The Event
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Movie Reviews of The Event
Movie Review: The AIDS & Death Party Rocks On...huh?
Summary: 1 Stars
Since I like to be challenged when I watch a movie (if you don't believe, read my reviews for TWISTER and TRANSFORMERS), I'll frequently check out the films on the Sundance Channel or IFC. And about half of those films are usually about gay issues. Not my taste in movies (or life, for that matter) but sometimes I'll check out a few minutes of a movie and find myself completely fascinated by how disconnected and wrong-headed a movie can be.
Which perfectly describes my reaction to THE EVENT.
The only way I could entertain myself for this movie was to try and fathom the mentality behind it. THE EVENT only makes sense if you see it through the siege mindset of those in the AIDS community. This terrible plague of a disease destroyed a generation of gays but movies like this only muddies the water.
The story unravels the death of an AIDS patient. The problem is that he may have died by another's hand--by the hands of the people who care for him the most. Somewhere in this mess of a "loving" assisted suicide message is a convoluted love/hate/kill dynamic between a gay son and "loving" mother. I wonder if Olympia Dukakis had any idea that she was playing the most sinister mother this side of Angela Lansbury in the original "The Manchurian Candidate." Just look at what she does at the end of the film, all the while talking about all the "love" filling that room.
(I know I'll get flack for this, but every gay guy I've known has some monstrous mommy issues because of their mothers).
The sense of humor was confusing, expressing the gallows humor of living under the shadow of this disease but it leaves the viewer disconnected from any real drama. Placing the story all around 9-11 with absolutely no mention of it was also confusing. (One part of the film says "October 2001" but was clearly shot after a winter snowfall before showing a nice autumn labeled "November 2001").
In one scene, the despondent lover of the victim takes the cremated remains of AIDS victims and trails them through New York City, leading to the city offices. "The real killers." No, not exactly.
This is not a movie for anyone outside of the gay Indie film scene. Its confused messages aside, it's also poorly written and made.
Movie Review: A Pleasant Surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
It's like Russian Roulette when I pick up a random DVD from the clearance rack just for the excitement of watching a film I've never heard of. I did that today and was pleasantly surprised at what a great film "The Event" was. This moving story which centered around assisted suicide was touching, sad, funny in parts, and relevant. The acting was great, especially by Olympia Dukakis who delivers a quietly understated powerhouse performance, her strongest in years. The weak link of the film was Parker Posey as the District Attorney. I usually love her movies but she was terribly miscast in this film. Had I never seen her earlier performaces I may have believed her, but she is so typecast that it's hard to take her seriously. Overall I would highly recommend this movie, but it's not a film for everyone. The subject matter and theme is grim but the overall production is outstanding. If you like offbeat independent films with great acting and mature subject matter then I would highly recommend you check out "The Event".Movie Review: Excellent film
Summary: 5 Stars
Olympia Dukakis shines. Make sure you have your tissues with you while watching it.Movie Review: A Frustrating Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
From an outside appearance, this indie drama looks to be casted quiet well with Olympia Dukakis and Parker Posey.
Unfortunately, even their performances lag due to the incredibly bad script writing and incompetent direction, cinematography and editing. As a person who loves good cinema and socially topical subject matters, I have to draw a line at some point and state that not all indie films are great. (Contrary to what I say most of the time.)
This is the kind of film that would be fine if it was part of a first year project for a film student at NYU; the viewer would have lesser expectations. Unfortunately, for the serious subject matter, this production was left in hands of people less capable for extracting the best from the artists involved on every level from writing to acting.
The cast has little with which to work due to what I feel is incompetent directing and lackluster production value of the film. This is a rare case where I would suggest that it would have been far better if managed by a larger Hollywood studio.
There was far too much talent in the cast to be squandered on such a horrible venture. Whomever funded this should seriously reconsider their idea of investments for the future. This was pretty bad from start to finish, which is a huge disappointment since I enjoyed the writer/director's first film The Hanging Gardens and because I've enjoyed several performances by many of the actors in previous projects. This is one of the worst productions I've seen decades.
Movie Review: This Film Was Over Before It Started.
Summary: 1 Stars
Social commentary is a good thing for art to do. Films like "The Life of David Gale," and "American Beauty" are cinemmatic masterpieces partly because they shock us into thinking about things we might not normally think about.
Then there are films like this that show that good social commentary can also make for pretty mediocre art. From the beginning, "The Event" feels contrived; you know exactly how it will end 5 minutes into the film (and can proffer a good guess before you even see the film).
While the acting was fine (excepting an embarrasingly akward showing from Parker Posey), it lacked the depth to me required of a plot so grave and deep. What was a disappointment, though, was the writing. What generally makes 'social commentary' films work is the push-and-pull and tension in its plot (think David Gale and Dead Man Walking). Here, there is no tension. A very sick man makes a decision to commit suicide and within a few minutes, all crying and subtlety stops; everyone is on board. While my symapthies lie with the 'right to die' movement, this seemed to me like a very one-sided view of a very more-than-one sided issue. The only tension - if one wants to call it that - was infused by Parker Posey as the assistant D.A. looking into the criminality of the situation, but this was very weak acting for a very weak character.
Because of this - because of the lack of tension and transparent predictability - what could have been a poignant take on an important issue skated on the verge of a pointless sadism. (There is something sadistic to me about a film that's climax is the on-screen actualization of a suicide everyone knows is 'just around the corner.')
Lest one want to think my bad review's impetus is bias against the film's message, I should repeat that I am quite symapthetic to the 'right to die' movement and always have been. The only bias my review is motivated by is that which says that even social commentary films - especially social commentary films - have an obligation not to be simplistic and cliche. "The Event," I feel, is both. It feels contrived from start to finish, and comes off as so concerned with the message that it loses any attention to the medium.
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