Andrew Fleming’s Barefoot falls short of being both an intriguing and emotionally moving film.  Coming from a director credited for cult classics such as The Craft and Dick, I had a level of expectation for this film, which by the end of the 90 minutes was not met. Barefoot left much to be desired. While it has some of the essential ingredients to be a perfect indie rom-com; a spoonful of  Evan Rachel Wood‘s kewpie, doe-eyed, Daisy, and a dose of ne’er-do-well bad boy with striking good looks, Jay, played by Scott Speedman, the film lacks the spark necessary to really label it a success. The pair is brought together through a seemingly subtle twist of fate; Jay owes some very “bad” people a lot of money and needs to charm his father (Treat Williams) into giving him the necessary funds to repay the debt. What better opportunity to ask for the loan then his brother’s upcoming wedding in New Orleans.

In order to do so he needs to convince his father that he has cleaned up his act and is ready to settle down. How do you convince your parents that you’re ready to settle down? With a serious girlfriend, of course. Unable to find a suitable stand-in girlfriend from among his stripper acquaintances, Jay finally settles on heading to the wedding on his own, until one evening when he rescues Daisy at the mental institution where he works as a janitor. Daisy is beautiful and upon seeing her, Jay feels that she would be the perfect candidate for his plan . There is a catch, Daisy is a patient at the mental institution. Once Daisy follows him and sneaks out of the hospital, Jay has no choice but to take her under his wing as they embark on a roller coaster of an adventure across the country.

Throughout the course of their journey together, Daisy reveals that she is not like most girls, having been raised by an overprotective mother who kept her sheltered from the outside world for much of her life; she has grown up lacking the social skills and worldliness necessary to get by in society. I am a fan of Wood’s previous work, think Thirteen, Across the Universe and even recent indie rom-com A Case of You alongside Justin Long. However, Wood portrays Daisy’s childlike nature with such overemphasis that it is difficult to believe the naiveté in her actions as she experiences many firsts–her first time flying on a plane; her first time drinking champagne; her first time on a roller coaster. Her behavior comes across as trite, and insincere. Speedman has an easier time portraying Jay, though only because there really is not much to his character. Displays of cliché bad boy behavior are present–a one night stand, gambling issues, visits to the strip club and of course the presence of the gangsters to whom he owes the debt, as mentioned in the outset. The various cliches of the film are so blatant throughout that their obvious emotional responses seem almost dictated. But they result in only general detachment.

The characters and the storyline are underdeveloped which result in the lack of any emotional connection to either of the protagonists, or even an understanding of their connection. As much as the director is telling me to root for them to be together, and as much as I would like to believe that Daisy is just the change Jay needs to turn his aimless life around, it’s all just wishful thinking.

Barefoot trailer

I learned pretty quick the importance of showing up to the press screenings early. I’d heard this advice shortly after checking in and receiving my credentials; but, for my first screening of the festival–after arriving to the theater a good forty minutes before the film–I was told by the door manager that they probably wouldn’t open up until just before the show, and if I got in line five minutes before I would be fine. I half trusted her, went to grab a snack, and returned fifteen minutes before curtain time. The theater doors had already been opened, and nearly all of the seats were occupied. I managed to find a place in the front row, which was far from ideal, but at least it was a seat. Since then I have made a point of arriving a solid thirty minutes ahead.

Sometimes the press is let straight into the theater, but often there is a screening going on prior and we have to wait. Generally I’m not a fan of lines. I doubt if anyone is. However, in an international setting with so many people sharing a common interest in one place, I have yet to find the time spent in line at all terrible. Norwegian journalists specializing in American Pop Culture, German media students, and the occasional Canadian blogger are all just a shout away. Conversation isn’t difficult to initiate; simply turning around and asking where someone is from, if they were at this-or-that press conference, or if they are excited for the screening usually does the trick. The next thing you know you are discussing, debating, and critiquing film with someone from an entirely different corner of the world with a totally different outlook on cinema.

I have made a point of making my program selection as diverse as possible, while still attending the bigger film screenings. Because not everyone is as interested in the big name films from the US, it is typical for conversation to rapidly drift to the smaller, less known films in the festival line up. Coming from the US, I take as much as I can from films that depict a culture I am unfamiliar with, but having the opportunity to discuss the technique and story of a French drama with someone who is more than familiar with the director’s work and the social commentary surrounding a film brings about a whole new understanding and experience from what I initially left the theater with. This being said, if you ever have the opportunity to attend a large festival, pick a film or two that you might not typically watch, and take advantage of the other attendees, because there is always more than one way to experience a movie.

Lovelace

As I mentioned in the last post, the festival this year is presenting a surprising number of films that deal with issues of sex and pornography–more so than ever before, according to one of the festival programmers. Lovelace is one such film that takes a critical look at the porn industry by telling the story of the first real porn star, Linda Lovelace–star of the first real mainstream porn film, Deep Throat; portrayed by Amanda Seyfried. Lovelace takes place in the early and mid–seventies, when the porn industry was just beginning to really take off. The director of the film, Rob Epstein, commented in the press conference on the significance of the time period, stating it was a new age of sexual openness, but sometimes there are unintended consequences that can arise from this new openness.

The story is told twice from two perspectives. First is the story as seen from the outside, as Linda meets, falls in love with, and marries Chuck Traynor–who is responsible for getting her involved in the making of Deepthroat. The story is typical, and while moments might feel somewhat tense or uncomfortable for the characters, the world shown is full of glamour and success. It is an outsider’s view. The story then jumps ahead six years to Linda preparing for a polygraph test, per request of her publisher as she is about to release a book on her experiences. The story returns to the point right after she marries Traynor, and the glamour is replaced with scenes of abuse, domestic violence, and Linda’s struggle to escape the world she has been forced into.

