minerwerks Blog

There's a lot of hope in this 'Great World of Sound.' A group of eager salesmen have been granted the title of "music producers" and turned loose on towns throughout the southern United States with the hope of finding new talent. Then there are the performers who answer the call for auditions, hoping to catch a break and record a hit song. Both groups, however, are unaware of the hope that carries the greatest weight here, hinted at by the film's first image of a regular old vinyl record being spray painted gold.

The main character here is the honest yet naive Martin (Pat Healy), who comes into this story with a string of past jobs and past loves. After being hired by Great World of Sound Productions, he is genuinely excited by the prospect of finding undiscovered talent. The money could allow him to run a home office selling the homemade crafts his girlfriend (Rebecca Mader) produces in the garage. Martin buddies up with a charismatic new hire named Clarence (Kene Holliday), and soon the duo is sent on the road to "audition" hopefuls who dream of having a hit song, with the caveat that the prospects must provide some "investment" up front to help make that dream come true.

Right off the bat, most viewers are going to find the whole operation suspicious (that record album shot pretty much sets the tone). Some might question why a guy like Martin wouldn't realize this, but he is indeed blinded by his hope at first. It's inevitable that Martin will discover the unsavory nature of the job, but how he deals with this realization carries some surprises. This is not a world of storybook optimism, yet it is not irredeemably cruel. There is an implication throughout that a little bit of personal responsibility and skepticism should help us avoid being coned ourselves.

The film's plot is straightforward, but the running time is padded slightly by a string of audition scenes utilizing a bit of 'Borat'-inspired trickery. Real musicians were brought in for auditions and only told afterwards that the hard sell for cash was for the sake of a film denouncing the practice. I don't object to this ethically, but stylistically, it doesn't fit perfectly with the rest of the film. More savvy viewers will detect the subtle differences in camera movement and performance. It should be noted, however, that Healy and Holliday are excellent improvisers, and their interactions with the non-actors are completely convincing. Some of the performances are even good, but a little of this goes a long way, and all the material included ends up a tad redundant.

Another reason the audition scenes are distracting is because the film surrounding them is quite well-crafted and performed. Director/co-writer Craig Zobel has perfectly cast this film and keeps the actors' performances very naturalistic. The supporting characters, particularly the bosses at Great World of Sound (Robert Longstreet and John Baker), all make the most of their limited time on-screen. Zobel has been a production manager on some of the films of David Gordon Green ('Undertow', 'All the Real Girls'), and 'Great World of Sound' shares his affinity for the south and intimate, understated human drama. Green returns the favor here by taking on producer duties.

Like most debut features, 'Great World of Sound' isn't perfect, but it shows a great deal of promise. Zobel handles some tricky material thematically and even manages to keep things stylistically interesting. My hope is that he continues to make singularly challenging yet entertaining films like this one.

If I had to guess where I was yesterday on the spectrum of understanding of the events surrounding the Iraq War, I would have hopefully considered myself around the center, maybe slightly on the side of having a bit more knowledge than average. After watching 'No End In Sight' today, I realized I may know less than I thought.

I tend to find a lot of discussion about Iraq rarely rises above the level of justification for saving the country from an evil man or writing off the whole exercise as a fraud because of the administration's lies. This film takes into account both points of view, but is not overwhelmed by either one. Director Charles Ferguson has taken a predominantly scholarly approach to the material. However, the candid attitudes of interview subjects juxtaposed with archive footage create an underlying sense of unease. As with many documentaries of this type, an overly manipulative music score floats through the entire piece.

If there is a bias to be considered here, it would seem Ferguson considers many decisions involving Iraq to have been made with negligence. Even though a lot of the commentary here could be considered to be colored by hindsight, most of the people interviewed come across as honest and authoritative. The average citizen will not know most of the names of these interviewees, but it is impossible to deny their personal involvement in the Iraq situation through positions within the military or government.

The documentary does manage to present some contradictory comments via a security and defense advisor named Walter Slocombe. The film stumbles for a few moments in the middle by playing up the differences between Slocombe's statements and those of Jay Garner, who had been placed in the position of heading the reconstruction of Iraq. Ferguson's hard scrutiny of Slocombe's statements stands in contrast to the treatment of other subjects, and creates an unneeded digression.

The consensus of those interviewed, however, is that all decisions about Iraq filtered down from only a few major players - Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleeza Rice, L. Paul Bremer - who all declined to be interviewed. One might accuse the film of being inflammatory or propagandist in the absence of these points of view, but in the end, the justifications matter less than the actual consequences that currently exist.

It is those consequences that are brought into clear focus at the conclusion of 'No End In Sight.' After presenting a picture of a country extensively looted, with its cultural institutions and historical archives abjectly destroyed and a large population stripped of their livelihoods, we are left to consider the future. A graph showing the sections of Baghdad occupied by groups of opposing interests and a tally of the expected dollar costs are left to speak for themselves.

 

There is a stable of actors that have maintained a great deal of credibility in my mind basically because I associate them with a period in my life where I was discovering a wide variety of films. Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg will always bring me back to the mid 90s when I was spent my college years overdosing on all the movies I could. Goldberg was the neurotic guy in the backseat during 'Dazed and Confused.' Delpy was the adorable love interest of 'Before Sunrise.'

Neither has broken out as a major star, but both have had consistent, intriguing careers. Goldberg wrote and directed a feature a few years back, 'I Love Your Work,' for which he provided some incidental music. Now it's Delpy's turn writing, directing and providing the music for her own film (she edits, too!), Goldberg is on board as Delpy's on-screen American boyfriend.

'2 Days in Paris' opens as Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Goldberg) are arriving in Paris, and we can tell there is a bit of discomfort setting in. Jack has been taking pictures the whole trip and has been struck with food poisoning. Now in Paris, they have to stay in Marion's tiny, aging apartment, which just happens to be upstairs from her parents' home. At first, the film feels a lot like 'Before Sunrise,' with the two characters walking through Paris having discussions about love and beliefs - saying a lot but stopping short of a few difficult truths. Eventually, the story opens up as we meet Marion's parents (Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy) and sister (Alexia Landeau). There's also a handful of former lovers that seem to pop up everywhere the couple goes, including an art opening, a friend's party and a restaurant.

The plot here is pretty basic, essentially a series of episodes that keep striking the note that Jack is harboring some serious jealousy issues. Delpy's Marion narrates, firmly putting the audience's sympathies with her right off the bat. The film attempts to give Marion a flaw in her willingness to leap into arguments a bit too easily, but Delpy's performance and writing conspire to make her very endearing despite this. Jack, on the other hand isn't really drawn as a likable guy. We don't have a sense of his background like we do with Marion. Goldberg is particularly good at the sarcastic, neurotic type, but even when he jokes or has an experience that should be somewhat emotional, he's always uncomfortable. As a choice, it's valid, but it certainly doesn't help us believe what Marion sees in this man in the first place.

Thankfully, the film is full of great dialogue, great scenery, and a number of amusing sequences. As veterans of Richard Linklater's work, both performers understand how appealing a naturalistic performance can be. We can even tell that actors speaking French are doing a great job. Delpy borrows some tricks from Linklater's bag, but who can blame her? 

Despite Goldberg's performance as a generally unlikable guy, '2 Days in Paris,' is still quite endearing. The film has a quirky sensibility that just mildly tweaks reality (a pinch of 'Amelie') but never takes attention away from the leads. It may just be fluff for film buffs, but that's still better than the usual lineup at the cineplex these days.