My Own Love Song

I saw this via Netflix streaming video. Written and edited by the Frenchman who directed the superb "Edith Piaf" story (La Mome') it is set in the USA, filmed in various parts of Louisiana, and ends up in New Orleans.

The story centers on the story of Renée Zellweger as Jane Wyatt, one time recording artist who, 7 years earlier, had become crippled and wheelchair bound as a result of an automobile accident. So she pretty much put her life on hold.

Seemingly her best friend in the small Kansas town is Forest Whitaker as the somewhat kooky Joey, who has visions of angels. He goes off the deep end occasionally, often uses poor judgment in certain situations, but jokingly calls himself "Jane's body guard." He in fact does help her out at times.

One day Joey finds an unopened letter in Jane's house, it is from her now 10-yr-old son, living in Baton Rouge, inviting her to his communion in July. Joey doesn't tell her about the letter, instead puts it in his pocket and sets about to get Jane to take a road trip, he wants her to see her son.

The road trip does have its share of pitfalls, the first being their car burns up. Literally. At a motel along comes Elias Koteas as Dean, who sells them a car for $500, and it works fine, but the next morning they awake to find it gone. Dean has cheated them.

Then comes young Madeline Zima as Billie, whose young husband just seemed to take off, so she joins them in the road trip.

At one stopping point they need a place to crash, hear music, and go to find Nick Nolte as Caldwell, playing a guitar. He joins in for the road trip.

Describing it in my feeble manner in no way does justice to the movie. It is very different, often touching, and very well acted.

French director Dahan's first film set in post-Katrina Louisiiana and shot in English is a rambling, overly sentimental road picture about two damaged individuals who go on a quest. Zellwegger's paralyzed from a car accident seven years ago, when she met Whitaker in the hospital. He was there for mental problems. He still thinks he hears the voices of angels. They go off in an old Seventies car (which is later stolen) to see the author of a bestselling books on angels, and Whittiker's character wants to take Zellwegger to the birthday party of her little boy, who was adopted by a rich family when her injuries and poverty made her unable to raise him.

On the way they meet a run-down singer (Nick Nolte), something like Jeff Bridges' character in CRAZY HEART except that he only plays the guitar and has sunk so low he can only get gigs at an old hotel and that only if he brings a singer. So he persuades an unwilling Zellweger to come along and perform. There and at her son's birthday Zellwegger gives surprisingly powerful, earnest performances of two songs -- both written by Bob Dylan for this film. The colorful southern atmosphere and the Dylan compositions (which include his own very Tom-Waits-esquire performances on the soundtrack) may be the main reason for watching this otherwise weak effort. It would work better if Whitaker didn't give one of his most mannered performances and if the two principals were not written in as such hopeless losers. Poor critical rating in France: Allociné 1.2 (26). An error of taste, however well-meaning; the director is out of his element. Some will enjoy the music and the settings but this is at best an interesting failure despite the name cast.

A road trip drama where lost souls are looking for their lost dreams, or as the title suggests, their own love song. The filmmakers used characters who suffer from opposite inflictions to increase the sense of conflict, sympathy, and drama. Jane (Renée Zellweger) is in a wheelchair and Joey (Forest Whitaker) is schizophrenic. Do you feel sorry for them? You should.

It's an awfully long journey to somewhere that we, the characters, nor the filmmakers quite know where it is, and all we have to get us there is two people who learn to become more than they are by each using their own strengths. Sound a little prosaic? Sadly, it is.

Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects is that "My Own Love Song" is not a truly independent film by new filmmakers trying desperately to break into the industry, nor is it a Hollywood film where they threw in cliché ideas in a desperate attempt to make a dollar. It is by award-winning filmmakers who had access to great actors and original songs by Bob Dylan. Frustrating because it can't be as easily dismissed as one would assume.

The plot summary, the title, the poster and DVD cover art all suggest that it will be boring. I can't fault the marketers, it is boring. And that is its ultimate problem. Zellweger is perfect in the role, the messages are all quite respectful, and the idea that this journey is about dreams not about reality could have made it substantial. But "My Own Love Song" doesn't go anywhere very interesting and it takes too long to get there.

I saw a preview for this film in Paris in the presence of both the director (Olivier Dahan, who is French) and Forest Whitaker. The director described it as simple and happy while Forest mentioned magic. They were both right. The film was beautiful. The whole room seemed completely taken in. Renee Zellweger was great and managed to make a number of the audience cry in her role as an ex-singer confined to a wheel chair. Forest Whitaker was fantastic as was Madeline Zima who I had not seen much previously and was very impressed by. The story was simple but moving and the pictures magical. There are a couple of brilliant characters that they meet on their travels too who lighten up what could have been a rather intense movie. I definitely recommend this film.

You've read the story in these critiques. It's a road movie about a small group of damaged characters in search of some undefined salvation in the form of a huckster who claims that angels exist. The Forrest Whitaker character, Joey, bothered me the most. The slow-witted crazy man with a heart of gold, who takes care of the paraplegic singer played by Renee Zellweger. The character is a movie cliché, straight out of Of Mice And Men, and Whitaker didn't bring anything new to it. Is he schizophrenic and off his meds? Is he bipolar and off his meds? Whatever, he only shows up in movies, not in real life. At one point, late in the story, there is a diversion into the "legend" of Robert Johnson losing his soul at the Crossroads in exchange for a supernatural ability on the guitar. Then: on to something else. It goes nowhere. What was the point? Is our little band of characters somehow like Robert Johnson? Apparently not, because the next sequence is a high-speed car chase down highway 61. There were some nice moments, but they were poorly strung together.