Product: The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
Rating: 4.0
A Great Film From A Great Director
This is a great, original, unique film. It is novelistic in characterization and nuance, not pop trash like the majority of films... which may explain why it received very limited theatrical release in the U.S. The story, though, is simple enough: it is a love story. And a murder mystery. What isn't so simple is its self-reflexive nature, and this is where things get interesting. The actors play characters who are in turn playing roles. Milla Jovovich's Eloise announces early on "I'm not real. I'm fictional". Identity is a construct, it is armor against a very harsh world. It is a very imperfect armor, and then there is the need, the desire, to let the other person inside. Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies) and Eloise play this game, dance this dance. It is very touching.Wim Wenders knows how to get the best from his actors. Davies and Jovovich are outstanding. Wender's method appears to be to let the camera run forever, giving the actors an extroadinary amount of breathing room. As in his "Paris, Texas" the result is very natural scenes that look completely unscripted. There are long silences, long pauses that communicate... the way people communicate in their daily lives.The movie's soundtrack by U2 is, not surprisingly, terrific (the CD is well worth getting, as well as the movie).The only disappointment of this film is Mel Gibson's performance. He seems never to get a handle on his character. Perhaps the role was simply beyond his acting ability (demonstrating once again that there is a difference between being an actor and being a movie star). Perhaps his nose was put out of joint by having to play second fiddle to someone of Jeremy Davies' meagre fame. In any case, Gibson's lackluster performance is the only drawback to this must-see film from one of the world's greatest directors.