The Center of the World
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Movie Reviews of The Center of the World
Movie Review: Hidden gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was totally not what I was expecting but I just loved it. It examines the meaning of relationship (at least that's how I understood it) and does it with such delicacy and subtlety that it's very rare in american movies (it rather characteristic for french movies). The movie is very erotic and sensual even without (or almost without) nudity. The acting by Peter Sargaard and Molly Parker was superb. Highly recommended to all fans of european cinema that can accept a movie without much outside action.Movie Review: This is what pretty women should have been
Summary: 5 Stars
Take all of "Hollywood" out of Pretty Women and this is the movie you get. It show what would really happen when a man hires a women for 3 days. Not that "here's my credit card, go shopping fluff." If you are sicken my mainstream Hollywood watch this movie. If you aren't sure about spending the $$$, RENT it.Movie Review: Exploring the boundaries between reality and fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
Think the premise of "Pretty Woman," but more firmly grounded in the real world, and you might get close to what "The Center of the World" is all about. This film abandons the glamourized Hollywood notions of sex workers, and doesn't engage in the pat, happy ending that we saw in "Pretty Woman"... and it is a far better film for it. Furthermore, Molly Parker is far more exotically lovely than Julia Roberts could even hope to be, and a better actress to boot.In short, if you're looking for a romantic escapist fantasy about a sex worker redeemed by the love of a good man, look elsewhere -- this film is far more complex than that.
Comparisons to "Pretty Woman" do seem inevitable however, to the point that I wonder if the director and writers weren't crafting this film as a direct response to that one, a way of saying, "Whoa boy, reality check!" The premise is familiar at least. Richard (Peter Saarsgard) is wealthy but lonely after a breakup with his girlfriend two years before. He meets Florence (Molly Parker) in a coffee shop and finds out that she is a stripper. He visits her at the strip club where she works (nicely named Pandora's Box), and is so intrigued by her that he offers her $10,000 to spend three days with him in Las Vegas. She agrees, with a number of strict conditions, including limiting the number of hours she is required to "work," and limiting the acts she will perform. "No kissing on the mouth" (sounds familiar, no?) and "no penetration" are among her limitations.
From this familiar territory, though, the film explores new ground. Richard and Florence get to know one another as they spend more time together, and Florence finds out that Richard isn't such a bad guy, just lonely. "Why do you have to be so nice?" she asks him at one point, partially angry and partially not. Richard, in the meantime, is becoming more and more deeply entranced by this woman he has hired, which becomes part of the conflict.
Given the subject of the film, there is of course a great deal of sexuality portrayed in it. It is handled pretty tastefully, and none of it is there for its own sake. It is partially through their sexual relationship that we see the growth and the limitations of the characters' relationship in general. The sex scenes are handsomely shot and are not the typical sort of scenes one might expect from an erotic film; nevertheless (perhaps because they are unique), they are extremely erotic.
The acting is quite good. We spend most of the film only seeing Richard and Florence interacting together, with just a few other characters showing up here and there, but the two lead actors have the chops to sustain the film from beginning to end. Peter Saarsgard plays a "nice guy" well, and it's good to see that he doesn't overplay it at all. He's a very real nice guy, with flaws and points where he stops being nice out of frustration or anger. Molly Parker, as Florence, lends a similar depth to her role. From the first moment you see her you can see why Richard becomes infatuated with her: she is ethereally lovely, with a husky voice that is simply enthralling. But it is her personality that Richard really falls for, and that too is portrayed believably. She is played with a genuine warmth and likeability that is often missing from erotic films, but not overly sweet like "Pretty Woman" and many other Hollywood attempts at a similar story. I suspect that Molly Parker will be a talent to watch carefully in the next few years.
The nature and limitations of the relationship between these two people -- in one sense employer and employee and in another far more intimate than that -- becomes the main subject of the film as it progresses. How much of what Florence is giving to Richard is real, and how much is an act? How does the aspect of money change what happens over that three days? Are his feelings based in reality? Are hers?
