| MISTER LONELY (2007) : H.Korine : 4/10 |
|
|
 There are some talented people involved in the making of Mister Lonely, Harmony Korine's first feature since his 'American dogme' picture Julien Donkey-Boy (1999). It's shot in attractive widescreen by Michael Winterbottom's DP-of-choice, Marcel Zyskind (A Mighty Heart; Bullet Boy; 9 Songs); cut by Valdis Oskarsdottir (Festen; Mifune; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), here co-editing with with Paul Zucker; features yet another striking performance from Samantha Morton (surely now established as her generation's finest English actress) among a cast that includes the ever-reliable likes of Diego Luna, Denis Lavant and Edward Fox. The costume design is by frequent Claire Denis collaborator Judy Shrewsbury; the music by Jason 'Spaceman' Pierce of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized renown; hair and make-up is by Jo Allen, Oscar-nominated for The Hours (she was responsible for Nicole Kidman's prosthetic proboscis.) And the film's premise is an enticingly offbeat, topical/satirical, promising one: a Michael Jackson lookalike (Luna), 'working' on the streets of Paris, meets a Marilyn Monroe lookalike (Morton) - she persuades him to accompany her back 'home' to the Scottish Highlands, where she lives in a lakeside castle (Duncraig, near Plockton) among a commune of celebrity impersonators. 'Marilyn' is married to a 'Charlie Chaplin' (Lavant), and the pair's young daughter has already started out on her impersonation 'career', as a 'Shirley Temple'. Other 'residents' include 'The Pope' (James Fox), 'The Queen' (Anita Pallenberg), 'Madonna' (Melita Morgan) 'Sammy Davis Jr' (Jason Pennycooke), 'James Dean' (Joseph Morgan) and 'Abraham Lincoln' (Richard Strange) - although in many of these cases the resemblance between impersonator and impersonated is approximate at best (when 'Dean' first appears, many viewers would be forgiven for presuming he's a David Bowie take-off; 'Madonna' looks more like Gwen Stefani). This isn't a problem in itself, however - or at least, not as much of a one as Korine's gross dereliction of duties as writer and director. He co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Avi, but larkish improvisation seems to have been the order of the day - according to Strange's set-diary, "Harmony used the script as a working sketch rather than the finished painting." At one point, the hapless Fox was instructed to "Do a card trick with your ass sticking out, then dance like you're in a swamp." The camera wanders in and out of the "action" as the performers try to string together something approaching a narrative - the farm's animals have to be put down after contracting a foot-and-mouth type disease; preparations are made for a theatrical extravaganza; 'The Greatest Show on Earth'; sexual tension mounts between 'Jackson' and 'Monroe'. But it all feels very half-hearted and half-baked, as if Korine simply ran out of ideas at a very early stage and simply decided to shoot masses of footage (hence, perhaps, the presence of two editors rather than the usual one.) As if this wasn't enough, he rather randomly punctuates the main story with a non-sequitur subplot set in Panama, in which Werner Herzog (Korine's sometime "mentor") plays Father Umbrillo - a hyper-intense priest distributing flour to jungle villages in a light aeroplane, assisted by a troupe of nuns. A mid-air accident sees one of the nuns fall out of the aeroplane, sans parachute, but she's safely guided to earth via divine intervention. This miracle inspires more nuns to make the literal "leap of faith" - though what the resulting (engagingly surreal and spectacular) footage has to do with the celebrity impersonators is anyone's guess. A Burroughsian/Bunuelian clerical cut-up of some kind, perhaps? It's the Scottish sequences which make up the bulk of Mister Lonely (title taken from the Bobby Vinton standard which plays over the opening and closing scenes), however, and it's here that the picture must stand or fall. Morton proves crucial to the whole flimsy enterprise, somehow coming up with a nuanced and fascination characterisation under what seem to have been near-impossible circumstances. And the director's wife Rachel Korine has her moments as a winsome, distrait Little Red Riding Hood (not exactly a 'celebrity', of course). Others aren't so lucky: a little of Strange's 'Lincoln', for example, goes a very long way, while Pallenberg's German-accented 'Queen' is, like the picture itself, a rather flat, silly, embarrassing sort of joke. Neil Young 3/4.Apr.08 -------------------------------------------------------------------- copyright-dated 2006 USA/UK/France/Ireland 113m (BBFC timing) director : Harmony Korine (Julien Donkey-Boy, Gummo.) editor : Paul Zucker (Delirious, Slow Burn, Shooting Livien, etc) uncredited editor : Valdís Óskarsdóttir (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, It's All About Love, Festen/The Celebration, etc) seen 27.Mar.08 Edinburgh (Cameo cinema : £6.50 : with thanks to C Heron) Filed under memes Maria: Listen everyone, Michael Jackson is the CUTEST person I have ever seen. He has a lovely voice. Michael thinks he looks good white and I agree. I want to kiss Michael Jackson and marry him but I'm to young. I'm Maria and I'm 11! Posted by Maria | June 27, 2003 6:48 PM brady: michael jackson is the coolest singer i have know since i was little Posted by brady | September 4, 2003 5:55 PM Posted on September 4, 2003 17:55 vicki: i love michael jackson Posted on November 2, 2003 07:35 seyyed: I hate MJ and i want to f*ck him. Go to hell MJ!!! Posted on November 17, 2003 00:35 CBernetic: Michael Jackson will rule 4 ever! So ... F*CK YOU siyyed! B. Price: I believe in Michael Jackson even though all these child malesting charges keep comin up I think he just needs to think before he acts sometimes... I dont think he's doin anything with these children I just believe he's setting himself up for it by letting all these kids in his house he needs to take it down a notch but all in all he'll always be the King to me P.S.I think he looks better with the beard than without it lol Later everyone..... Posted by B. Price | November 24, 2003 5:54 AM fuzzy: i liked mj's old stuff but now hes a woman..... Posted on November 24, 2003 15:20 jennette foster: i think that if michael jackson i proven guilty then he should be punished but he is by law innocent until proven guilty. Posted by jennette foster | November 25, 2003 4:28 AM
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
