Laurel Canyon

Plot synopsis:
Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are a newly engaged couple who move to Los Angeles to further their careers. Sam is a recently graduated psychiatrist, starting his residency, while Alex, who comes from a very wealthy background, is finishing her M.D.-Ph.D. dissertation on genomics. The relatively strait-laced, upwardly mobile couple plan to stay at the vacant home of Sam's mother, Jane (Frances McDormand), a free-spirited record producer in the Laurel Canyon section of the City of Los Angeles.
In a change of plans, however, Jane is still around, recording an album with her boyfriend, Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola), and his band. The film focuses in some depth on the challenge of trying to create successful pop music, showing work on two tracks (both actually written, and previously released, by the band Sparklehorse). Ian's bandmates are played by noted indie rockers, bassist Lou Barlow and guitarist Imaad Wasif.
Jane and Ian are in the midst of a fiery romance, and both the producer and the band seem more interested in partying than finishing the record. Jane's presence is a source of consternation for Sam, as he and his mother have a somewhat strained relationship, due to their very different mindsets.
Alex, however, is intrigued by the new lifestyle options presented by her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Normally hardworking, Alex begins spending more time with the band and less time working on her dissertation. Her growing fascination with Jane and Ian leads to a scene where the three of them kiss one another while naked in the swimming pool.
Meanwhile, Sam finds himself attracted to fellow resident Sara (Natascha McElhone), who is unapologetically interested in him as well. They share one first kiss while returning from an informal interns' meeting, around the same time Alex has her first tryst with Jane and Ian in the pool. Some time later, while Alex attends Jane and Ian's party held in a crowded hotel suite to celebrate the band's new album release, Sam and Sara meet in a parking lot and, in a conversation filled with sexual tension, they declare their attraction for one another.
The situation strains Sam and Alex's relationship almost to the point of breaking by the end of the film. After the party has finished and the three of them are left alone in the suite, Ian tries to "finish" (in his words) his encounter with Alex and Jane, but the latter decides against it and the threesome does not take place. Upon returning home after his conversation with Sara, Sam decides to go to the hotel and discovers Jane, Ian, and Alex scantily-clad in the bedroom. In a fit of rage he repeatedly punches Ian, hits his mother with the elbow as she tries to split the fight, and leaves the hotel, but Alex chases him down the street and professes her love for him.
The next morning, the situation seems back to normal again. But Sara phones Sam and tells him she can't control her heart, as opposed to what he told her the day before. Sam watches his surroundings, postpones any further conversation, and takes a moment of reflection. Credits run.

Tags: romantic

Review:
`Laurel Canyon' is about a man named Sam (Bale) and his fiancé Alex (Kate Bekinsale) who move to California so he can begin his medical residency at a local hospital and she can finish her dissertation.
The pair moves in with Sam's mom Jane (Frances McDormand) who is record producer who lives on Laurel Canyon Road in Hollywood.
The soundtrack holds a great deal of classic rock songs from groups such as `Steely Dan,' `Leroy' and `Mercury Rev.'	Overall, `Laurel Canyon' was a very good movie that reminds its audience to look beyond the surface of things and to see what really matters in all relationships-love.
The grown son (Christian Bale) of a record producer (Frances McDormand) ends up bringing his girl friend (Kate Bekinsdale) to California.
Christian Bale and Frances McDormand have a poignant scene at the end of "Laurel Canyon", but again the film strangely mutes the power which the actors imbue their characters with.I'd rate this film a 70/100.
I suspect audiences will especially enjoy and identify with Kate Beckinsale's character: a studious and sheltered young doctoral student who takes to the hedonistic Los Angeles lifestyle in a big way.
Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are an uptight, New York couple in complete control of their lives, until they move in with Sam's mother Jane (Frances McDormand) who is a loose hippie (in all senses of the words).
Jane also has a slew of rock-and-roll men living in her house, most notably, Ian (Alessandro Nivola), her primary boyfriend with an irresistible accent - but then again Jane and Ian don't really label anything, especially relationships.As Sam grows increasingly frustrated by his mother's lifestyle, Alex grows increasingly intrigued by it.
The sexual tension between Beckinsale, Nivola and McDormand is electric and is able to keep driving the film forward.The dialogue is funny enough and the actors are all very good that they make up for the slightly predictable plot.
Between the generation of hippie organic mama (Frances McDormand) and her predictably uptight conservative doctor son (Christian Bale) and his uber egghead grad student girlfriend (Kate Beckinsale) are the silences of a parent who did her thing and a son who didn't.
