Chris (Johnathan Rhys-Meyers), the focus of Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT is an existential man in the proper Sartrian mold making his way in a world, he will learn, that is ruled by the short of absurdist chaos favored by Jean-Paul’s arch-rival, Camus. So much for free will, bad faith, and making one’s own luck. Forget… Read More »
For Tom McCarthy, it’s WIN WIN
Tom McCarthy returned to his hometown of Provinctown, N.J., for WIN WIN, his third film as a writer/director. The story of a lawyer on the verge of a financial meltdown who makes a rash and unethical choice also gave him the opportunity to revist his favorite high school sport: wrestling. A working actor with a… Read More »
John Madden Pays THE DEBT
When tapped to direct THE DEBT, John Madden had not seen HA HOV, the Israeli film on which it is based. When he read the script, he decided he wanted to see the original, but only once. The re-make follows the same general outlines, but Madden emphasized that it is its own entity, distinct and with… Read More »
John Leguizamo’s EMPIRE
Fearless is a good word to describe John Leguizamo. Think of the roles he’s chosen over the years, Toulouse-Lautrec in Baz Lurhman’s MOULIN ROUGE, a tortured loser in Spike Lee’s SUMMER OF SAM, a sassy transvestite in TO WONG FOO and, especially, the one-man shows that he writes as well as performs where he opens himself… Read More »
IN BRUGES with Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh has the same sort of dark, yet whimsical sense of humor with which his film IN BRUGES, is rife. When I talked with him on January 30, 2008, the twisted way in which he examines morality was top of my list of thing I wanted to discuss, as well as the redefinition of… Read More »