A celebration of beauty and freedom

Rating: 8/10 (22 September 1999)

This movie reminds you what movies at their best can do better than almost any other medium. First, they offer beautiful pictures--what is a movie after all but a succession of images? Yes, story is important, but there are lots of ways to tell a story; a movie requires you to look at pictures. These pictures ought to be memorable, or else why are you bothering to go to the movies. This movie asks you to appreciate the beauty of ordinary objects, epitomized by the movie within the movie of the dancing paper bag, and the beauty of people, not just the conventional pretty blonde that the Kevin Spacey character falls for, but also his daughter Jane, as in the scene where the neighbor kid's video camera moves in past her blonde girlfriend to focus on Jane's face.
Second, the best movies are about freedom. Anything can happen in a movie; movies do not need to respect the conventional boundaries of time and space. Characters should be believable and true, to draw us in, but they should also be capable of the unexpected. They should help liberate us and show us life's possibilities. We know from the beginning of this movie that the Kevin Spacey character is doomed, yet we rejoice in his liberation.
Don't be afraid to laugh at this movie, even though some of the scenes are grim, and none of the characters are particularly likeable. This movie is hilarious. It is a joy.