Well, the same holds true for writer-director Lisa Cholondenko's latest work, `Laurel Canyon'.Here is a movie featuring characters that are truly authentic.
The music in this movie is awesome, thanks to the writing talents of Mark Linkous, the creative force behind the critically acclaimed band "Sparklehorse."  The songs are sung by actor, Allesandro Nivola, who's performance was awesome - as was Francis McDormand, Kate Beckinsale, Christian Bale and Natascha McElhone.
As a married man I understand the temptation he has to deal with.Kate Beckinsale(sp?) also did a convincing job of a playing the awkwardness of a foreigner in an unknown and exciting place.Francis Macdormand(sp?) What can I say, she is always amazing, and natural.Alessandro Nivola is a young actor who you should keep an eye out for!
"Laurel Canyon" isn't a sharp enough barb at the music industry nor is it insightful enough about relationships, but there are individual performances and musical references to make it worthwhile.Frances McDormand as a Queen Bee, omnisexual music producer is a prime reason to see the film, playing the opposite of her "Almost Famous" Mom. There are hints about her musical ears being passe, as her house has a lot more shelves and shelves of old LPs than the few new CDs piled up, plus the photos of her in studios with past stars.
The realistic musical mise en scene includes appearances by musician Lou Barlow and producer Daniel Lanois, among others.The basic tension is supposed to be her being the fascination of the abomination to her straight-laced son Christian Bale (pretty much playing the same character as in "Metroland") and his fiancee, Kate Beckinsale pretty much playing the Susan Sarandon role from "Rocky Horror Picture Show."  There's also some irony about Bale's character being an effective shrink in training, with all his mother issues, and a new twist on mother-in-law issues.But that is undercut by virtually all being drawn, a la the Rolling Stones' "Spider and the Fly" song which should be on the soundtrack but isn't, by snake-straight-from-the-Garden-of-Eden Alessandro Nivola's sexy leader of a rock band that sure looks and sounds a lot like Goo Goo Dolls or Coldplay (the film's composer is with the band Shudder to Think) and sincerely says all kinds of unbelievable things about commitment and has no problem writing a radio-friendly ballad.
Francis McDormand, of "Fargo" fame, who is getting a bit too mature to be judged merely for her appearance (although she looks awfully fit for a woman her age), nevertheless is interesting to watch and dominates the situation throughout the movie.
Coupled with the romantic quandary faced by Christian Bale who must choose between fidelity to his fiancée, Kate Beckinsale, and a lustful fling with his alluring coworker, Natascha McElhone, gives this movie an entertaining edge that is not usually seen in more recent Hollywood offerings.
Anyone from Los Angeles will instantly recognize many of the locations, particularly things like the Château Marmont hotel (where, incidentally, Lindsay Lohan lived for months and months in 2006 while she couldn't seem to stop partying enough to find a real apartment) and, more importantly, that charming cafe at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Kirkwood Drive, where I often used to go for coffee.Jim Morisson's house, a few feet away, is sadly overlooked, which is strange since the movie is about the hectic world behind the scenes of the music industry.
It's nearly impossible to imagine a smart, well-balanced young man entering his career as a psychiatrist having come from the environment that Jane (McDormand) would have provided him during childhood, but the situational drama that comes from their relationship is revelatory about both lifestyles.The actual neighborhoods and the style of the houses in that part of Hollywood are presented perfectly, thanks in no small part to the location shooting, but it also captures the attitude in many ways as well.
Frances McDormand gives the film some personality (her straightforward, yet unhurried and unhindered nature does more for the picture than it does for her), but the younger players all look and act like supermodels and the sub-plot about a rock band trying to get their new record in the can is curiously naive.
She looked really good to be play Jane, Sam's(Christian Bale,"Batman Begins") mother who is a record producer, whose lifestyle is virtually unacceptable.
From it's sexy comedic opening scene with a jarring telephone, to the closing, again featuring Chrisian Bale floating in a rather interesting swimming pool, this film features superb performaces by some of the most interesting actors working today such as Mr. Bale, Frances McDormand, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone and Alessandro Nivola.
Kate Beckinsale is excellent(and marvelous to look at) as the girlfriend and Allesandro Nivola is very good as the leader of the band.So what are my gripes about this film?
Today I found the performance: Frances McDormand as an aging, randy, and still accomplished record producer in Lisa Cholodenko's `Laurel Canyon.' She goes way beyond Marge In `Fargo' to fashion a likeable, unconventional mom living somewhere between Woodstock and Rodeo Drive.McDormand goes through a variety of emotions from bitchy bliss when smoking pot calmly with the band she is producing to conflicted anguish when lovemaking with her son's (Christian Bale) girlfriend.
