"Where Movie Critics Get A Taste Of Their Own Medicine"
Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter!
|
|
CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES
by Peter Sobczynski
May 9, 2003
(Out of 4 stars)
FILM CREDITS: Written and directed by Eric Byler. Starring Jacqueline Kim, Michael Idemoto, Eugenia Yuan and Matt Westmore. Not rated.
I recently attended Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival in Champaign-Urbana where I was a member of a panel discussing the topic "What’s the Use of Film Criticism?". The general consensus seemed to be that when it comes to the big-budget spectaculars that arrive at theaters with multi-million dollar publicity campaigns, critics are fairly irrelevant; unless the film is an utter disaster, people are still going to swarm the multiplex. On the other hand, smaller films-the ones lacking big stars, lavish special effects and commercial tie-ins-can have their fates influenced by good reviews. Since these films don’t have the money for extensive publicity campaigns, they are almost totally dependent on good reviews to attract curious viewers with a taste for something different.
The problem, however, is that when the reviews come out on the opening weekend (the make-or-break period for nearly every film these days), most of the limited space in the papers and on television is devoted to the bigger, more highly publicized films-precisely the ones that don’t need more ink or airtime-while the more marginal films are either given short shrift or ignored altogether. I suppose I can see the point of some critics and editors who would point out that the bigger films are the ones that people are more interested in (besides, who would you rather see photos of; a blue-skinned Rebecca Romijn-Stamos or a pained-looking David Strathairn?) but by giving smaller films the shaft, they are making sure that there is no possibility that anyone could ever become interested by them.
I mention all of this to help explain why you are not reading a long, detailed review of "X2" (or whatever they are calling it this week) at this very moment. This is a film that will make a gazillion dollars in the weeks before "Matrix Reloaded" comes out and it hardly needs any more publicity. Besides, anything I say about it will be irrelevant; you have already pretty much made up your mind as to whether or not you will be catching it and even if I said it was the single stupidest thing since "Identity", I seriously doubt it would sway your decision in the least bit.
Instead, I would prefer to use this space to write about another new film, a micro-budgeted indie film entitled "Charlotte Sometimes" (which I also happened to catch at the Overlooked Festival as well). Unlike "X2", which will be playing in thousands of theaters, "Charlotte Sometimes" is making its commercial debut at the Water Tower Theaters and while it will spread out to a few more cities, its fate is largely dependent on whether it attracts people during this initial engagement. However, the real reason I want to devote more space to it is not because it is simply a small film (indie films can be just as dreadful as anything else around, as anyone who saw "Laurel Canyon" or the films of Harmony Korine can attest) but because it is a wonderful film and it deserves all the attention it can get.
The film is essentially a four-character piece and one of the unusual things about it is that they are all played by Asian-American actors-a rarity for a film that does not involve martial arts or gunplay. Michael (Michael Idemoto) is a brooding intellectual who spends his days running his family’s garage and who harbors secret, unacknowledged, unspoken feelings for his friend/tenant Lori (Eugenia Yuan). At least he thinks they are secret and unspoken; his true feelings are pretty much obvious to everyone and even Lori subtly plays up to them-after having sex downstairs with her boyfriend, Justin (Matt Westmore), she usually spends the night upstairs with Michael talking and watching television.
Things begin to radically change when Michael goes to a bar one night and meets the mysterious Darcy (Jacqueline Kim). After one of those long nights that occur when two people meet and immediately spark (and which pointedly does not involve sex), Michael and Darcy become a couple, even though she insists that she may have to leave in a few days for unexplained reasons. When the four begin to spend time together, things begin to get a little uncomfortable; Darcy is curious about Michael’s relationship with Lori and Lori, in return, resents this newcomer and how she is affecting Lori’s perfect arrangement (for her, at least).
More than that I will not say because one of the true pleasures of "Charlotte Sometimes" is in the way that it only gradually reveals itself to the viewer. The initial premise makes the film sound like it could spin off in any number of predictable plotlines (a wacky bedroom farce or Darcy becoming a "Fatal Attraction" psycho, for example) but newcomer writer-director Eric Byler, has a lot of surprises up his sleeve. And no, these are not the "surprises" that occur when characters are jerked around by a screenwriter that forces them into unbelievable situations in order to facilitate the story; these are the surprises that occur to people in the course of ordinary events. I have seen so many recent movies in which the filmmakers find it necessary to spell out every element in minute detail that it is genuinely surprising to see a filmmaker with enough confidence in his own work that he allows the viewer to put things together for themselves without resorting to unnecessary expository dialogue or a scene in which the message is spelled out in a big speech.
The four actors are all relatively unfamiliar to most viewers and watching them effortlessly interact with one another, you will be hard-pressed to explain why they haven’t broken though before now (except for the ugly fact that filmmakers tend to marginalize Asian-American actors unless they are making an action film). Idemoto is one of those actors who can say a lot without actually saying much of anything-the conceit of a brooding intellectual mechanic sounds like an overly precious idea but he brings the concept to life perfectly. The trickiest role is played by Kim (who is probably the most familiar face here, having been seen in things like "Volcano" and a "Star Trek" film) and the way that she pulls it off is just about perfect. Her character has to convey numerous changes in mood and behavior (sometimes at the same time) and she effortlessly achieves the subtle changes in tone that the part requires. Her Darcy is the kind of person who is all but impossible to pin down but who is fascinating enough to encourage someone like Michael to make the effort.
"Charlotte Sometimes" is, as I mentioned, a first film, but Byler’s work is so self-assured that you wouldn’t know that fact from the on-screen results. Visually, the film is stylish without ever resorting to film-school trickery and as a writer, he has a gift for character and dialogue as well as a gift for storytelling that is reminiscent of other great filmmakers (for some strange reason, the film reminded me of Robert Altman’s "3 Women" in its ever-fascinating obliqueness). Personally, I can’t wait to see his next film and if you have any interest in seeing a challenging movie before the next few months of summer silliness, you shouldn’t wait to see "Charlotte Sometimes".
-- PETER SOBCZYNSKI
Copyright © 2003 Peter Sobczynski
All rights reserved.
Used with permission
Peter's Archives
|
|
While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily
reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr.
Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination
of those views expressed.