Yes (2005)
As dull as could be imagined, Sally
Potter's "Yes" has two or three scenes that make it
worthwhile, including the finale', but it is not enough
to make the entire enterprise worthwhile.
Joan Allen, who is one of our greatest
living actresses, stars as a bored upper-class housewife,
apparently living in England (I think), who begins
an affair with a Middle Eastern man. Well, he's from
Lebanon. That's in the Middle East, isn't it.
The beginning of their affair is
boring but then again so is Allen's marriage to the
always lackluster and frightfully drab Sam Neill.
Neill could not act his way out of a wet paper bag
and Potter seems to be using him here exactly for
his Godawful lameness. It's easy to hate him and hate
him we do. If your idea of money well spent is 8 dollars
to see fat- ass Sam Neill play air guitar in a suit
and tie then this is the movie for you.
Potter, always a pretentious fuck,
shows her ass here from the first frame. This film
opens with the cute and likeable Shirley Henderson
playing a maid. She talks to the screen and discusses
her philosophy of life including what the act of cleaning
up after others really means. Henderson is delightful
and has such a lovely accent we don't mind listening
to her blather on with this pretentious, obviously
scripted, speech.
But when Allen meets exotic, romantic,
Middle Eastern waiter played by Simon Abkarian, the
duo begin a love affair and begin only to speak in
verse. It is not only annoying, but boring as hell
and pretentious as all get-out. The film really gets
stuck in its trappings and begins to suck the life
out of the audience. I nearly collapsed from boredom.
Potter thinks she's the new fucking Shakespeare. You
can't get more absurdly pretentious than that.
This rhyming verse continues when
the waiter moves to his work, a kitchen in a hotel,
and discussions of the meaning of life and the existence
of God continue with his seemingly Jamaican, Irish
and Cockney co-workers. It all gets very boring, very
pretentious and very trying. I almost walked out.
The last act of the film, however,
gets better. When Allen and Abkarian begin to fight
and argue, bringing their different national backgrounds
into their discussion, the film becomes allegory.
This is important, especially right now, with the
relationships between Caucasian people and Middle
Eastern people so relevant. Their arguing and impassioned
bickering is fascinating. But soon Potter moves into
dull music video (coupled with dull, lackluster video
imagery) and we are lulled back to sleep.
The climax of the story and Henderson's
spoken verse ending to the film is quite wonderful.
What the cleaning lady says is quite compelling. Henderson's
lingering image in the end credits also makes the
finale of the film seem quite nice. But the torturous
buildup to the final act, the bloated drabness of
Neill, and the lame spoken verse approach to the film
are mountains that even the most gifted of directors
would find hard to overcome. Given carte blanche to
do as she pleases here, Potter proves herself a pretentious
git and a filmmaker seriously in need of a head-check.
Notes:
Potter also provides the musical
score.
The film debuted at Telluride in
2004. Sony Pictures Classic picked up the film and
began a U.S. arthouse release in June of 2005.
Viewed at the Arbor in Austin in
August 2005.
