Picture Claire

"Picture Claire" tells of two women whose paths cross in Toronto leading to a mix up which involves innocent but determined Claire (Lewis) in some nefarious skullduggery with a female heavy (Gershon). A noir drama, "PC" has a minimal script and tells most of its story with video and some overdone montaging and other visual effects. Filler is used in lieu of story depth and we're stuck watching a whole lot of running around, hiding, looking for stuff, etc. Lewis plays a French speaker and only utters phrases throughout the film while Rourke, who's high on the roster, gets only a 5 minute role. In spite of all the contrivances and lack of substance, "Picture Claire" does manage a nominal level of entertainment and will appeal most to Lewis or Gershon fans and others into film noir. (C+)

Note - The DVD I watched had no closed captions or subtitles.

Claire Beaucage is a quirky young artist from Quebec whose apartment mysteriously burns down. Fleeing to Toronto, she tries to find her ex-boyfriend Billy, with whom she is still infatuated. However, it transpires Claire has gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire, for she is immediately involved in a case of mistaken identity with a seductive femme fatale named Lily Warden. As cops and crooks chase her through Toronto, the French-speaking Claire struggles to communicate in English, find Billy and escape the city alive.

Directed by Bruce McDonald from a script by Semi Chellas, 'Picture Claire' is a flawed homage to film-noir that fails to capture the suspense or charm of the genre. Chellas' narrative is unnecessarily complex, attempting to mimic a Hitchcockian tale of mystery and red herrings in a manner more obnoxious than intriguing. A muddled mess of coincidences, bizarre dream-sequences and cliches, the plot is convoluted and confusing. The characters are all one-note caricatures, lacking development or depth, and Chellas' dialogue is laughably pretentious when it isn't formulaic. Though there are a couple of good scenes and some snappy lines- mostly involving a menacing hoodlum prone to monologues- the narrative is exceedingly underwhelming and disappointing.

One of the few redeeming qualities of the film is Miroslaw Baszak's cinematography, which creates a stylish and atmospheric visual palette that heightens the film's links to film-noir. However, even this aspect is marred by the overuse of the multi-dynamic image technique gimmick, which shows several images shifting simultaneously on right-angled panes within the overall image. This technique- first used by Christopher Chapman in his 1967 film 'A Place to Stand'- supposedly creates a dynamic and immersive effect, but in 'Picture Claire', it only serves to distract and annoy the viewer. The technique is used excessively and arbitrarily, without any regard for the narrative or thematic coherence of the film. Instead of enhancing 'Picture Claire's suspense or charm, it only confuses and frustrates with its flashy superficiality.

Additionally, the score from Paul Haslinger- a former member of Tangerine Dream- is a bland and generic blend of ambient, techno and rock elements that fails to create any suspense or excitement. Often drowned out by sound effects and dialogue, his score doesn't match the mood or style the film is striving towards. Though the closing number- Traffic's 'Feelin' Alright?'- is nicely performed by Juliette Lewis, the song itself is a somewhat inappropriate choice for the film, clashing as it does with the stylish and gritty tone McDonald is trying to foster.

Speaking of Juliette Lewis, though she tries her darndest, she is woefully miscast as Claire. Struggling with the French accent throughout, she never quite gets it right, and seems embarrassed anytime she has to speak. Gina Gershon does much more assured work as the feisty femme fatale Lily, though her talents largely go to waste in the face of Chellas' slim characterisation. Callum Keith Rennie shines as the monologue-spouting mobster, bringing a welcome energy and an intimidating aura that makes watching him on screen a real treat.

The fact that director Bruce McDonald made a documentary called 'Claire's Hat'- detailing his disappointment with the finished product- should tell you all you need to know about 'Picture Claire.' The screenplay is full of faults, the dialogue is consistently underwhelming and the cinematography is overly-stylized. Featuring a miscast Juliette Lewis and a bland soundtrack, there is no real reason to seek out the film; unless you're incredibly passionate about Canadian cinema. Despite a few good performances, 'Picture Claire' has very little to offer viewers. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If it's 'Picture Claire', it's barely worth half that.

If you like Picture Claire, or even if you don't, I highly recommend you try to view Claire's Hat. Not really an official movie, it's an excuse film by the director, in an attempt to pardon himself for the terrifyingly bad bomb he'd produced. Wickedly funny for anyone inside or out of the film world, it's something everyone should see. Unfortunately, I haven't heard about any plans for a release of Claire's Hat. If there ever is, grab the chance and see this movie. The best flick of 2003, it will not disappoint.

Picture Claire is a good movie, with a good storyline and good acting. But when it didn't go into theatres and Bruce MacDonald himself thought poorly upon it, I had to wonder what was wrong with it. (And I wasn't the only one.) I bought it the first moment I saw it in stores. Basically much of the movie's elements aren't up to Bruce MacDonald's standards. Everything he uses to make a good story- the foreshadowing, the slight hinting toward something, the full circle- wasn't as clear in the movie as it was in others as say Hard Core Logo and Dance Me Outside. Some of the things should have been made clearer, such as the reference to the islands, the misogyny of certain characters and their expectations of Claire. The denument itself seemed to fall apart on him. It ended in quite a mess, but the very ending itself, the closing credits, I liked.

So the movie has flaws. Most movies do. And it's not up to MacDonald's standards. Does that mean his fans won't enjoy it. No, his fans will still enjoy it. People who aren't fans will still enjoy it. Though somehow it should have been done better it would still have been worth seeing in theatres.

Juliette Lewis convincingly plays Claire, a French speaking woman from Montreal who goes to Toronto in search of a boyfriend. She runs into trouble in Toronto when she is mistakenly ID'd as a suspect who murdered a man in a coffee shop. The unusual twist is that Claire does not know a word of English, all she knows is that she's being pursued by the police, a woman who wants something from her (played by Gina Gershon) and a bad man (played by Callum Keith Rennie) who also wants something from her and probably wants to kill her for it. How can Claire figure all this out, get herself out of trouble and still be able to find her boyfriend?

It's not a great film, there are alot of plot holes and weird coincidences. What really shines are some of the exciting chase scenes and the wonderful acting by everyone in the film. Juliette Lewis doesn't speak much, and when she does, it's in French. She is very watchable because one can see all the emotions she is going through. I really felt for her because she was in a strange city and was pretty helpless because there was no one to guide her. Gina Gershon is perfect as the criminal who is desperately trying to get away. Ms. Gershon seems to always play these roles of tough, smart woman and she does it very well in this film. Callum Keith Rennie makes a very smooth, very charming, psychopathic bad guy. He's very charming when he speaks, but one can't help feeling how dangerous and evil he is. I'd give the film an "A" for acting, a "C" for plot, and a "B" for the director because I like the way how he directed and shot this film. There was this one imagery in the film that I love, when Claire goes into a thrift shop and steal a pair of red shoes that reminds me of the ruby slippers in the "Wizard of Oz" and a little dog from the thrift shop starts following her around. Claire's definitely not in Kansas any more!