Search - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 6/26/2022...

Quite the plotline with Nick Nolte and others shining. You will see younger Peter Sarsgaard, Jon Foster and Sienna Miller in this.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Watch the Commentary Between Chabon and Thurber FIRST

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/09/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who find it difficult to appreciate the adaptation format of film making from a famous novel, THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH as now released on DVD should help explain the naysayers' opinions. In a very valuable session of conversations among Michael Chabon and Rawson Marshall Thurber (screenwriter and director) and the producer and cast, the transition of this complex novel into a very altered story is comfortably explained and the person most happy with the result seems to be the originator - Michael Chabon!



That being said this film stands well on its own terms. June and July in hot Pittsburgh generate mysteries among a variety of people, especially the young college graduate Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) who while working in a bookstore wastes time with a fling with the supervisor Phlox (Mena Suvari) with disinterested post grad classes dealing with becoming a broker and having monthly dinners with his mobster father Joe Bechstein (Nick Nolte), until he encounters an odd couple: bisexual biker and thief Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard) and his female consort, the violinist Jane Bellwether (Sienna Miller). The bizarre interactions among these characters drive Art to make many decisions and discoveries - including his falling in love with both Cleveland and Jane. The summer winds down with Art finally discovering his own identity despite the clouds of mystery that have surrounded his life. It is a piece of life as lived by disparate characters whose direction in life seems at odds with the natural flow of finding happiness and success. But then the question is asked - what is happiness and what is success if not survival?



For this viewer the explanation by the makers of this film was interesting enough to encourage a repeat watching of the movie. A good movie not a great movie, but it still tastes strongly of Michael Chabon's genius. It deserves more attention than the critics have given it.....Grady Harp, August 09"

One Wild Summer

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 07/30/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

""The Mysteries of Pittsburgh"



One Wild Summer





Amos Lassen





Adapted from the novel by Michael Chabon, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" is the story of one wild summer for Art Bechstein (Jon Foster). Art has sex with both men and women but does not identify himself sexually. He just graduated from college and he is to spend the summer studying for his license as a stockbroker. His father (Nick Nolte) is a gangster and keeps his son away from the family business and Art takes a job working in a bookstore. He sleeps with Phlox (Mena Suvari), his supervisor and she thinks that there is more to the relationship than does Art. Then he meets Jane (Sienna Miller) and Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard) and things start to change. Cleveland is a bit of a thug while Jane is from a rich family but is on an adventure. Immediately there is sexual tension between the three and there is flirtation all around which eventually blows up in everyone's face.

The film is set in Pittsburgh in the early 1980's. We see Art having the feeling that he does not exist anymore and his summer is quite mundane until he meets Cleveland and Jane. They show him a side of Pittsburgh that he had never seen before and Art finds himself in the midst of an experience in which family, friends and love take on completely different meanings.

This is the story of new found freedom and the excitement that life can bring. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber made this film with little thought unfortunately and what could have been a wonderful film comes in as mediocre at best. Art is a hard character to follow because he is so totally uninteresting--he is devoid of ambitions and goals. He walks through life and never gets interesting; he is totally passive and follows what others do without letting us know anything about himself. Since he is the central character, the other members of the cast have nowhere to go either and they treat life as a party. The movie itself is simply a shallow look at what could have been an excellent film. There is a lot of sex, both gay and straight, lots of arguments, more sex, a wild chase scene and a death but none of it seems to really matter. All of the characters are one-dimensional and stand-ins for actual people who would handle the situations differently. We never are let into their characters and we never get any ideas as to why they act the way that they do. We do see them do lots of things but we never see why.

I remember loving the book but it has been severely altered for the movie and what really hurts is that it appears that the movie was made earnestly and the screenplay is underdeveloped. There is a redeeming factor though--gay comes out of the closet and onto the big screen so it is not a total loss

"

Don't expect the film to follow the book and you'll enjoy wa

AIROLF | USA | 05/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The beginning captivates the viewer and the movies has a decent story. Having said that, it's also worth mentioning that the storyline is hardly Michael Chabon's and why the changes were made (from the book) is unclear, however, as a stand-alone it seems to work (if you ignore that it's a novel adaptation and think of it as a standalone film). It's no the most engaging movie nor is it the worst movie ever. If you haven't read the book or don't mind watching the movie and can refrain from comparing it to the book, there's a good chance that you'll like it."