Some of these questions are answered at the end, others are left open to the viewer's interpretation. There is nothing about the end, however, that is trite or simple, and as in life, there is a great deal that will depend on the perspective of the person watching the story unfold. This is a film very much grounded in reality, dealing with real people in a realistic (if unique) situation, and in the end it avoids the typical Hollywood fantasy notions that are so common.
Comparisons to "Pretty Woman" may well be inevitable for this film, but in such comparisons "The Center of the World" comes out ahead in every category. It's not a perfect film, but it is an excellent one. It is both sexier and more realistic, and that makes it well worth watching in my book.
Movie Review: Sex, Power, and Let's Not Be Coy About It.
Summary: 4 Stars
In 2000, director Wayne Wang changed his pace from studio-supported movies to make a low-budget film about sex and power. "The Center of the World" was his first digital film, shot alternately on a Digi Betacam and Mini DV. Most critics didn't like it, but it is a rare film that deals with sex as frankly as this one, an unflinching exploration of the costs and consequences of sexual power. And this is a sexy film. There is a lot of sexual game-playing in it. My only complaint is that the Mini DV used in so many of the intimate scenes and close-ups brings out too much detail and makes the actors look sallow. This was before the days of HD DV, so the quality leaves something to be desired.
Richard (Peter Sarsgaard) is a twenty-something technology entrepreneur whose hard work and dismal social life have made him co-owner of a company about to go public. He's going to be rich, and he'd like to enjoy himself. He is attracted to Florence (Molly Parker), a woman who frequents a local coffee shop. When he finds out that Florence is a stripper, Richard offers her $10,000 to spend three nights with him in Las Vegas, thinking this is an agreeable way to make his fantasies come true. Florence accepts, on the condition that there will be no intercourse. "It's all an act. You know that, right?" she says.
Richard is used to being master of his own world, building a company and a fortune from behind a monitor and keyboard. Florence makes a living with her power to inspire men's imaginations and fulfill their fantasies while maintaining distance and control. Richard and Florence like each other, and their arrangement seems mutually beneficial. They have lively conversations about mundane things...until the power game becomes a power struggle. To what extent did Richard's fantasy become reality? Most women would not act as Florence does; strippers are very conscious of boundaries. But does her unwillingness to cede power undermine her own interests? "The Center of the World" is unpredictable and provocative.
The DVD (Lions Gate 2001): Click on "Explore Me" to find a teaser, a trailer, 2 alternate endings (12 min) that I think are superfluous, bios and filmographies (text) for 10 cast and crew members, "Behind the Cyberscenes" (5 min), which is about creating the now-defunct interactive web site for the film, and Production Notes (text) that include comments by the director and actors. Click on "Tell Me Now" to hear audio commentary by director Wayne Wang and post production consultant Patrick Lindenmaier. This commentary is for 7 segments of the movie only. Choose a segment from the menu. Commentary is about technical issues, primarily how the "look" of the film was achieved and working with DV. Also click the "play" icon at the bottom to hear an audio-only comment by Wang.
Movie Review: Center of the World
Summary: 4 Stars
As a stripper, I expected to relate closely to this movie (even though I would never meet a client outside of the club). I was not disappointed. The role of the female protagonist (stripper) was obviously created with respect for the character, and the film did a good job of making an obvious division between her "real" and "night" lives, which many "stripper movies" fail to reveal. It also does a surprisingly good job of showing the storyline from two, opposite perspectives (without any sort of split-screen narratives): both the stripper and her customer have well-thought-out, dynamic, complex roles.
The female protagonist does a fantastic job of showing the dichotomy between her "real" and "stripper" lives, and the director was smart to include a transformative scene where the actress changes herself in order to fit a different role (by applying make-up). Too often, strippers are portrayed as sex objects who are always "on," rather than the normal people we (often) are. This was refreshing.
So it's a pretty short movie, but the acting is very good, and the director/writer seems to have been informed about the industry, for I found it to be relatively authentic compared to most representations out there. Stripper-movie-junkies will find that this is not the typical stripper movie where women are scaling poles in the background at all times.
As a side note, you might wonder, upon viewing the film, if something is wrong with your TV screen, but you will quickly get used to the unique, grainy look of the movie. In my opinion, it actually adds to the authenticity the director is attempting to portray.