My Own Love Song

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.

This movie is part of the "nouvelle vague" in cinema, a more evolved and profound cinema, with deep undergrounds of humanity and courage, with tranquility of sharing and understanding. The analogy with the Wizard of Oz is obvious, since that is where this movie got its roots: three people experiencing different kinds of losses, two of them from Kansas, on a trip to discover the answers they long for - answers they will eventually find in themselves.

The director does some terrific job, no matter what they say; he takes all kinds of risks, uses unconventional tools up to the point where a less circumspect and more neophyte viewer would lose track, leaning on extraordinary performances from all actors. The characters are simple, yet sophisticated.

For the simple-minded, this movie does not mean much - it's just a road movie with sparkles of unconscious and sentimental movements. Those movements though are instruments of one's true self, as authentic and pathetic and sparkling as any true self is.

Way to go for la nouvelle vague!

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.

Writer and director Olivier Dahan may have had sincere intentions behind making 'My Own Love Song' but the problem with the film is that it does not have much to offer in terms of novelty and it relies on several clichés. With the exception of Zellweger's Jane, the characters are either clichés or one-dimensional. Moreover, the film is overly sentimental at times. While I enjoy road movies very much, 'My Own Love Song' does capture the beauty of the American landscape. The camera-work is very good. I enjoyed the animated bird sequence but otherwise it was completely out of place. Renee Zellwegger does an excellent job in portraying Jane Wyatt, a wheelchair-ridden former rockstar who's estranged from her son. In addition, Zellweger proves once again that she can sing beautifully. Forest Whitaker tries the best he could with a poorly written Joey but the actor is unable to do anything new with this character. Yet, I enjoyed most of his scenes with Zellweger. Madeline Zima's Bilie lacks development. Nick Nolte stands out in a small role. Overall, 'My Own Love Song' isn't a bad watch by any means, it just doesn't have anything new to offer.

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.