The Man from Elysian Fields (2002)
The less said about "The Man from
Elysian Fields," the better, really. And I mean that
in a positive way. But, I suppose that other film
reviewers and the marketing campaign for this film
will spoil some of its more interesting surprises
for viewers. I imagine you already know way too much
about this film if you purposefully looked up this
review (unless, of course, you've been lucky enough
to see it already). Thank goodness I did not when
I viewed it at a screening recently. (I saw the trailer
about the film recently and - yes, it tells the whole
damn movie. If you don't have the two hours it takes
to view the film, the marketing idiots for the distributor
have made the trailer into a sort of Reader's Digest
Condensed version of the film, so, by all means, simply
download it and don't spend your hard-earned 10 bucks....)
It takes 20 minutes or so for the
set-up of the plot to become evident. (Have you gotten
the idea yet that you shouldn't be reading this if
you don't want the movie spoiled for you?) We watch
Andy Garcia struggle as a modern-day novelist trying
to get his career started. Sure, he's had one novel
published, but it's languishing in the bargain bin
at most bookstores and his editor seems uninterested
in helping him to publish his new novel. Meanwhile,
his ever-blissful wife Julianna Marguilies seems perfectly
content with all her marriage has to offer, even if
their 3-year old son still needs diapers and there's
very little money coming in.
This set-up continues for quite
a while with the money problems becoming more and
more apparent. Enter Mick Jagger as a suave, aging,
British businessman. When Jagger offers Garcia a job,
his need to support his family gets his curiosity
peaked. Garcia soon find that the offered employment
is a little bit more than he bargained for.
Still reading? You must have seen
the film, right?
So, Jagger runs an escort service.
His "old fashioned" notion of the business has him
servicing an exclusively female clientele. Garcia
begrudgingly accepts the position only to find himself
"dating" the young wife of an aging Pulitzer Prize
winning writer played by James Cockburn. When the
two men become friendly, Garcia gets a chance to co-author
a book with the novelist.
And I'm not telling you any more.
You slacker. I've already spoiled way too much of
the film. This film's plot has more subtle twists
than a lemon peel in a Vodka Martini. And none of
the expected twists and turns are ever what we expected
at all, at least, not until almost the end of the
film.
There's a lot to like here. The
acting is just fine with Garcia portraying his usual
romantic working class man trying to make ends meet.
Jagger performs admirably even if we think he is little
more than a substitute for Michael York. (He's still
one suave motherfucker). And Cockburn is yet another
prime example of an aging lion he has been playing
for the last few years as the novelist. The females
that surround these men provide as much wit, intelligence
and forward momentum as they do. Olivia Williams proves
herself as worthy as anyone else in the cast with
her portrayal of the novelist's young wife. And although
Anjelica Huston is only playing a tertiery character,
she is nonetheless riveting.
The script by former TV writer Phillip
Jayson Lasker is often quite witty and the dialogue
is often as snappy as anything set onto paper by Noel
Coward or Oscar Wilde. Seriously, this is some of
the best, sharpest, and most clever dialogue you will
hear in a film this year. This alone makes the film
worth the price of admission and the time spent watching
it. That being said, however, this is surely going
to be a sticking point with many film reviewers who
will see the fine line this film treads between being
a romantic drama and being a showcase for clever witticisms
and perceive it as "uneven." The film may combine
elements of romantic comedy, drama, novelesque plot
and character studies, and weld it all together with
snappy dialogue, but it isn't uneven. It is, in actuality,
perhaps much more human than its stoic, classy vibe
might initially suggest. Sure, a lot is contrived
here and Lasker keeps his wit intact nearly throughout
the film, but the film plays out quite well until
nearly the end.
Filmed quite nicely and covering
a story of novelesque proportions, "The Man from Elysian
Fields" is an awesome and well-written film. It's
just too bad the marketing morons at the film companies
didn't work on coming up with a better title rather
than exposing the whole film to us in its trailer.
Note:
Also with Michael Des Barres.
Garcia is credited as a producer.
Viewed at the Dobie Theater in Austin
at a press sneak in October 2002.
