Claire Dolan

An excellent evocation of urban alienation, this film has a consistently minimal style that reveals a lot without showing much. Pure cinema, one of the most interesting independent American movies (actually it looks like a genuine European film) of the past few years. It establishes director Lodge Kerrigan as one to watch.

After seeing this film I was immediately struck by its similarities to Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman. Certainly, they are very different films, but there is a significant overlap, not just in subject matter and character--Jeanne and Claire--but also in approach. So much of Claire's life passes in silence or repetition that the parallels to Jeanne are fairly strong. Also, viewing Claire in the context of Jeanne at least suggests that having a child will not at all be the answer and solution that Claire is looking for, as motherhood did not make Jeanne Dielman's life wonderful. This film never looks as stark or as imagistic or as metaphorically thought through as Akerman's film, but as it moves along, and despite prosaic and occasionally clumsy scenes, it does attain a visual presence, and aspires to some imagistic displays. When her pimp asserts ruthlessly deterministic views of Claire, they cast a huge shadow on the events left unresolved, and few viewers can come away from this film with anything approaching an upbeat reading; but as a reminder that humans are fragile, frustrating, frustrated and often just aimlessly pathetic, this can stand alone, a stones throw away from a brilliant experiment like Akerman's Jeanne Dielman.

i usually am not the sentimental type but when i heard of katrin cartlidges death, believe me, i burst into tears. we lost one of the most charismatic, talented and intense actresses ever and this film proves it. her enigmatic, scene-stealing presence can´t be matched. this film is as haunting as kerrigans debut CLEAN SHAVEN. that´s all there is to say about this original piece of work. and i can´t wait to see kerrigan´s new film IN GOD´S HANDS which is still in the making.

i would like to add one comment to this film, the only one that is presently listed being a negative comment. this is among the three best films i have seen in recent years. clearly lodge kerrigan has a good grasp on what cinematography is, and this film shows his personal interpretation of that very substance. kathleen kartlidge is wonderful and vincent d'onofrio very touching. i do not know if anyone has paid good attention to the soundtrack. it is very subtly constructed to indicate the actresses' mindstates, and it is a very unique way of using sound to add meaning.

One's first impression might be that the characters and scenes in this movie are simply too cold and emotionless. However, a careful study reveals the "seething" emotions going on in each player; from the pimp Cain who "seethes" with a misogynistic disdain of the women working for him to Elton (played with excellence by Vincent D'Onofrio) who seethes with longing to fulfill something greater in life than just being a cab driver (the attempted mugging scene whereafter he breaks down is just superb!). I think that the final two scenes of the movie--one between a "converted", pregnant Claire being approached by a former john, the other between the Cain and Elton with his wife -- excellently display the tormented, soulful emotions of the characters involved in this story.