Search - Laurel Canyon on DVD

Well performed independent film

Nicholas Carroll | Portland OR United States | 10/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film represents the best in independent filmmaking. Instead of formulaic plot that's heavy on action and skimpy on the acting, what you get in this film are stellar performances and an interesting story, a sort of look into the complicated life of a rather conservative medical student, Sam (Christian Bale) and his girlfriend Alex (Kate Beckinsale, who looks great as usual) and his somewhat embarrassed relations with his free spirited Record producer mother (Frances McDormand). While there is little in plot, it hardly matters in a film like this, as the performances take you away into a world most have never seen, namely a record producer's studio in the Hollywood Hills (Laurel Canyon). The best scenes in this film are when Ian (brilliantly played by Alessandro Nivola in a very convincing British accent) is recording two songs, receiving instant feedback by Alex and Jane (McDormand). I absolutely love the songs he sings ("Shade and Honey" and "Someday I Will Treat You Good") and rushed out to buy the soundtrack cd after seeing this film in the theater. In fact, the entire soundtrack is good, and that's another reason why I love this film.



Frances McDormand's performance as a mother more interested in producing a record album than connecting with her son at his personal interests is outstanding and Oscar-worthy. She's so free spirited and independent, that it wasn't difficult for me to see why the younger Ian was attracted to her in the first place. She does have her limits though, when Ian wants a threesome with her and Alex, she breaks the mood and explains to him privately why it just wouldn't work. Alessander Nivola also has the best performance of his career, fooling me into thinking that he was a British actor, not an American one. He does that great of a job with the accent, and apparently, he's really singing too. As I watched this film, I was hoping that Alex would dump Sam and end up with him, because they seem well suited to one another.



Sam is the character I felt the most out of place, as I couldn't figure him out. He flirts with a fellow Med student, almost to the point of cheating, and we just don't get to see much chemistry between Sam and Alex, only that there is something standing in the way of those two, which probably had little to do with the thesis she struggled to write in Jane's house. The film ends without any kind of resolution, but its okay in a film like this. Independent films work because they don't follow standard plot rules, so long as the performances are strong (as they are in this film) and the story is compelling. The ending left me wanting more, but that's better than an ending where I wished they cut it down some. The musical choices on the soundtrack is the last ingredient that compels me to give this film five stars. It is a film that I watch regularly (every couple of months or so) and never get tired of doing so. This film has a certain "je ne sais quoi" quality I can't really describe, but compels me to watch over and over. The director deserves huge kudos for making a film like this, one that focuses on the characters and gives us a small slice of their lives, as incomplete as it is. Human relationships are often too complicated to be solved in a two hour movie, so I'm glad the director leaves the ending the way it is, with Sam taking a much needed mental health day to clear his head."