The Caller stars Frank Langella as a whistleblower determined to expose the dev-
astation caused by his chemical company in the Third World. Fearing for his life, he
hires a private detective portrayed by Elliott Gould. Then, altering his voice, he calls the gumshoe and insists they must never meet.
Co-written by director Richard Ledes, The Caller requires one fall into its stoic mood. After a chance meeting, client and investigator are drawn to one another. Excessive use of cell phones is often a device of lazy writing, but here each call furthers the story and explores the characters’ motivations.
Despite its bland title, Fugitive Pieces is one of the best films of the season. British actor Stephen Dillane stars as Jakob, a Polish Jew who as a boy hid from the Nazis while his father was murdered and his mother and sister dragged away. A Greek archeologist, portrayed by the wonderful Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija, found the boy, spirited him out of Poland, and raised him in occupied Greece.
Robbie Kay plays the young Jakob with incredible sensitivity. The story flashes back and forth, but not a scintilla of emotion is lost. The screenplay deals mostly with the adult Jakob, now a melancholy, guilt-ridden writer coming to grips with having survived the Holocaust alone. His wife is portrayed by the enchanting Rosamund Pike of Pride and Prejudice and The Libertine. All his life Jakob has wondered about the fate of his beloved older sister, a budding violin prodigy. The story then shifts to Canada, where the young Jakob and his foster father had moved after the war. The writer remains tormented, not helped even by a return to his adopted Greek homeland to bury his savior’s ashes.
Also memorable is an enchanting Israeli actress named Aylet Zurer, perfectly cast as the woman who finally brings new meaning to the life of the troubled author. You aren’t likely to see more tender, genuine emotions in any film this year.
Moviegoers can’t stand noise, right? But they’ll like Tim Robbins in a quirky film called Noise. It’s a study of a man obsessed. A New York lawyer, Robbins is married to Bridget Moynahan and the couple has a young daughter. But their idyllic lives are torn asunder by his intolerance of city noises: in particular, car alarms, which go off incessantly at all hours of the night and drive him half mad. After smashing the windows of the offending cars and clipping the battery wires to dismantle the annoying
alarms, he assumes an identity he calls The Rectifier, a one-man army of vengeance against the incessant din.
After being hauled into court several times, and doing a month behind bars, he finds his wife and daughter have, quite understandably, kicked him out. After this, his obsession only worsens. The comedy gets more bizarre and at the same time more
plausible, for the audience empathizes with this tormented man, understanding the auditory frustration that any urban dweller must endure. Robbins portrays his character perfectly, with a quiet smirk that is his trademark. Viewers want him to get away with his “capers,” yet are glad it’s not their car he’s vandalizing. Noise is a movie with one central premise, and plays it for all it’s worth, which is a lot.
Over the years, there have been many spoofs of the James Bond spy genre, including the forthcoming movie version of the Mel Brooks/Buck Henry-created Sixties TV series, Get Smart. One of the best is a new French film called OSS 117. Jean Dujardin plays a self-assured secret agent in 1955. Bearing a strong resemblance to the Sean Connery of that era (no accident, to be sure), he’s sent to Egypt to investigate the disappearance of a colleague working undercover.
What follows is an imaginative send-up of the Bond movies with all the expected elements: beautiful women, sinister bad guys, impossible-to-escape situations—and all are offered with tongue planted firmly in cheek. In one scene, for example, Dujardin’s slick black hair is ruffled, but a quick flick of his palm suddenly restores it to its perfect condition. In an homage as well to the dimwitted antics of Inspector Clouseau, Dujardin bumbles his way towards solving the mystery. The look of 1955 is authentic, and several obvious mat shots are hilarious, aping the visual style of that era. The movie may be a bit off the beaten path, but is well worth seeking.
Other films to see include The Fall, an idiotic title for a summer season release, but a visually astonishing family gem. An injured stuntman in a Los Angeles hospital in 1920 spins a fantasy to a fellow patient, an 11-year-old girl. Amazing images of sand dunes, hordes of soldiers, a castle, and brave heroes ensues.
When Did You Last See Your Father? is a tender English drama starring Colin Firth as a writer whose overbearing father, a pompous doctor played by Oscar winner Jim Broadbent, is dying. The son struggles with his fear of admitting he never loved his father, while being unable to accept that truth. If it does any business, it will vie for Oscars.
Without the King is an amazing documentary by director Michael Skolnik about his college roommate who happens to be the King of Swaziland, Africa’s only remaining monarch. Though benevolent, King Mswati III is oblivious to the poverty of his people. The film is nothing short of amazing.
