Adoration

When I saw The Sweet Hereafter years ago, I thought Atom Egoyan was one of the greatest directors alive, and the subsequent films haven't really shaken that belief. If Adoration is not up to the standard of his best work, it is still well worth seeing. The story is one of terrible loss and forgiveness, and the acting is superb. We are connecting the dots--from racist grandfather to despairing mother to an orphan teenager (played by the excellent Devon Bostick) with big issues around truth and responsibility. The boy's uncle has a lot of issues himself; we can see that being a tow-truck driver is gnawing at his soul (made me think of Repo Man). Scott Speedman as the uncle is really good, he's hiding behind a beard, giving curt responses to Arsinée Khanjian's questions.

A problem: lots of use of internet chat rooms to flesh out the story; disembodied, undramatic characters for Simon to interact with (watch for the great Maury Chaykin to heat things up somewhat). Technology is not a launching pad for art, it's just information retrieval or anger management.

I'm never going to be the most unbiased observer when it comes to any given Atom Egoyan movie. He is one of my favorite directors and certainly one of the best Canadian directors currently working, and I have enjoyed every one of his films, even the much derided "Where the Truth Lies", which I found to be a tremendously entertaining genre piece.

Still, I was concerned when news of the uninspiring critical response from Cannes came in, and even more concerned when I noticed that the film received several extremely negative reviews, some of them from critics whose tastes match mine. Having now seen "Adoration" at CIFF I'm not going to pretend I can't see where they're coming from- the film is a little preachy, there's bits of acting which are poor, there's a weakness to Egoyan's writing in that he seems to want to touch on every possible viewpoint on the issues being explored here within this running time, and occasionally it comes off as a little desperate.

None of that keeps "Adoration" from being an intensely involving film, and a powerful one as well; a film about prejudices, loss, the power of technology, and the effect of fiction on reality and vice versa will always be topical, but given the actual plot of the film it is particularly relevant to today's world. "Adoration" revolves around Simon (played by Devon Bostick), an orphaned teenager born to a Palestinian father and a white, North American mother, who both died in a car accident when he was a child, and was raised afterwards by his uncle Tom (played brilliantly by Scott Speedman). When Simon writes a story about a terrorist who conceals a bomb inside his pregnant girlfriend's luggage before she boards a plane to Israel and imagines himself as the unborn child that is almost killed by the terrorist bomb (a story which has parallels to his racist and intolerant grandfather's version of the story of how Simon's parents died), his drama and French teacher encourages him to share it with his class, passing it off as truth. What she didn't predict was that Simon would post the story online, creating crazed debates and political agendas. The story doesn't revolve around these discussions, but rather develops from there into a character drama which grows in quality as the film moves forward.

Egoyan does not necessarily hit a home run every time when it comes to his work as a director, but he has never shown incompetence or lack of ability and doesn't do so here. Egoyan's writing, on the other hand, is far more inconsistent and likely to cause issues. As mentioned earlier his writing here is somewhat problematic, but not nearly as bad as certain critics would have you believe. For one, "Adoration" often reminded me of discussion groups I have attended on Islamist terrorism, and the dialogue here, criticized for being artificial and even 'ridiculous' is very true to the sort of dialogue you would get out of a group interested in the topic. The only thing lacking, actually, during the chatroom scenes, was a Muslim voice, which would have only added to the dynamic and realism. Also, as heavy-handed as certain sections are here (though "Crash" makes this film look like the subtlest ever made, so it's not that bad), it's also a film which has a lot to say about human nature and our natural response to the environment we live in and to those surrounding us.

"Adoration" is an effective and intelligent look at topical and relevant issues, but really shines as an examination of the nature of human thought, the results of the sort of environment which surrounds us, where hatred and prejudice is born, and ultimately as a character study of three individuals who all need to overcome events in their past by embracing and fully understanding them.

