The Center of the World
The titular center of the world is a matter of perspective in Wayne  Wang's (The Joy Luck Club,Smoke) notorious, explicit drama of  emotional isolation and sexual commerce in the modern world. According to rich,  apathetic cyber-geek Peter Sarsgaard (Boys Don't Cry), it's his home  computer. Amateur rock & roll drummer and part-time stripper Molly Parker  (Wonderland) deems it an erotic part of the female anatomy. Their "date"  is merely a sexual contract that takes them to Las Vegas, a place as phony and  impersonal as their so-called romance. "You know it's just an act, right?" she  reminds him between her slinky bump-and-grind striptease shows and their sweaty  sexual gymnastics.The Internet makes a great metaphor for modern social alienation, with its  impersonal communication and virtual sex, but there's not much else new in this  familiar story other than the erotic content. Shot on dimly lit, high-definition  video, the gray, washed palette sucks the glamour and titillation right out of  the spectacle, turning it into an empty, soulless exercise in physical sensation  and self delusion--appropriate to this story of lonely souls unable to break  through their own isolation.--Sean Axmaker