She is the center of the film regardless of Kate Beckinsale and Natascha McElhone's (second-year resident, yearning for Bale) beauty and Alessandro Nivola's Brad Pitt-like seductiveness.
The stock story of McDormand's son and his girlfriend (Beckinsale) visiting mom in Laurel Canyon while he does his psychiatric residency and Beckinsale her dissertation telegraphs the transformation in their conservative lives at almost every turn.
Alex's mother, record-producer Jane (Frances McDormand) lives an easygoing life of sex and drugs.
In the process of staying with her, Sam and Alex just aren't able to distance themselves from Jane's existence.Granted, with the kind of idiotic movies that Hollywood makes, it's always good to see an indie film like this one.
Sam (Christian Bale) is an uptight twenty-something newly-graduated psychiatrist with an equally intelligent girlfriend, Alex (Kate Beckinsale) who moves to Los Angeles to begin a new job, and moves into his ageing rock-chick mother (Frances Dormand) Jane's plush Laurel Canyon house.
Sam is deeply uncomfortable with his mother's lifestyle, but Alex, after overcoming her initial apprehension, quickly becomes seduced by Jane's way of life.On paper this is the kind of story that's more suitable to a comedy treatment than drama, but writer-director Lisa Cholodenko's talent is of an introspective nature: she prefers to analyse the motivating factors behind the decisions her characters make.
That said, he gives a fine performance as does Natascha Henstridge as Sam's beautiful colleague and potential love interest.Bottom line: difficult to figure out exactly what Cholodenko is trying to say, largely because of the quality of the writing and an inconclusive ending that leaves the viewer feeling cheated.
and since it is a movie about emotional stuff it shouldn't fail precisely in that aspect: there are only 2 or 3 sequences that are really moving, meanwhile the rest of the movie passes between indifference and coldness.Anyway, the final assessment it is rather positive, taking into account this was only the second Cholodenko's film: she knows how to move the camera, she's not pretentious at all, and the actor's selection is just nice: Christian Bale (the son) and Frances McDormand (the mother) are two of the best active actors.
In "Laurel Canyon" Frances McDormand does a juicy turn as Jane, an aging but sexually active record producer, and Christian Bale is irresistibly handsome as Sam, Jane's intern son just out of Harvard Medical School.
After a period of temptation and dalliance, some artistic work gets successfully accomplished, but the young people involved are left dangling and so are we.Cholodenko provides a more complicated plot this time that includes sexual temptations not just for an innocent girl and an experienced woman (Alex and Jane), but also for the innocent girl's boyfriend Sam; the record producer's current flame Ian (Alessandro Nivola); and the beautiful Israeli intern (Natasha) who's drawn to Bale's character.
The movie oscillates methodically between the music folks working on a record at Jane's Laurel Canyon mansion and Sam's straight efforts as an intern in the psych ward of a nearby hospital.Sam and Alex have come to work in California and stay at his mom's house, not knowing that it would be so full of people and rife with opportunities to be naughty.
The medical scenes stay at the level of a wan TV drama while the recording process is made relatively fresh and engaging, and toward the end of the movie Jane declares the record to be one of the best she's ever produced.There's a powerful amount of accent-swapping in this movie: Bale does one of his skillful, if somewhat odd, American voices (he always seems a glamorous alien); the rather stiff Beckinsale does likewise; the equally British McElhone does a Bulgarian sounding Israeli; and Alessandro Nivola, who hales from Boston, does a down and dirty English accent.McDormand alone gets to stick with her own American voice.
Nivola, who's her much younger lover as well as the lead singer on the record, does a good job of keeping up.Charismatic though he may be in his way, Bale doesn't seem to bring much intelligence to his interpretation of the thankless but central role of McDormand's disapproving son.
All that's certain is that the record came out well and that McDormand and her character had the most fun."High Art" was a lower-profile, smaller movie, and though in a sense it went nowhere either, there was that nice little lesbian romance at the center of it, and its New York bohemian scene was more intriguing than the Laurel Canyon/Chateau Marmont recording world of Cholodenko's new movie.
There's sufficient gloss to the music scene to draw you in -- Choldenko's at home with parties and drugged-out artistic people -- but the writer/director isn't adept enough at plot construction to develop the situation's potential for farce.There's a really amusing story hiding here somewhere, no doubt one with Frances McDormand still in the foreground.
