Review of Speaking Parts

This movie was a little too self indulgent for me and there was something immature about it's design. It was still decent, but it left me feeling empty and unmoved. It just never really came together.

Like most of Egoyan's films, the opening is very puzzling and as you work your way through, things slowly become more clear. I enjoyed this aspect of it greatly. There are also some very striking visuals, some amazing scenes, and the pacing was great.

The Motif involving television sets is overplayed to the point where it starts to become sort of juvenile, most of the acting is Sub Par and the story lacks any strong sense of character motivation.

Even with these flaws, the movie still held my attention. Every time I would start to grow bored, another great scene would come along and save it.

I think the script itself is the fundamental problem for "speaking parts". Egoyan unfolds his story brilliantly, but the story itself is missing too many pieces. I was left with questions that should have been made clear. I usually don't mind ambiguity but in this story it was a problem for me and the whole conclusion felt like a tacked on let-down.

So anyway... I recommend this with a few reservations. This director has made several films that are much, much better.