production values, 28 Days Later is devoted to tension, without the comfort of humor (no inside, self-reverential movie jokes here) to ease the tightening grip that it has on us. The movie is relentless -- stark, minimal and bereft of the safety of someplace to hide. Rarely have movie characters or the audience watching them felt so exposed. The script is by Alex Garland, who wrote the original novel "The Beach," and it is clear he has taken his inspiration from such classics as "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Omega Man" while adding his own twist in that the virus is a psychological one. But no matter how you dress it, this is still an old-fashioned movie about survivors against the infected with an odd twist that the final villains are a bunch of soldiers with sex on their minds. The early scenes of a devastated London, brilliantly realized by Boyle and Mantle, are offset at times by the lack of depth of some shots. When the story moves out of the city, the lush green and heavy rain work as a balance against the arid emptiness of the London scenes. This is top notch science fiction, not exactly horror, but with horror elements. For example, they aren't really zombies, so there is no supernatural element. But you won't be disappointed. Now playing at the Dedham Community Theatre, 380 Washington Street, Dedham, MA. --Peter Bates RATING © © © One Hour Photo
In One Hour Photo Robin Williams plays a schizoid personality, a lonely photo processor at a K-Martish department store who develops an old-fashioned movie style fixation on the photogenic Yorkin family, who use his services. He works in a white sterile environment that uncannily mirrors his lonely white sterile home. He collects pictures of the family and his voiceover states tidy philosophical points about snapshots (i.e., the term was originally a hunting phrase invented in the early 19th century; most people--apart from photography students--don't take pictures of the gas station operator, but only happy family events). The music is effectively creepy. At one point, ominous cellos slowly play out a tense theme in counterpoint with unsettling percussive effects. Si's fantasies are well developed and almost as harrowing as his dreams. Williams is intriguing as he engages in customer banter with Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) and her young son Jakob (Dylan Smith). Gary Cole, so comic in Office Space, plays a chillingly bureaucratic boss, complete with facial expressions that indicate he wants to get any interaction over and done with fast. I've worked for his type before, too many times. As much as director/writer Mark Romanek's film has nice touches, it also has a dizzying menage of inconsistencies and oddly conceived writing.
Finally, why does nothing develop between the troubled Nina Yorkin and Si? Romanek sets us up for it when they have their touching lunch together and discuss new age guru Deepak Chopra's new book. Yet nothing comes of it. Still, One Hour Photo has enough story and acting ability, as well as more than a passing nod to atmosphere to recommend it. This film is playing at the West Newton Cinema in Newton and the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge. --Peter Bates RATING © © ©
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