War of the Roses

Rating: Null/10 (21 May 2004)

The Concept: 'Fast Times' meets 'Streetcar' meets 'Catch-22'
Despite what the Top Grossing Lists will tell you, 1999 brought us some interesting efforts. Just ignore the vile 'Star Wars' prequel and the upstart 'Star Wars' ripoff, 'Matrix', and the tons of politically-correct filth.
'Three Kings' was energetic and satirizing, but it steeped too much in nobility. 'Fight Club', the best of the lot, explored both narrative and vision. Here we have the father of 'Club''s photographer showing that he still knows a thing or two about awareness and aesthetics.
This is your only spoiler warning...
Ironically, Spielberg didn't expect this to have so much "raw truth." Why aren't we surprised? He lied to us about suburbia, establishing the stereotypes, in 25 years of ignorance.
Here the stereotypes are gone. The father (in Kubrick reference) lusts after the synthetic Lolita, both symbols of commercialized art. The materialistic mother and homophobic neighbor love guns. But it's in the druggie son where Mendes invests his perspective. Just as Kubrick invests in Curtis in 'Spartacus', the photographer becomes our center.
Thankfully, Janney, Cooper, Bentley, and Birch understand what's happening, but Spacey strikes me as being too "spaced out." Why does he continually recycle the same mannerisms? Why do we think he's the new Brando? This certainly is better material than anything Tennessee Williams concocted and Conrad Hall was probably one of our 10 Best Photographers ever. Will Conrad Jr. live up to expectations?
As for Mendes, he leaves me with a feeling of uncertainty. From this and 'Perdition' he has proved to be competent and even intelligent, but I hope he doesn't fall into the same sentimentality trap that killed Spielberg. Give him another five years and we'll find out (that's how long it took me to decide Fincher was worth following), but for now this is his take on DeVito.
Something to be said about Thomas Newman, can he do wrong?
Final Analysis = = Learn from this...