mrsouth Reviews

Dark Matter (I) (2007)

Could the Virginia Tech shooting make "Dark Matter" relevant?

[4/10 · 17 April 2007]

I wasn't a fan of "Dark Matter" when I saw it at Sundance. It had its moments, but overall, this story about a Chinese student in America whose brilliant theory about dark matter never sees the light of day because of university politics is not the least bit compelling. Nor does it even make sense. One minute, he's being asked to test his ground-breaking theory in three different ways rather than one (something he should be able to do), and the next he's going on an insane shooting rampage to avenge his overlooked genius.

What got me thinking about "Dark Matter" again was Virginia Tech. In the Q&A, director Shi-Zheng Chen claimed his film was based on a real case where a disgruntled Chinese student at an American university shot a number of people for a similar reason. And now it came out today that the Virginia Tech shooter was a "legal alien from South Korea," whose motive is still unknown or at least unreleased.

Since Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung Hui was an English major - basically the opposite of astronomy - and hailed from South Korea rather than China, the similarities between this real life shooter and the main kid in "Dark Matter" likely will never extend beyond the totally superficial. But even these surface parallels could be enough to artificially make the ending of "Dark Matter" more chilling and disturbing.

Perhaps this will help Dark Matter's chances for a theatrical release by transforming an irrelevant, unmemorable indie failure into a timely, insightful prophesy. Or, if "Dark Matter" still doesn't get distribution, the filmmakers can use the real life tragedy as an excuse to potential investors in future projects: "We were on the verge of getting distribution, but then Virginia Tech happened, and the subject matter became too upsetting to be considered for wide release."

Most likely, like so many films at Sundance, Dark Matter's sold-out opening night at one of the world's best film festivals will prove to have been the peak of its achievements.

Smiley Face (2007)

The best film at Sundance

[10/10 · 18 March 2007]

I'm not a pothead, and I don't watch pothead movies. So a story about a girl who gets stoned, and then gets even more stoned wouldn't normally grab me. But film festivals put you in a situation where you watch movies that wouldn't normally interest you. Usually, that's a disaster, but in the case of "Smiley Face," I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.

"Smiley Face" gives us one of the most lovable protagonists I've ever seen in a movie. Jane (Ana Faris) is high the entire movie, even in flashbacks, and thus is happy and childlike just about every time we see her (except when she's paranoid). Most movie characters would breeze through the minor conflicts Jane has to face, but her pot-induced mental disability turns cooking butter into a nearly impossible task. And that's part of what makes her so endearing.

Arranged (2007)

The best film at SXSW 2007

[10/10 · 14 March 2007]

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into this film at SXSW. All I knew was that it was about a Muslim and a Jew who become friends. I figured it would be some kind of Movie of the Week type film with a sentimental "let's all get along" message, but it turned out to be a lot more complicated and interesting than that.

The main plot is that an Orthodox Jew (Zoe Lister Jones) and a Muslim (Frances Benhamou) work at a public school together, and find that their conservative lifestyles and impending arranged marriages make them have more in common with each other than anybody else at the school... even though Jews and Muslims as groups historically have some problems with each other.

It establishes the worlds of Orthodox Judaism and Islam so pitch-perfectly that the movie is fascinating just on the level of observing the lives of others. Though, to be sure, Orthodox Judaism does seem to get a bit more screen time, probably because the writer and the director both have more direct experience with Judaism than Islam. What we do see of both worlds is rife with similarities: both are marked by a reverence for history and tradition, and both are somewhat suspicious of people not members of their particular group. What the two lead women in this film hope to do is embrace the first part of their identities, while rejecting the second part.

Because this story is more concerned with character than multiple plot points, it would have failed without good performances. Luckily, the filmmakers found Lister-Jones and Benhamou to play the Jewish woman and the Muslim woman, respectively. They turn in two flawless performances, and prove themselves to be actresses to watch.