Lasse Hallstrom's latest "Oscar Contender" bring what his previous films in this decade have yet to accomplish, a witty but yet serious, and well devised product (haven't seen An Unfinished Life or Casanova). The direction, is mediocre to be honest. There is nothing too special about it in any way, shape or form. This was really the only flaw in this film, mind you, it is a big one. The screenplay, adapted by William Wheeler, while still historically accurate from my knowledge, is very funny. Keeping the viewer laughing, while on the edge of their seat. Delightfully surprised by how well the script was made, considering this being only his second script ever written, and the other being a Vince Vaughn film.
Onto the great ensemble cast of the film. Eli Wallach, a underappricated as a talented actor can get, plays Noah Dietrich, an operative for the "eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes". In a limited role, he gives an X type performance, but with much less dialouge, and with the feel of Michael Gambon's latest role, in The Good Shepherd. Stanley Tucci plays the head of the company that Gere is trying to sell his faux auto-biography to. Again, in another slightly bigger, but still a limited role, he entices the audience with his very powerful presence, but also tends to whimper away from a situation he cannot handle, like most men. Julie Delpy plays the on and off girl of Gere, named Nina Van Pallandt, an actress/singer. Her role is filled with the narcissistic stereotype that wannabe actresses thing that they are better than everyone else. In this performance, you can see it, not at it's maximum, but enough that makes you want to retch in disgust. She does a pretty good job in this role, that is borderline supporting. One of two definite supporting actress performances in the film go to Hope Davis, as the quirky associate of the McGraw-Hill. With excitement in some scenes, and disbelief in others, it is a well layered performance. Now, the supporting actress that stole almost every scene she was in, Marcia Gay Harden. She plays the wife of Clifford Irving, and just wow. She nails the accents she must use throughout. She also demonstrates a variety of emotions throughout, all with the accent, pretty much flawlessly. A very impressive performance in the film, and even more so considering I thought she was going to be a third tier character in the film. Now for the 2 big guns of the film. Alfred Molina plays Gere's partner in crime, Dick Susskind. Very easy to excite, either in a good way, or in a bad way, and very eager to get rich quick. In a comedic performance on first impression, it slowly becomes very rich in drama, beneath first glance. A great performance, and certainly one of the best from Molina. Onto the head of the film, Richard Gere. Alright, first I have to say, he releases his best performance to date, in this film, without a doubt. If you watch this film, and aren't impressed with his performance an hour into the film, don't worry, his performance becomes dynamic a little into the second half of the film, where it is predominately him on the screen. Not going into details, but his performance in the second half is just remarkable, and hopefully you will find great pleasure in his performance.
Alright, the technical aspects of the film are pretty good, nothing too amazing, besides one exception. This exception is for the Film Editing. It goes through time very well, often giving very good transitions as well. The score by Carter Buwell is very nice, but nothing too unique. The cinematography is well done in a lot of scenes, and might actually clinch a nomination, thus far. The costume design is very bland, consisting of a lot of suits, and basically that's all, aside from a few nice little dresses on the women. All in all, this film was very well made, aside from a few little weak points.
Onto the great ensemble cast of the film. Eli Wallach, a underappricated as a talented actor can get, plays Noah Dietrich, an operative for the "eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes". In a limited role, he gives an X type performance, but with much less dialouge, and with the feel of Michael Gambon's latest role, in The Good Shepherd. Stanley Tucci plays the head of the company that Gere is trying to sell his faux auto-biography to. Again, in another slightly bigger, but still a limited role, he entices the audience with his very powerful presence, but also tends to whimper away from a situation he cannot handle, like most men. Julie Delpy plays the on and off girl of Gere, named Nina Van Pallandt, an actress/singer. Her role is filled with the narcissistic stereotype that wannabe actresses thing that they are better than everyone else. In this performance, you can see it, not at it's maximum, but enough that makes you want to retch in disgust. She does a pretty good job in this role, that is borderline supporting. One of two definite supporting actress performances in the film go to Hope Davis, as the quirky associate of the McGraw-Hill. With excitement in some scenes, and disbelief in others, it is a well layered performance. Now, the supporting actress that stole almost every scene she was in, Marcia Gay Harden. She plays the wife of Clifford Irving, and just wow. She nails the accents she must use throughout. She also demonstrates a variety of emotions throughout, all with the accent, pretty much flawlessly. A very impressive performance in the film, and even more so considering I thought she was going to be a third tier character in the film. Now for the 2 big guns of the film. Alfred Molina plays Gere's partner in crime, Dick Susskind. Very easy to excite, either in a good way, or in a bad way, and very eager to get rich quick. In a comedic performance on first impression, it slowly becomes very rich in drama, beneath first glance. A great performance, and certainly one of the best from Molina. Onto the head of the film, Richard Gere. Alright, first I have to say, he releases his best performance to date, in this film, without a doubt. If you watch this film, and aren't impressed with his performance an hour into the film, don't worry, his performance becomes dynamic a little into the second half of the film, where it is predominately him on the screen. Not going into details, but his performance in the second half is just remarkable, and hopefully you will find great pleasure in his performance.
Alright, the technical aspects of the film are pretty good, nothing too amazing, besides one exception. This exception is for the Film Editing. It goes through time very well, often giving very good transitions as well. The score by Carter Buwell is very nice, but nothing too unique. The cinematography is well done in a lot of scenes, and might actually clinch a nomination, thus far. The costume design is very bland, consisting of a lot of suits, and basically that's all, aside from a few nice little dresses on the women. All in all, this film was very well made, aside from a few little weak points.