The Myth of Fingerprints
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Movie Reviews of The Myth of Fingerprints
Movie Review: Big Shrug (spoilers)
Summary: 2 Stars
Some pretty pictures, some good acting on the parts of some of the actors as they portray a bunch of dysfunctional people home for Thanksgiving.
However, a plot seems to be missing. We meet the parents and grown kids, as well as dragged-along boyfriend/girlfriend of two of the grown kids as they gather at the parents' home for the holiday. All of them seem to have deep seated weirdnesses and problems, ranging from the oldest daughter, Mia (Julianne Moore) who seems to be stricken with a near-terminal case of the redass to the youngest daughter who seems to think it is hysterically funny to leap out from behind doors at people, screaming at the top of her lungs. The father, played by Roy Scheider, is distant and boorish and seems to be obsessed with the time and adhering to a schedule. The mother (Blythe Danner) acts as if nothing is going on at all, even though her children and their assorted guests are acting like twerps and her husband acts like he needs a lobotomy.
Fine, a good portrait of dysfunctional family dynamics - but it doesn't go anywhere from there. We never find out just why the kids are estranged from their father. The most shattering thing we see that he's done is that he gets bombed at some previous gathering and makes a pretty strong pass at his son, Warren's (Noah Wylie) then-girlfriend, kissing her in the hallway of the family home. In another scene, we see the father watching an old home movie of a birthday party for Warren, where he breaks a couple of eggs over the kid's head. Some confusing references are made to some kind of "game" the father has played through the years, which seems to consist of asking people who don't have watches what time it is.
Okay, so the father doesn't come off as Dad Of The Year by any means - but what we hear and see of him simply doesn't explain the obvious deep-seated problems of his adult children, ranging from the ongoing rage and viciousness of his oldest daughter, Mia, to his son, Warren's, obvious fear and distaste for him. Physical or sexual abuse isn't even hinted at. At most it seems as if the father character is obsessed by schedules and time and is rigid and emotionally distant from everyone.
So it is hard to accept the characters of the adult children or why they act like such putzes. From what we're told by the sketchy plot, they don't really seem to have much reason to indulge in continual rages or depression. Two of them have relationships with other people that seem to involve a lot of sex, but not much else. Mia's relationship with her boyfriend, Elliot, is simply painful, as she continually cuts him down, verbally abuses him and then tries to use him as a sex object - but then, for some reason unknown to us, Mia verbally abuses everyone without mercy. She's always angry and cruel - but we don't know why.
Warren, on the other hand, seems to excel at whiny depression. We see him in what appears to be a therapy session, mentioning a hometown girl, Daphne, who apparently dumped him in the past. This has been the catalyst for him being estranged from his family for three years. When we finally see what happened - his drunken father tried groping and kissing the girlfriend in a hallway, and apparently Warren saw the incident - we're left wondering "is that it?" All that trauma because someone got drunk and acted like a jerk? She dumped Warren, who did nothing wrong, because of something his father, an acknowledged jerk, did? Warren just comes off as oversensitive and self-absorbed, greatly enjoying his angst, and his girlfriend comes off as a little jerk who treated him badly becaue of something he didn't do (and who also, for some reason, makes him sit on the ice of a frozen lake for a long talk). Considering the buildup to the "shattering" moment, I had at least expected that his father had raped his girlfriend, or that Warren had discovered that she'd been having an affair with this father. Only something of that intensity could have explained Warren's ongoing grief.
Another brother, Jake, is involved with a pea-brained girlfriend that he can't seem to say "I love you" to. After seeing her behavior through the movie, we can understand why. She's quite rude, vacuous, insensitive to the discomfort and feelings of others, and manipulative. In other words, Jake is involved with a carbon copy of his father. Okay, fine - is that it? This is worth a two hour movie?
