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How Am I Doing? How Are They Doing? New York City Mayor Ed Koch, a quintessential New Yorker, offers his candid reviews of new releases on the big screen.
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Movie Review: "Father and Son" (-) June 21, 2004 The Times’ film reviewer, A.O. Scott, gave this flick an interesting and positive review. He said, “Its images and emotions are vivid, disquieting and also hermetic, and while it may frustrate your desire for clear storytelling and psychological transparency, it has an intensity that surpasses understanding.” Save your money. It is boring while quirky, especially the relationship between the father (Andrey Schetinin) and son (Aleksey Neymyshev). The son is a cadet at an academy studying to be a physician. Both he and the father, who resembles Sylvester Stallone, live in an unnamed nearby town. Both father and son are in superb physical condition and the movie opens with the two wrestling. Their physical sparing and embracing occurs so often that a homoerotic and incestuous air is present. It is never clear, however, whether we have witnessed a kinky scene or simply true paternal love returned by a son. The son constantly wants to talk to his father of his disappeared mother of whom we learn little. The son has a truly beautiful girlfriend (Marina Zasukhina) who confesses to him that she has another boyfriend. Two young men befriend the father and son. One is looking for his own father, and the other appears to be mentally challenged. These situations should have provided an interesting plot; regrettably, they did not and, even worse, seemed disconnected to the plot. The film is one long bore. (In Russian, with English subtitles.) Movie Review: "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" (-) June 21, 2004 Regrettably, this English film noir lacks a plot. The noir part of the movie is deemed accomplished by being filmed in black and white, and containing lots of dark shots, scenes of suicide, rape and debauched people filling the screen. The Swiss cheese plot relies on serendipity and other devices not related to rhyme or reason. The flick opens in a forested area with cruel assaults on a young man we barely see and never meet again. The assaults are never explained and, as far as I could tell, bore no reference to the plot. The young man is saved by Will (Clive Owen) whom we learn left his gang of thugs years ago to take up the honest life of a logger. He now lives a reclusive life in a camper, totally cut off from his friends and lover, Helen (Charlotte Rampling). Will’s brother, Davey (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), is a petty thief and dope pusher. Davey becomes a victim of Boad (Malcolm McDowell) who is rich, married and has access to criminals who will provide muscle when he needs it. A.O. Scott, The New York Times film reviewer, gave this flick an alluring cachet praising the director Mike Hodge. He wrote, “tricky, dazzling technique is deployed with almost casual professionalism, as if it were no big deal. He doesn’t mind making the audience work a little to follow what he’s doing and to discern the structure underlying his riffs and inventions.” Baloney. Great writing on the part of Scott, but totally deceptive in describing the film. It is noir, totally black and incomprehensible at times. But imagine being disappointed by a Malcolm McDowell performance. It’s not his fault; he had little to work with. The ending left me more than wondering. I felt taken for a fool by the director. AS’ comment on the death of a dog in the movie was, “The dog wanted out before his movie career was permanently ruined.”  read last week's reviews | |
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 design by  The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting 1697 Broadway Suite 602, New York, New York 10019. |
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