Amanda Seyfried commented that the production of Lovelace was the most fun she has ever had on a set. While the film is serious in nature, it’s not hard to see how she came to this conclusion, as she totally breaks her typical character caste. The blonde, wholesome, heartthrob we typically see her as is replaced with a freckly, brunette, girl-next-door who is forced to function in extremely trying circumstances. The film brings out the full flair of the seventies, including high contrast, high grain film stock, great costumery and set direction, and a fantastic soundtrack. The film also stars a very dark Peter Sarsgaard and a cameo of James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

RATING: 8.7

Amanda Seyfried and James Franco

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is the feature debut of Fredrik Bond, who–before this point–has made a name for himself directing Heineken commercials. The film is fairly grandiose in production scale, and features a big name cast including Shia LeBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, and a post-Harry Potter Rupert Grint.

Filmed on location in Romania, the film tells the tale of Charlie Countryman, who–after the death of his mother, and on the request of a drug-induced vision of her postmortem–takes off for Eastern Europe to find himself. After a passenger on his flight dies, Charlie decides to deliver a hat to the daughter of the deceased passenger and immediately falls in love. Unfortunately for Charlie, the now girl-of-his-dreams was once married to a dangerous killer, who recently returned to the country. In his adventure, Charlie faces death around nearly every corner, experiences a fancifully wild Eastern European party scene, and enjoys a crazy drug trip or two–all in the name of love, of course.

Charlie Countryman is a very typical love story–verging on the traditional chick-flick format, but set in an extreme, action adventure wonderland. Where a typical romance movie about new love might show a man concerning himself about simply losing the woman of his dreams, for Charlie it involves getting beaten to a pulp and possibly meeting a violent end. The film opens, closes, and in brief interlude features a faceless narrator who turns out to be not very reliable. The film works to creat many visual spectacles–usually drug induced–and makes use of typical hollywood action sequences we are used to seeing in contemporary films of this genre. In all, I found Charlie Countryman a bit over the top, unreliable, and had difficulty believing in the characters. However, if you are just looking to have a good time and enjoy a fast paced action adventure, it might be right up your alley.

RATING: 6.7

I ended my day by attending one of the five short film programs. I have always loved short films, and admire the ability to tell a solid story in a brief period of time. Unfortunately the shorts program I saw was very disappointing. I can appreciate a film as strictly an art piece, but if they too avant garde to tell a cohesive story I do not believe they belong on such a prestigious stage as Berlinale. During the festival’s Talent Campus–a lecture series featured throughout the festival–there is a presentation by the short film programmers, in which they discuss what they look for in a short film. I will make sure to attend this, as well as a few more short programs, and maybe they can explain their approach a bit better.

COMING UP: As for day three, Maladies with James Franco and Catherine Keener is on deck.

George Clooney directs and stars in his latest film, The Ides of March, which focuses on people involved in American politics and the scandals that often come with them. The film also shows how people evolve in politics from a passionate driven nobody who legitimately believes in what they are doing to a position climber who only cares about gaining power. These are all things most already know so you are not likely to walk away with anything new but thanks to the excellent cast giving strong performances it is not a deal breaker.

It is one week from the Ohio Democratic primary, which is one of the most important primaries because normally it puts the winner in a position to win the party and thus in the running for president in the general election. Mike Morris (George Clooney) is a Democrat governor who is looking to win this primary. Along his sides are his senior campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling).

An example of how brilliant Stephen is, he comes up with a plan that would mandate 18 year olds to do 2 years of service of some kind whether that be in the army or the Peace Corps and in return their college will be paid for. They know that is a bold plan to announce but they also know the voting demographic will be for it since it does not affect them and the age group it does affect is too young to even vote.

Stephen makes the mistake of agreeing to meet with Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), who is the running mates campaign manager. Tom tries to lure Stephen into jump ship from his current position and work for his guy Senator Pullman. Stephen declines and that is when Tom lets him know that the race is much closer than he thinks. Tom informs him that they are in position to capture North Carolina’s delegates from a deal with the governor.

Stephen lets his team know of the situation and Paul comes up with a plan. Walk away from Ohio immediately and take a loss and head over to North Carolina to offer the governor a higher position if Morris is elected for his endorsement vote. Morris does not go for it and decides to stick it out in Ohio.

Meanwhile, a young intern named Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood) takes interest in Stephen. They meet up outside of work where it is admitted that she has wanted him for some time now. He knows that they must keep this a secret but what he does not know is that he will soon discover a secret that could end the campaign in a heartbeat.

The ensemble cast is comprised of a collection of well-seasoned actors and actresses. A group that you would expect great performances from and they fulfill those expectations. With a cast of; George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei, you just cannot go wrong in terms of performance.

Although the entire cast was great, the obvious stand out was Gosling. Watching his character development was my favorite quality of the film. You see Stephen changed from a guy who just wanted to win the polls to a guy that just wanted to get ahead in power.

If there is one thing you take away from The Ides of March it is that all politicians are dirty, even the ones you think are the good guys. Scandals are just the nature of being in politics, being under the microscope on everything you say and do does not help. It is nothing that most people did not already know which is why the storyline is fairly compelling but ultimately one that is not hard to predict how the scene would end once it had started.