Bodies, Rest & Motion

If you have an attention span of sit-com-length, this is not your movie. True, it's 90 minutes or so, but those moments are stretched- as they should be. Sid's character (the sage, of sorts) wants to stretch a moment, and that is what this movie seeks to do. For the most part, these characters are ordinary people- and the actors play them as such. The dialogue isn't expository, but it's real- the characters interact as any person would. There are no huge turning points, explosions, love-struck stares, and all the rest of the hollywood spin supposed to be "real." These are people who could live down the street.

The best part, though, was the cinematography- the camera work is beautiful. There are just enough jump cuts to get your attention, but for the most part, the camera frames these ordinary lives without intruding on them, all while capturing the oranges, reds, and warm whites of the Arizona landscape.

While the character of the painter is supposed to be a sage- offering wise comments about identity and humanity, I was relieved when his mistakes/flaws were finally revealed at the end. All-in-all, the symbols and stress points made for a thoughtful movie.

I'd imagine the average person would find this quite dull and pointless. Possibly even pretentious and unrealistic. Others will revel in the intimate, stage-like, indie, slice-of-life, raw, gutty aspects of the film. I found it utterly engaging and nostalgic until the final act.

The illusion starting falling apart for me near the end. I was a teenager at this time, so don't get me wrong - people were different in the 90s. Conversations happened. Randomly. People connected in real life over books, music etc and even had relationships based on those encounters! Shocking, I know! But aspects of this film felt forced and unrealistic.

The world's changed and it's good to remember a time when genuine connections randomly happened, but I don't know if this film earnestly encapsulates that time. I enjoyed it overall and it's almost theruptic to open up the time capsule once in a while. Great cast, unique locations, not the deepest story, but these indie dramas from the 90s are nostalgic for me, so I'll give a moderate thumbs up for the performances, settings and independent look and feel of this film.

Eric Stoltz popping and loving the packing bubbles the TV came in is us film nerds liking this meandering drama more than the average movie viewer.

Tim Roth has that annoying 90's men's haircut that everyone had and he speaks in an American accent which kept throwing me off.

So 90's you'll wanna dig out your flannel to wear while watching it.

This movie is in a category I like to call time and place. It has a very powerful resonance with someone who is experiencing a similar dilemma. For me I originally watched it when it came out and thought the dialogue was well-paced and witty and the acting from Fonda, Roth, and Cates was superb. I recently watched the film again, because I had somewhat grown into its situation. Needless to say it was nearly poetic in a way. That western landscape and feeling of restlessness... My only major complaint was the scoring was a little tedious at times.

Bodies, Rest and Motion is an entertaining, well shot, well acted and well written film. Yes, as the title suggests, it is "philosophical", but it is certainly not dry or pretentious. The twists and turns used to sneak the "philosophy" into the mouths of the characters are fantastically clever. (Reminds me of Mamet.) However, this dialog is so well written that it fits perfectly into the mouths of these characters. This film can be watched two ways: as a slacker diary similar to Dazed and Confused, Clerks or Mall Rats or as a language-driven meditation on love, fidelity and ambition (lack thereof).

I've read reviews that call this film pretentious. I suspect that those reviewers don't appreciate that film can be linguistically creative and intellectually stimulating while still being fun. However, I feel that one of the reasons that this film was overlooked was that it was classified as a romantic comedy. Do not go into this film looking for "You've Got Mail" or "Down with Love". Also, don't go into this film looking for a hero to cheer for (though you might just find one).

Judge for yourself: Would Eric Stolz, Phoebe Cates, Tim Roth and Bridgett Fonda lend their colossal talents to pretentious garbage? If you're a writer, screenwriter or poet, then snag a copy of the script. Like Mamet's work, this script is well worth the read just to savor the writer's talent for making seemingly mundane dialog speak volumes.

This is a very under-rated and under-appreciated film!