It's a Small World

EASY GOER (12/08/2016)

As a big fan of several of the people involved in this movie (actors Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon, along with writer/director Paul Schrader), this was a must see film for me. What made it even more (personally) interesting are the following things: Willem Dafoe is one of the founding members of "The Wooster Group"; a terrific theatre troupe, named after the street in the SoHo neighborhood in lower Manhattan, where they are located. At the same time this film was released (1992), I was living in a small walk up apartment on Sullivan Street, which is only 3 (very short) streets west of Wooster Street. I lived there the entire '90's decade. Also, I have a very good friend (who used to be a chef in NYC). He was the Sous chef at the restaurant "Palio", which is the restaurant Schrader uses in the film when John Letour (Dafoe's character) goes out to dinner. It is well known for the huge mural covering much of the wall surfaces (and the excellent cuisine) in Manhattan. I flipped when I saw it in the film, as I had eaten there maybe a month or so prior. I saw the film last week, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed a very young Sam Rockwell in it. He has a small part as a dealer named "Jealous". It is a short scene near the beginning of the movie when he warns Letour about heat from the cops. Also, a young David Spade has a brief scene as well in the role of a talking-non-stop cokehead around the same time in the film. The last actor I will note is Victor Garber; it was the first film I saw him in. Man, he plays a very pathological guy (that is all I will write). I can really relate to some of the people; especially Letour, and his ex-girlfriend. Schrader is such a great writer; it especially comes through (for me) in the visceral nature of some of these characters. I believe this is one of his finest films in that regard.