Wanda's Café

This is a great piece of atmospheric mid-budget film-making. Alan Rudolph and his production team successfully utilize the architecture of Seattle and its rain-slicked streets to bring to life the funky Neo-noir metropolis known as Rain City, inhabited by a set of off-beat characters, my favorite of which is a gangster played by the one and only DIVINE, in his only male-gendered role. He even gets to say the films best line: "Everyone wants to go to Heaven but no one wants to die!"

This is a film that is just begging for a DVD release. As others have mentioned, the audience for this film is definitely out there.

TROUBLE IN MIND is a heavily atmospheric neo-noir from Alan Rudolph that is quite intriguing and interesting to watch. The story, if one can call it that, is about an ex-cop, a coffee shop owner and a young couple who are each trying to make their own way in RainCity, a fictionalized/alternate universe version of Seattle. Like the name implies, there is a lot of rain and there is a pervasive sense of melancholy that hangs over it like a cloud. The people who live there all have their pasts, but what really drives them is the hope that they will make it and overcome their circumstances. That, I believe, is at the heart of what this movie represents. In many film noirs past, the general thematic tone was one of fate and destiny, and it being out of human control. Here, in a similarly constructed world, we have people trying to wrest control back into their own hands. Overall, I thought the movie was rather good. Kris Kristofferson gives a great performance as the ex-cop with a checkered past, and Genevieve Bujold, Lori Singer and Keith Carradine give equally decent performances as the coffee shop owner and the young couple, respectively. Ample time is also spent with each character, so that you get to know and sympathize with them (although, to a lesser, degree with Genevieve Bujold). The effect that the city has on a person is seen most explicitly with Coop, played by Keith Carradine, as his appearance changes considerably over the course of the film, and he gets deeper and deeper into the underworld. Also worth mentioning is Divine, who takes a supporting role as the top gangster in RainCity. This is probably his best performance, and he brings shades of flamboyance and menace to it. He is only in a few scenes, but his presence is felt over the entire film and he makes the most of his limited screen time. The movie also has a fantastic jazz score and some great songs sung by Marianne Faithful. But despite how great the film is, there are a few drawbacks. The biggest one is a climactic shoot-out which comes out of nowhere and seemed poorly choreographed. There's also some spotty acting from people in minor roles. Overall, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first heard about this, but I was pleasantly surprised. Alan Rudolph managed to create a neo-noir which doesn't wallow in misery, and which maintained its own unique style. I'd recommend checking this one out, especially if you're into the noir genre. You probably won't be disappointed.

"Trouble in Mind" is one of those movies that only reveals its greatness about the third time you see it; a wealth of details which, on first viewing, strike the perceptive viewer as scatterbrained or irrelevant, unfold on closer inspection into a rich, lushly imagined fantasy world, and dialogue which at first sounds precious or forced becomes endlessly quotable. It's hard to be an Alan Rudolph "fan," as his work is decidedly uneven; but on this picture, which followed the critical and commercial success of "Choose Me," he is at the peak of his powers. And, if none of this convinces you, you should check this one out for the performances, not least among which is Divine's startling turn as coldblooded (male) gangster Hilly Blue (worthy of awards, in a better world than this).

Very fine moody film, made after, 'Choose Me' and good as that is I have always preferred this. In many ways (until the end) a fairly quite film with people drifting in and out of each others lives. Laid back they may be but there are great performances from Keith Carradine, Genevieve Bujold, Kris Kristofferson and even the lovely Lori Singer, who has probably never bettered this performance. Despite the strange neo noirish look of the rain drenched, neon light streets and signs of decay there are also hints at some future setting and the ambiguity coupled with Kristoffersen's model making constantly create a dreamlike quality to proceedings. The soundtrack is immaculate and the use of the crackling elder Marianne Faithful inspired. Divine is brilliant as the chief baddie and should the uncultured out there drop off for lack of constant action be assured you will awake at the end.

Trouble in Mind is a VERY interesting movie, and self-consciously so. Somewhere between gratuitously-quirky and a flawed masterpiece, everything about this movie is just a little off.

And that is also its charm. An exotic casting choice results in a character that is more intriguing than convincing; Another character transforms, gradually, completely beyond recognition without comment. Alternate-Noir atmosphere in a different Pacific Northwest. An inventively-bizarre murder and my nomination for the funniest shoot-out in film history.

And lots of atmosphere. A moody Mark Isham soundtrack with an even moodier Marianne Faithfull partially channelling Billie Holiday. Rain and rain and more rain that does not appear to have required any equipment. And ending in a lingering, scenic shot that has nothing to do with the story but meshes exquisitely with the mood and music, and seems as if it was orchestrated by mother nature exclusively for the film crew. I can't tell whether the weather was incredibly cooperative, or if Alan Rudolph just knew exactly how and when to use it.

The overall effect is a unique but cohesive viewing experience that sticks with you long after the movie is over. It strives, a little too pretentiously, to be quirky, but it is also beautifully humanist.