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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 14, 2005 Movie Reviews ‘Look at Me’ shows gritty side of life By Chris Honoré Tidings reviewer “Look at Me” is not a movie to which Hollywood decision makers would ever have given the green light. They just wouldn’t. It lacks that lotus land fairy tale patina that so often sends audiences out of the theater feeling somehow reassured, even comforted. The equivalent of having just consumed a Happy Meal. Life, at least according to the SoCal screenwriters, is awash in affluence and absent too many rough edges. There’s been a spate of these films in the last six months, if not the last six years. Should a movie be made that reveals the gritty, edgy side of life, then it’s too often going to be just that: raw and threaded with violence. If the bulk of movies coming out of Hollywood is any evidence, then writers, directors and the movie mogul honchos have decided that films that are too close to life as it is lived don’t make for very compelling entertainment. At least not for the American moviegoing audience. And therein is one of the genuine distinctions between foreign films and our own homegrown. The French and the English will risk making a movie that at first blush seems to be about nothing but on closer examination is about a great deal. Case in point is “Look at Me.” At first glance, this movie might be characterized as being a “slice of life” film. That would be a decidedly French slice of life, focusing on individuals who inhabit the Parisian literary world, such as it is. There is Lolita (Marilou Berry), a chunky young woman with a powerful singing voice whose father, Etienne (Jean-Peter Bacri) is a famous author and publisher. She is desperate for his attention, to be recognized, if only briefly, by him. He, clearly, is so completely self-absorbed, so focused on his own personal torments (he suffers from writer’s block), that he is incapable of taking notice of anyone’s circumstances or needs other than his own. His super-sized ego, as it turns out, is consistently corrosive to those who care about him or must deal with him. The irony is that Lolita is also wrapped up in her own insecurities, to the exclusion of others. She rages against her father, is convinced that any young man who takes an interest does so because of her father’s fame, and her weight is her anchor, the cause of much of her personal pain, and something for which she never takes any responsibility. Though she doesn’t say it, there is the notion that if her father stopped and acknowledged her she might be svelte. She would be thinner, happier, more successful as a singer if other people would just change. As it turns out, “Look at Me” is a perfect title for this film, for that is exactly what each character implicitly, if not explicitly, exclaims: “Look at me, see me, pay attention to me,” all the while suffering from an inability, an interactive myopia of sorts, that blinds them to one another. Actually, a recognizable quality that is not just the purview of the French. Stop by any health spa or workout venue. Weigh the quality of so many interactions. Narcissism runs rampant through Western culture. What is courageous about this film, about the screenplay, is that it takes this “me, me” theme and examines it from various points of view. Even Lolita’s voice coach, Sylvia (Agnes Jaoui), a woman who is outside the fray of what is the Parisian literary aristocracy, falls prey to using Lolita to help her struggling novelist husband, Pierre (Laurent Grevill). She becomes more concerned with cultivating Lolita in order to get close to her father than to actually consider Lolita’s talent and its importance to her future. It’s a subtle but self-evident hypocrisy that is all too human and hard to fault. Hence, while at first “Look at Me” might seem to be about not much at all — an ensemble of people whose lives intersect — it proves to be about a great deal. It’s certainly not a Happy Meal. Each character is, in his or her own way, decent, and not so decent. Life is not a cliché, it is never without ambiguity, and far too often, like the characters in this film, we are prone to give an inordinate amount of thought to our own needs and vagaries, hence the familiar, frustrated, angry refrain, “It’s not always about you.” Well, in this honest and ultimately absorbing film, it is and it isn’t … all about you or me or them. Which is what makes it so memorable. MOVIES 3-Iron In Korean with English subtitles A man breaks into homes while their owners are away, cooking, bathing, doing a bit of cleaning and washing clothes. But in one house, a woman hides and observes his routine. When her husband returns home and threatens her, the intruder steps in. A romantic drama that lets you use your own imagination as to what is real and what is fantasy. Directed by Kim Ki-Duk (“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring”) Lee Seung-Yeon, Jae Hee, Kwon Hyuk-Ho, Joo Jin-Mo R for some sexual content/95 min. Batman Begins Disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne, in the wake of his parents’ murder, travels the world to seek the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight sinister forces that threaten the city.Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer. PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements/140 min. Bewitched A conceited actor, getting a last break as the lead in a remake of “Bewitched,” thinks a certain unknown would be perfect casting for the part of Samantha, but he doesn’t know she really is a witch. Nicole Kidman, Will Farrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Carell, Fred Willard. PG-13 for some language, including sex and drug references, and partial nudity/102 min. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family, but things may change for him when he finds one of five gold tickets hidden in chocolate bars. The ticket allows him, as well as the children who find the other tickets, to take a tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Directed by Tim Burton (“Edward Scissorhands”, upcoming “Corpse Bride”); Starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore PG for quirky situations, action and mild language/115 min. Dark Water A mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. There they are targeted by the ghost of a former resident.. Remake of of the Japanese horror film, “Dark Water.”Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth.PG-13 for mature thematic material, frightening sequences, disturbing images and brief language/111 min. Howl’s Moving Castle A teenage girl working in a hat shop is literally swept off her feet by a wizard, then turned into a 90-year-old woman by a wicked witch in this fantasy anime. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”). Voice Talents of Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Billy Crystal, Blythe Danner. PG for frightening images and brief mild language/119 min. Fantastic 4 After a freak accident aboard a space station, four people gain uncommon powers. Mr. Fantastic can elongate his body; Invisible Woman can become invisible and render other objects invisible; Human torch can shoot fire from his finger tips and bend flame; and The Thing has incredible strength. Together they battle to save the Earth from the evil of Dr. Doom. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon. PG-13 for intense action and some suggestive content/110 min. Look At Me In French with English subtitles A young woman named Lolita with a powerful singing voice and pouty disposition strives to be everything she is not — perfect, popular, and the object of her famous, self-absorbed father. Directed by Anges Jaoui. Starring Marilou Berry, Agnes Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Laurent Grevill, Virginie Desarnauts PG-13 for brief language and a sexual reference/110 min. Mad Hot Ballroom A profile of several children and their journey into the world of ballroom dancing. The 11-year-olds go from reluctantly participating to preparing to competing in citywide finals. PG for some thematic elements/105 min. War of the Worlds Updated retelling of the classic 1898 H.G. Wells story about aliens invading the earth, as seen through the eyes of one family. Directed by Steven Spielberg (“E.T.,” “Jaws,” “Schindler’s List,” “Minority Report,” “Jurassic Park”). Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin. PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci fi violence, disturbing images/118 min. Wedding Crashers A pair of “divorce mediators” spend their weekends crashing weddings in search of Mrs. Right…for a night. Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams R for sexual content/nudity and language/120 min. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. 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