cerebral think piece on the art of writing about life
first off, the events of this film aren't all in richard's (the main character's) mind. some of them are; some aren't. the women aren't; some of the events/conversations involving them aren't. the writer/director of the story found a great way to use a sexy (and a couple of scenes in the film are extremely sexy), if cliched, idea to dramatize a fiction writer's plight. :-)
here's another online review of the movie for those who might want yet another opinion:
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Crashing (2007)
There is something about fulfilling your dreams. Once that is accomplished you have to consider the rest of your life. You work hard and long for years to achieve a goal and when it was finally done many are conflicted as to what comes next. This is the basic premise of the comic drama ‘Crashing’ by Gary Walkow. It depicts a man who has reached the place he always wanted only to have his world come crashing down all around him. This is the trouble inherent in making your professional reputation at a younger age. All too often there is no way to go but down. This is a character driven movie that is reminiscent of some of the old sex romp comedies that were popular in the sixties and made Rock Hudson and Doris Day big stars. Of course the sensibilities concerning sex have drastically changed in the intervening decades so this film is more explicit then could have been imagined back then. It is also a departure from the now typical ‘R’ rated comedy. Many comedies of that rating are little more than puerile excuses to show nudity and drug use. While both are present in this flick they are aspects of the story not the sole focus. There was potential here for a deeper film about human emotions and the price of fame. It also could have been played completely for laughs. Instead Walkow splits the difference taking on the increased demands of the blended genre of comedy drama. Many elements of the film will be very familiar but overall the flick works as entertaining and a reasonable diversion from the work week. It might have been interesting if taken in a more intellectual direction but as it stands the film is satisfying. The film was premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and when directly into a limited theatrical release. It has taken awhile but now it has made its way to the home theater market with a DVD release from Image Entertainment.
Walkow takes on many hats for this film. He wrote the story, the screenplay, produced and directed it. As a writer his previous works included a comedy and a couple or rather surreal movies including one, ‘Notes from the Underground’ culled from the Dostoevsky novel. The script here is somewhat predictable which is about standard for this type of movie. The setup is standard; man makes it big on his first try and immediately stalls. He then has to plummet to hit bottom. This is where the combination of drama and comedy is best utilized. That is the drama. The comedy comes in when he is hunted by one older and two much younger women. Under these circumstances there is a fine line between comedy and a farce but Walkow walks it pretty well. The story allows the audience to connect with the protagonist Richard McMurray (Campbell Scott). We have to see him rise and fall and feel for him before we can bring ourselves to laughing at some of the situations he encounters. These plot lines are stock but the cast does manage to breathe a little more life into it. Both fundamental genres are difficult enough on their own but Walkow is able to put them together for a fun story of mishaps and misadventure.
As a director Walkow has some experience with off beat projects. His first opus was ‘The Trouble with Dick’ back in 1987. This was a similar piece about a science fiction writer coping with writer’s block. He also directed a couple of quirky television series including ‘Sledge Hammer’ and ‘She wolf of London’, along with a couple of other films. Much of the action here takes place in rather close quarters. Walkow works well with this limitation. There is almost the look and feel of some of the experimental stage plays my wife and used to catch in Greenwich Village here in New York City. This helps to concentrate the drama and keep the comedy from going too broad. He does fall short when he tries to visualize the literary attempts of the characters trying to write. This has the tendency to break up the pacing of the story and while initially fun it can feel overused at a point. He also has efficiency in telling his story. The film comes in under eighty minutes. In some ways this can be consider a sequel of sorts to his first film. The name of the novel that started Richard’s career was ‘The Trouble With Dick’. Other than the thematic similarities and the title of the fictional novel this is a stand alone film.
The film opens with a brief shot of a newspaper review of Richard’s novel. It hails it as an impressive debut that is a skillful blend of science fiction and self examination. The novel is also called a genre-bending coming of age novel. To reach such a height with your first book is quite an accomplishment. It also sets the bar for subsequent works incredibly high. The synopsis of the novel indicates that it was about a writer trying to keep his sanity while caught between three very different women. What Richard doesn’t realize at the onset of this film is life is about to imitate art. It has been seven long years since that first book and he has not been able to come up with another one since. It had been anticipated years before so he is feeling the pressure to provide giving new meaning to the phrase publish or perish. One day after another failed attempt to work on the second novel Richard comes home to find his suitcase at his front door; his wife has thrown him out. His key no longer fits in the door just like Richard no longer fits in his life. He winds up reconnecting with a former girlfriend Diane (Alex Kingston) who is professor at a local college teaching a writing class. She invites him to come and speak to her class. She recognized one of the characters from his novel as an unflattering portrayal of her and still has a little trouble with it but he is an old friend. Richard causally mentions that he happens to be without lodgings at the moment and is offered the use of a couch by comely co-ed Kristen (Izabella Miko). Diane doesn’t seem to care for the idea but Kristen’s roommate Jacqueline (Lizzy Caplan) is all for it. An strange symbiosis emerges where Richard is getting a lot of non-literary stimulation and the young ladies have their own live in literary guide to help their hopes of becoming authors.
For a film that is based on sexual tension there is very little sex and no real nudity in it. This is to the credit of Mr. Walkow in taking the high road and not giving in to more juvenile approaches. This is ultimately a character study of a man in a mid life crisis who is forced to reevaluate the direction his life is taking. There are some fine performances here most notably by the central three actors. They are able to give their characters a touch of realism and help center the story.
The film is distributed through the edgier division of Image Entertainment, Think Films, They always seem to find worthy little independent flicks to bring to DVD. This is a movie that is not perfect but it is entertaining.
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gregory 71809.
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as an addendum, i saw this film again on showtime (geez, has it really been two years?!), and i'd simply add that it also works very well as middle-aged male writer fantasy :-P
gregory 30111.
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