Demndiary Blog

Craig Zobel’s Great World of Sound is an account of a scam by the fools instructed to orchestrate it. It is a moral film about two men desperate for a job that seems to give hope to others. Martin and Clarence meet in training and hook up for the road trips. It is Clarence who delivers the final revelation.  

              Pat Healy’s Martin is self- deprecating and moping in his life. Kene Holliday’s Clarence is a powerhouse of emotion and slick sales. Together they function on the road signing new artists. The auditions they conduct are reminiscent of the audition scene in Miike’s Audition where the good and bad are seen so fast it is both humorous and sad. It is also the standout point of the film. Martin’s girlfriend Pam (Rebecca Mader) seems under used on film. Their relationship is not fleshed out in the scenes it is given. Robert Longstreet’s Layton is slick and clean, and the hard sell.  

Great World of Sound is filled with many problems. The pacing of the film never seems fluid. Pat Healy’s Martin seems wooden in performance throughout. The film plods along in search of a meaning and waits too long to find it. It doesn’t reach out to the audience but stays stagnant. A stronger production budget might have helped, but it appears that the screenplay never reached the high drama moments.  Great World of Sound is like the performers who audition in it, wanting something bigger, and not reaching it.

Basil Gelpke &  Ray McCormack's A Crude Awakening is a fearmongering film about the day the world runs out of oil. Although the film is presented with numerous interviews and case examples it seems to rely on one source too many times: Stanford University. At one point up to four professors are cited in the same segment. If the facts were so prevailent, it should have been easy to find other Universities willing to back them up. The directors failed to do so and, as a consequence, it disables their position and the film.

               Justin Theroux’s Dedication is not a happy go lucky romance. It is dark and evil and hard to watch at times. It is also an amazing debut feature by a director who will make a mark. It also begins to bring Mandy Moore into her own as an adult actress.                 

Henry Roth (Billy Crudup) is the last person one would expect to write children’s books. He is brooding, dark and mean spirited and barely held in check by his best friend and illustrator Rudy Holt (Tom Wilkinson). The two somehow convince a big name publisher and it’s editor Arthur Planck (Bob Balaban) to publish their book. It becomes an overnight success, and plans are made for book two. With barely a month before it is due Rudy dies, and a despondent Henry is assigned the newby Lucy to illustrate.                 

Mandy Moore’s Lucy is not a ray of sunshine. Her mean mother, and landlord Carol beautifully portrayed by Dianne Weist overwhelm her.  Her ex-boyfriend is also courting Lucy. When Lucy and Henry are given a strict deadline they begin to press down to work and to find out about each other. Lucy is also given the added incentive of a possible $200,000 bonus is they complete on time.                 

Theroux films Dedication in a different way. He uses wide shots, but also seems captivated by the environment whether it is Henry’s warehouse apt or a neighborhood greasy spoon. Theroux mixes environment and music in a tapestry that transfers emotions as deeply as the discordant music.                  The film is Henry and Lucy. Both are not perfect to the world or to themselves. They are damaged and it seems like their own problems fight against any attempt at synergy. Mandy Moore’s Lucy bears a strong resemblance to Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club. She is always wearing dark clothes that shroud her body and face. Billy Crurup’s Henry is neurotic, and draconian in language to anyone. He is uncaring, and has the most needs. Both are striving to patch their holes.                 

Dedication is a strong film. It has elements of Adaptation and Elf mixed into it. The film style is close to Once in its beauty and simple stylings. It is the chemistry of Crudup and Moore that make this film worth watching more than once. It clings to emotions and stays there.