Youngest daughter, Lee, is just a little jerk. She's busy being the cute and funny mascot, always acting like a ten year old, making a rather pitiful pitch for the attentions of Mia's boyfriend. Insults and cruelties seem to just roll off her hide, particularly when they're aimed at her by Mia. At one point she's having a conversation with her mother, who is telling her that she still loves the kids' father in spite of everything - but we never hear what "everything" consists of.
A slice of life movie is fine, and this film comes off as a peek into a holiday weekend with a dysfunctional family, but empathy for any of the characters is almost impossible because we never see just what it is that has led to such a range of unhealthy behaviors in this family. More exposition would have helped - otherwise, everyone comes off as whiny, self-pitying, obnoxious and tiresome.
Some people who gave this film positive reviews mention that this is a true slice of life - that the ends aren't neatly tied up, that much remains unsaid and unrevealed, just as is the case in dysfunctional families. There is no Hollywood ending. That's fine - but for a film to really work, a little more than several days' worth of Big Brother is needed. If we're to see these people as anything other than a bunch of immature cretins, we need to know why they ended up that way, even if it's not entirely revealed.
All the angst doesn't add up to the supposed cause of the angst - and I was glad the film was finally over as a result.
Before purchase, rent it and be sure you want to own it before buying.
Movie Review: Where's the rest of the movie?
Summary: 2 Stars
I actually went to Blockbuster (I hate the one in my area) to find this movie because I'd heard it was pretty good and Julianne Moore and Noah Wyle are two of my favorite actors. So I get home and I start watching it. The characters were unique and well written, but they seriously needed to work out their issues, especially Warren and his father. In the scene where his father is dancing with his girlfriend just cuts after Warren shoves his father to the ground (you'll see why he did it if you rent this movie)! I was hoping to see how everyone else reacted, because it seemed like an integral part of the scene and I expected Warren to start working out his daddy issues, but it doesn't seem to happen. And the movie ends with Warren leaving and not actually bringing it up! Now that may have been the point, but even if it is, there's still a major writing flaw. A major part of writing anything is to have some sort of conflict that changes the character. How has Warren changed? He's still disgruntled and terrified of his father. The only things that salvaged this movie were great performances and well written characters. The story as a whole tanked.Movie Review: Very boring and unfulfilling
Summary: 2 Stars
I watched this movie a couple of years ago, because of the cast mainly.
I don't remember if I liked it or not, must have not hated it or loved it because I would have remembered. The only thing I remembered was the bitchy funny scene in the bookshop with Julianne Moore.
I watched the movie again today and I was utterly bored to death by it.
I am used to movies leaving matters unanswered and having to figure out stuff, some mysteries left unsolved, like most non-hollywood movies.
But to defend the movie by using just THAT excuse is not enough. There is not enough dysfuncionality, quirkyness, funny stuff, acting-outs or fights or great acting jobs to keep one's interest in the movie for more than one viewing, just because you want to know how the heck this movie is going to end. If you want a home for the winter holidays movie get "Home for the Holidays" or "The Family Stone" (the latter is weird and sometimes boring, but not as much as this one).
One thing is for sure, I will probably never watch it again.
Movie Review: Enjoyment interruptus
Summary: 1 Stars
What an unsatisfying movie! It tried to encompass too much, left a myriad of threads dangling, and finished with an abrupt, ta-da! The End. I can't stand stories like this. The central issue is Warren't estrangement. Warren and his dad have a serious issue to discuss, although it is too painful to do so. OK, so like in real life some situations will never see a resolution. But what about the rest of the family? Why is Mia losing her memory? Is she sick? What about Jake's insecurities towards Margaret? Does the mother understand why her oldest son and husband don't get along? What about Leigh? Why does the father sleep-sing in the middle of the night? What's with the stoners? And Cezanne, where does he come from? Why even show a glimpse of these storylines if there is not going to be any attempt to follow up on ANY of them?Julianne Moore does the best acting job in the film. In my opinion, Noah Wyle has a range of maybe five different facial expressions, worn out to death on ER, and he didn't expand on his repertoire for this movie. Move on to something more substantial.
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