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Despite the lukewarm reception by the local and national media for this film, I found myself enjoying this rehash of Faust, tremendously. It's a very old theme, but in here it is told very stylishly and with a lot of panache by director George Hickenlooper based on the screenplay written by Phillip Jayson Lasker.

At the outset, I must say that I'm not the greatest fan of Andy Garcia, but I have to confess that in this film he does probably his best work, despite of other praised roles in the past. His Byron Tiller is a loser. We sense it the moment we see him in Rizzoli trying to recommend his book to an indecisive customer.

His curiosity trying to find out what his office neighbor, Luther Fox, is up to, proves to be his eventual downfall. At home life seems very normal with Dena, his wife, and son. Being broke makes him accept an offer he should have turned down from the very beginning.

The encounter with the Allcotts, Tobias, a best selling author at the end of his life, and Andrea, his wife will be fatal. Are we to believe this was a chance encounter, or was it planned before hand?

Ultimately the viewer will have to arrive to his own conclusions.

All the acting is first rate. Andy Garcia is very effective. So is the rest of the cast, but Mick Jagger is superb portraying this lizard kind of a man who deals with very special situations and needs. Also notable, Olivia Williams, as the ice queen that doesn't even take off her undergarments for a tumble in the hay. James Coburn is a sly fox who knows what he's doing from the very beginning. Julianna Margulies is the only one that has very little to do as the suffering wife.

The film has a glossy and sophisticated look. Viewing it will be satisfying because basically it's a good story well paced and acted.

The road to hell is always paved with good intentions. It is the axiom pitfall that catches so many; including Andy Garcia's character, Byron Tiller, in `The Man from Elesian Fields'. Having thrown years into a failed novel, Byron grows increasingly desperate to make ends meet for his family and find success. Compromising himself for what he needs, he finds an easy answer in the employ of Elesian Fields, a male escort service operated by Luther Fox (Mik Jagger). It is a classically executed set-up, but because the script has so much to say before the final fade out, it staggers like a buss boy who has picked up too many dishes from too many tables.

After the proper cajoling and encouraging, Luther sets Byron up on his first assignment with the beautiful wife of a renowned multi-Pulitzer writer. Byron doesn't go easily into this abyss. He won't escort Andrea (Olivia Williams) beyond her limo door after an opera the first night and is greatly relieved to return home to his wife Dena (Juliana Margulies). The second date, however, progresses until the date and escort have their lovemaking interrupted by a visit from Andrea's elderly and approving husband, Tobias (James Coburn). Tobias extends an invitation for Byron to work with him on revising his last book. Byron soon finds himself leading the dizzying life of working for Luther, Andrea and Tobias while never letting Dena know about his escort duties with Andrea.

The first hour of the film is tightly written and gracefully proceeds with the steady and beautiful cinematography of Kramer Morgenthau. After the writers start exchanging ideas, the pace of the film picks up considerably. Conversation becomes swept aside in montages and assumptions. Even the music, subtle and appropriate in the first half draws unnecessary attention in the second half. The situation is familiar. Betrayed couples are as old as time. Struggling writers are found throughout cinema. The thing that separates them is the individual characters and interaction. Those and the heartfelt dialog get lost in bringing the story to where it is expected to end to make the author's statement.

Far from poor, but never really convincing, `Elesian Fields' is best noted for the acting it harbors. James Coburn plays a dying artist with dignity and is smart enough to let his poise crumble from time to time. Mik Jagger is wonderfully understated as the dispenser of temptation and his moments of disappointment with Anjelica Huston round out an award-worthy performance. Andy Garcia believably balances an quiet man whose temper gets the best of him now and again. Only Juliana Margulies is underused. It's unfortunate that so much talent could not overcome the other more intrinsic weaknesses.

I just saw this at the Grandin Theater in Roanoke- a renovated cinema where I work part-time. I had missed a chance to see it when I was at Sundance earlier this year. "The Man From Elysian Fields" is a cool gem. The cast headed by Garcia is awesome. It is a powerful reminder of what a great actor the recently departed James Coburn was. He plays a pivotal part in this film. Overall, the film- though certainly not as classic as "Chinatown," has a feel which is reminiscent of that film. The script, editting and cinematography all add to the atmosphere as does the jazz soundtrack. I just have to say go see it for yourself. Quite a film!

This is a chick flick. But it's one of the most intelligent that I've ever seen. It makes one think, not merely fantasize or get all emotional.

We've seen films and documentaries about female escort services. This is the first one I know about a male service. It calls to mind the old song Just a Gigolo.

Andy Garcia plays a talented but unsuccessful writer. His novels, admired by the critics, somehow don't sell. Desperate to support his young family, he feels compelled to find some other line of work.

And then there's the sight of Mick Jagger in a three-piece suit -- almost worth the price of admission. It's a fine, nuanced performance. It seems consistent with the Jagger persona, in an odd way.

If you want quality drama devoid of the usual chick flick cliches, this is for you. That is, if it's playing in your town.

"The Man from Elysian Fields" is a writer's film filled with sensuality, failure, loss, hope, infidelity, intrigue and deception with a touch of film noir. Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) plays the starving artist with an early success that brought neither fortune nor lasting notoriety who is ready to compromise his ideals for grocery money. Luther Fox (Mick Jagger) has set up a deceptively unobtrusive escort service across the hall. Luther draws Byron into a discussion about life and winds up with a recruit for his high-class service. But writers need broad experience and this opportunity is too tempting for Tilly to pass up. He's entirely too reluctant which makes him ripe for the picking.

And he's just the candidate for the wife of a prominent author. This multiple Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Tobias Alcott played by James Coburn, is losing his muse and his health, but his powers of deception are as sharp as ever. His wife, played by the icy Olivia Williams, draws Tilly into the family with several offers he can't refuse. Andy Garcia nails the struggling writer's persona begging our sympathy while he spirals down the hierarchy of alternatives to keep the wolf from the door. Mick Jagger is perfect for the part of the Faustian lizard who's tiring of the game he's mastered. The role of the escort, his office facade and ultimately his own personal relationship crumbles under the weight of deception.

Tilly is seduced by the temptations of a shrewd couple (the Alcott's) whose too-good-to-be-true offer leaves him with a great story and perhaps a Pulitzer of his own. But he's got to write it. There's always a catch.

The Hollywood ending, so clearly the decision of a focus group isn't a worthy conclusion to this story. This is another film with talented actors, superior cinematography and an intriguing story but lacking direction. Recent films like "Posession" come to mind. The product is compromised when the director lacks the courage to bring the film to a meaningful - in this case a disturbing - conclusion rather than one that's "satisfying," Tilly's editor spoke to this issue when he rejected his second novel saying that the reader doesn't want to think microcosm when she's sitting on the bus... In trying to please the mainstream, reach a wider audience and improve the box office, we lose opportunities to excel.

So what else is new in Hollywood?