8/10

"Adoration" is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story. It's about that time of self-discovery when the question "who am I?" becomes an obsession. But what makes this film so startlingly refreshing is that it also has a classic structure rarely seen in contemporary cinema. The viewer is never quite sure whether or not the images on screen are real or imagined. Think of a chess game where each move prompts you to replay the entire game in your head. Such is the experience of watching "Adoration," brilliantly conceived and executed by writer/director/co-producer Atom Egoyan.

Egoyan is a legend in his adopted country of Canada with dozens of awards and nominations to his credit (1997's "The Sweet Hereafter" earned him Oscar noms for writing and directing). The mere mention of his name widens the eyes of citizens north of the border, as I learned here at the Toronto International Film Festival, where I attended the film's North American Premiere (it debuted at Cannes, where it was nominated for the prestigious Palm D'Or). Locals hold him to a very high standard. For me, I prefer going in cold, knowing as little as possible about a film. Similarly, I won't reveal much about the story here.

After losing his parents under questionable circumstances, Simon (Devon Bostick) is reluctantly being raised by his Uncle Tom (Scott Speedman). Simon's memories of his mother Rachel (Rachel Blanchard), an accomplished violinist, and father Sami (Noam Jenkins) are shrouded in mystery. Enter Simon's teacher Sabine (Arsinée Khanjian), who might be able to help Simon unlock the secrets that are the key to his youthful confusion. What follows is a brain teaser which takes great concentration. The wheels are always turning, and the viewer is constantly challenged to figure out exactly what is real or perceived, and by whom.

The look of the film enhances the mystery inherent in the story. The use of single-point lighting allows shadows to fall upon already-obscure settings. Music is essential to the plot and, as such, Rachel's violin virtuosity is extended to a string soundtrack that is as haunting as the film itself. Paul Sarossy's cinematography is cleverly integrated with composer Mychael Danna's soundtrack, with tracking shots set to music as a visual ballet. Editor Susan Shipton had a tall order working with Egoyan to craft a virtual puzzle in which nothing is at it seems.

Speedman ably plays the father figure who isn't quite ready to take on the task of raising a teen but does so out of loyalty to his late sister. Khanjian's Sabine is simply chilling and central to the power of the film. Blanchard is a joy to watch -- simply an angel on screen (and shot that way, to boot) -- and Jenkins successfully remains an enigmatic personality throughout. But, most of all, this is Bostick's film to carry on his young shoulders. Appearing in almost every scene, it's his curiosity and angst which drive "Adoration," and it's our empathy for him (weren't we all Simon once?) that gives the film its heart and soul. Bostick is one of Canada's most prolific young actors (he co-starred in Citizen Duane, one of my Top Picks from the 2006 festival) and will hopefully be introduced to a wider audience if this film gets the distribution it deserves.

The moment the credits began to roll I wanted to see "Adoration" again. If there were back-to-back screenings I would have remained in my seat. This is the first film in recent memory which has had that effect on me. There's nothing more exciting and intriguing than a film that plays with space and time, where perception matters more than anything else. What we see on screen vs. what is in our heads -- the spaces we fill with our own thoughts -- are artfully juggled by Egoyan and the result is simply a masterpiece.

As with other films by Egoyan, this one starts with a lot of loose ends that are tied together as the film progresses. The writer/director is fond of moving back and forth in time and balancing multiple plot threads. While it is intriguing, there is a pretentious streak running through it that undermines the narrative. There are too many scenes of characters pontificating in chat rooms and too much focus on technological gadgets. His films don't always succeed, but Egoyan should be applauded for taking chances. There are good performances from Speedman, Bostick, and Egoyan's favorite actress (and wife), Khanjian.

Atom Egoyan is a very skilled filmmaker that is exploiting a stereotype of the older white person's racism against a Lebanese son in law. Old white people are easy to pick on, Hollywood routinely allows this because there is little criticism generated from it. Does that mean this is right? I don't think so.

The film implies that a group of people (older white people) are "monsters." Maybe Atom has experienced racism from white people because of his Egyptian father, I get the feeling that he hates me for being white and 54 years old. I give Atom a 10 for the skill in making this film, he gets a 0 for the subject.