Red Letters

Good performances by a great cast. Fairuza Balk looked great as a student who knew how to raise her grade in more ways than one. Peter Coyote played a widowed professor obsessed with the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne and a sucker for the young women in his class. The plot was refreshing unpredictable and complex. The sexual undertones and twists were reminiscent of the movie "Body Heat". Jeremy Piven provided some great comic relief moments as the computer science professor turned internet hacker. This made for an entertaining and interesting movie worth watching. Look for a cameo by Pauly Shore, too.

It is easy to criticize this movie and others have already pointed out its deficiencies. The movie is available on DVD and has director's commentary in which is revealed that the movie was shot in 21 days on a minimal budget. Or as the commentary says: this commentary details how one goes about making a movie under considerable time and budgetary restraints. The performances by the actors are first rate. The script is filled with many logical flaws and oversights that are exacerbated by the ending of the movie. Meaning, that one can then work backwards and see the major holes in the script because the ending seems to sabotage the entire theme of the movie. Still it is more than watchable because of what is up on the screen. Nastassja is Nastassja and it is almost always rewarding to watch her on the screen, if she has sufficient material to work her magic. There is an underlying tension throughout the movie in which one wonders if Lydia Davis, the Nastassja Kinski character, is manipulating the academic and overmatched Peter Coyote character. You will have to watch the movie and see for yourself.

I kept expecting to turn it off at any moment, yet the characters were unpredictable and the writing kept this little film moving along at a nice clip. Before I knew it I was hooked. Sure, the plot gets a little clunky near the end, but everyone involved with this picture seemed to enjoy themselves. There is even an homage to Demme's Something Wild, which this film begins to resemble near the end. Overall, three stars, and sure to be a minor hit for the few video stores that are likely to pick this up.

OK,I make alot comments about Kinski movies,but everyone has their favorite artists. This movie is just fun from start to finish. And it does keep you on the edge of your seat. There doesn't seem to be a wasted moment in this movie; every scene is there for a reason. Just good film making and good acting all around. I think the title would make more sense if the prof's book had been explained in greater detail.

I'm usually not fond of HBO movies, but this one was a little more well-written than the rest of them. The acting was so-so, however what should be expected? (Beggers can't be choosers, right?) At times unintentionally hilarious (The fact Peter Coyote's character liked to use four letter words a lot got funny after it got derivative) but halfway into the picture the tawdryness dimmed down and it actually turned into a interesting crime mystery.

Not worth renting, but if it's on HBO again you might want to check it out.