1995
Directed by Paul Auster and Wayne Wang
Paul Auster is heavily featured on the 1001 Book List; I think six of his novels were chosen (whereas Balzac only has three, which is strange to me). So far I have only read Mr. Vertigo, which was wonderfully weird. I was actually surprised by how normal this film turned out to be. Surprised and a little disappointed.
Basically, the film follows the stories of several different characters who are loosely connected by a Brooklyn smoke shop. This seems to be a style that was used a lot in the nineties, although at least this film kept it under two hours. I suppose the initiating event is when a homeless teenager saves an author from being hit by a car.
Sorry for another vague description. A few of the plot lines could be wrapped up in a sentence, so I wanted to avoid going into too much detail and ruining the very few twists. I actually found this film to be incredibly predictable, which was rather unfortunate, although I suppose this is a movie you watch for the dialogue, not the plot. I could definitely tell a novelist had written the dialogue, as it was sometimes a bit too odd to sound realistic.
But I am being a bit too harsh. The film features some great actors, including Forest Whitaker, Ashley Judd, Harvey Keitel, Stockard Channing, and William Hurt. It was well paced and overall worth a watch, but I am afraid it didn't leave much of an impression.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Forest Whitaker is only two years older than Harold Perrineau, who plays his son.
