Synopsis
Lili Taylor essays another of her trademark depressed wallflower roles as Evie, a woman who hates her job, her town and her life. She becomes obsessed with local rock star and pseudo-philosopher Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce), to the point of carving his name in her forehead (backwards, since she was looking in a mirror). This brings her to the attention of Pearce, and both of the to the attention of the media, and so begins a prickly, off-kilter relationship.
We’ve certainly been …own this road before with Taylor, though her character does gather strength as the story progresses in its gentle way. The cliched depiction of miserable small town life is leavened by wry humour (such as the gruesome dinner Taylor cooks for Pearce’s parents). Based on the Anne Tyler novel, this isn’t a film that set the world on fire in 1999, nor will it now, but it has a certain gentle charm.
Audio
The disc has both 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. This is a fairly quiet picture (outside of the rock performances), so there isn’t that much sound design to play with. That said, the 5.1 is definitely the weaker of the options, as it has virtually no surround, be it music or effects. The 2.0 is considerably richer in this regard.
Video
The colours are decent if muted, and the picture is a little bit grainy and murky. This is, however, very much in keeping with the mood of the tale, and may be deliberate. There isn’t any edge enhancement to deal with, and the aspect is 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen.
Special Features
Nothing here but trailers for the feature, Danny Deckchair, Dogville and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. The menu is animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
A quiet release of a quiet film, but one not without its virtues.
Special Features List
- Trailers