The director, the script and the producers who greenlighted this stillborn project are first and foremost to blame here.The story sorta had potential (behind the scenes of the music industry) but I've never seen a movie shoot itself in the foot on so many occasions as this film.
Whatever chance this film had to turn up good was repeatedly destroyed by the kooky decisions made for the film:1 - The Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale characters are so annoying and unbelievably fake that the whole drama of the story, which weighs on their attitude towards the people they have to live with and their new dwelling, falls apart from the get-go.
Frances McDormand, while seemingly too young to play the role of mom to Christian Bale, delivers a good performance although she has little in the way of script to work with.Interestingly, of three of the principal characters, two of them are British actors playing American characters, and one is an American actor playing a Brit.
They are defending a life style that's always pushed around in these kind of films.But you have Frances McDormand here, which makes the movie at last average.
Natascha McElone and Alessandro Nivola are very effective in their roles, but without a question, it's Frances McDormand's film and it's only when she dominates the screen that things come alive..
Sam decides to have his residence in psychiatric field in California, while Alex is preparing her dissertation in genomics for her Ph.D. They decide to move together to Laurel Canyon Street, a street in Hollywood, to a borrowed house that belongs to Sam's mother Jane (Frances McDormand), a successful music producer.
Meanwhile, Alex feels a great attraction for the different world of Jane and for Ian. In the end, the young couple passes for a new experience in life, and Sam "rebirths" as a different man.
The outstanding Frances McDormand, the mature Christian Bale, the versatile and very gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, the excellent and also very beautiful Natascha McElhone and the surprisingly good Alessandro Nivola, who inclusive sings a wonderful song, are very inspired in this great low-budget movie.
Bale tries his best to keep Beckinsale away from his mother knowing the effect she has on people and how she learns them to screw up their lives, something he apparently doesn't want to happen to his girlfriend.
The end of the film is very smart, leaves all the characters thinking about the mistakes they made the night before, mistakes that they'll have to live with, since it's impossible to change things that have already happened.
I don't think I've seen Frances McDormand in one bad film until this one and Christian Bale was definitely out of his element in this role.
Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are a straight-laced couple moving to L.A. Sam is a new psychiatrist and Alex is doing her Ph.D. They are staying at his free-spirited mother Jane (Frances McDormand)'s supposed empty home in Laurel Canyon.
If you're going to make a shallow, extremely predictable movie then at least give the audience some steamy or bloody scenes to work with.The acting was bad except for Frances McDormand.Funny how both of the people who tempted Alex and Sam from each other had foreign accents.
Story has Sam (Christian Bale) and his fiance' Alex (Kate Beckinsale) going to live with his mother Jane (McDormand) in Los Angeles while he's in his internship trying to be a psychiatrist at a hospital and she's finishing her dissertation.
At the hospitable Sam starts flirting with Sara (Natasha McElhone) and Alex back home is drawn into the kinky music world of Jane and Ian. Besides McDormand, the other thing I liked about this film is how the character Sam is at odds with himself.
A good cast with Kate Beckinsale, Alessandro Nivola, Christian Bale etc.
This is not the first time I have come across a film that it seems most things were well researched and portrayed authenticly accept one or more details, like the accent of Natscha's character in this movie.
By the way, there is a scene in the film where Christian Bale catches Kate Beckensale in the lead singers bed wearing a black lace thingee where she gets to say that deathless line: 'It's not what it looks like.
Frances McDormand (Fargo, North Country) steals this movie, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko, with her relaxed portrait of a successful record producer whose never-ending quest for the ideal lover has tarnished her relationship with her son (Christian Bale).While many people would be envious of having a mom who's a rich and famous rock-music producer and totally cool, Sam (Bale) sees only an irresponsible parent who refuses to grow up.
"She's developmentally disabled." It doesn't help that mom is lot for the band's lead (Alessandro Nivola), who is half her age.His W.A.S.P. fiancé (Kate Beckinsale) starts putting aside her dissertation on the reproductive qualities of fruit flies to hang out in the studio with the band.Some may wonder what the point is, and if all the characters are losers in their own way, but I think having a mom who teaches lessons like "pass the bong to guests first, son," is way cool.Of course, the best part of the film is the cast - I love McDormand in everything she does - and the music..
Sam knows it all too well, as this is where he grew up with his record producer mother, Jane (Frances McDormand).But enough about the plot.
And Laurel Canyon is beautiful to look at.I also love movies that are about people making a sort of spiritual odyssey, trying to come to terms with themselves and the world around them.