Sweet and High-up

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2000)

This is somehow warmer than other of his films, though that is a characteristic many of his movies share. It took me a few scenes to really latch on to Sean Penn as a virtuoso jazz guitarist, but the actor and the script took me there gradually and once bitten I didn't wanna be let go. As a musician who is heralded by all but, clearly, himself, Penn excels in a role that is very offbeat for him; clearly a challenge he could not run from taking. Enormous pathos in the scene in bed with Hattie where he talks about his mother and father and the scene manages to be funny, too. Samantha Morton as Hattie was tremendous, supplying a good deal of the films warmth herself. Little touches like her eating desserts and his fear of Django Reinhardt, as with all films by The Woodman, take this movie from brilliant to sublime. The ending had so many wonderful elements to it, it left me hoping he could find a way to get back to a simple life with someone good. Overall, it's a sweet and, on the 'good movie scale', a very high-up film.