Word: sams
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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This is truly the product of the witty screenwriter Alan Ball, a graduate of sitcom gigs, and the director Sam Mendes, fresh from such theatrical triumphs as the Broadway revival of "Cabaret" and the acclaimed roundelay "The Blue Room." Mendes, working on film for the first time, is extraordinarily self-assured, inspired both with his actors and, more impressively, his camera eye. Fittingly, since the script praises the hidden beauties of the world, this is itself a deeply beautiful film. Its static compositions by Conrad Hall are overloaded with vibrant colors and symmetries that make you almost want...
...killing that bill." Indeed, a jury might find it hard to see the U.S. government as the victim. The generation that is these days dying of lung cancer and emphysema is the same one that went off to World War II with Luckies and Camels enthusiastically included by Uncle Sam in Red Cross packages. But this case seems meant for the negotiating table, not the courtroom. It?s a lawsuit that two years ago Justice didn?t think it could win, and seems resurrected solely to follow through on a promise Clinton made in January?s State of the Union...
Costner still twinkles and steams plausibly, but all else about the film is ludicrous. The nattering violins, orgasmic from the first moment, alert you that director Sam Raimi has either no control of the production or no belief in the material. And why should he believe? Dana Stevens' script buries the compelling story of an athlete's career crisis under a no-fun affair he has with a charmless woman (Kelly Preston--big mistake) and a daughter problem that adds 15 minutes of emotional lard. As domestic drama, it's down there with Stepmom. And much of the jock stuff...
...Alan Ball, whose first produced screenplay this is, consistently surprises--not so much in what it says, but in how it says it. He even risks having his story narrated by Lester from beyond the grave and makes Billy Wilder's old trick seem fresh. And the stage's Sam Mendes, also making his first film, dares a touch of expressionism, which we happily indulge, partly because he knows when to stop, mostly because the energy and conviction he and his cast bring to this movie do not permit second thoughts--at least until you are outside the theater, trying...
That's yet to happen for New York City filmmakers Sam Sokolow and Rob Lobl, who--until last week, at least--lived in that peculiar purgatory of artists who made something critically acclaimed but commercially invisible. Then help came from an unlikely source: Amazon.com the burgeoning online book/CD/electronics/toy store and auction house, which just began a program to distribute indie films. Starting this week, people will be able to buy a videocassette of The Definite Maybe from Amazon for $14.95. "With movies, it used to be either you made it big or you ended up just showing it to your...