Claire Dolan

After seeing this film I was immediately struck by its similarities to Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman. Certainly, they are very different films, but there is a significant overlap, not just in subject matter and character--Jeanne and Claire--but also in approach. So much of Claire's life passes in silence or repetition that the parallels to Jeanne are fairly strong. Also, viewing Claire in the context of Jeanne at least suggests that having a child will not at all be the answer and solution that Claire is looking for, as motherhood did not make Jeanne Dielman's life wonderful. This film never looks as stark or as imagistic or as metaphorically thought through as Akerman's film, but as it moves along, and despite prosaic and occasionally clumsy scenes, it does attain a visual presence, and aspires to some imagistic displays. When her pimp asserts ruthlessly deterministic views of Claire, they cast a huge shadow on the events left unresolved, and few viewers can come away from this film with anything approaching an upbeat reading; but as a reminder that humans are fragile, frustrating, frustrated and often just aimlessly pathetic, this can stand alone, a stones throw away from a brilliant experiment like Akerman's Jeanne Dielman.

An excellent evocation of urban alienation, this film has a consistently minimal style that reveals a lot without showing much. Pure cinema, one of the most interesting independent American movies (actually it looks like a genuine European film) of the past few years. It establishes director Lodge Kerrigan as one to watch.

i would like to add one comment to this film, the only one that is presently listed being a negative comment. this is among the three best films i have seen in recent years. clearly lodge kerrigan has a good grasp on what cinematography is, and this film shows his personal interpretation of that very substance. kathleen kartlidge is wonderful and vincent d'onofrio very touching. i do not know if anyone has paid good attention to the soundtrack. it is very subtly constructed to indicate the actresses' mindstates, and it is a very unique way of using sound to add meaning.

It is an intriguing film, told from a woman's point of view. This film allows the viewer time to think which is a big thing. It allowed me to become involved. It is well directed and has unpretentious camera work. Claire is a sensitive woman trying to escape her present, and her past. The action is paced well and does not push a lot of dialog onto us. Like the main character, Claire, the characters draw their reactions to situations at the same time as we do, giving us time to draw our own conclusions. Vincent D'Onofrio plays Elton, the caring lover, discovering the unusual woman. I thought he played his character with great depth, and I really like finding his old films before TV. The Irish pimp, Cain, played by Colm Mearey played his role straight enough. The film shows the world of high-class prostitution with sex scenes that are never voyeuristic but tasteful, again from Claire's viewpoint. And there are nice locations like Manhattan as well as gritty ones.

i usually am not the sentimental type but when i heard of katrin cartlidges death, believe me, i burst into tears. we lost one of the most charismatic, talented and intense actresses ever and this film proves it. her enigmatic, scene-stealing presence can´t be matched. this film is as haunting as kerrigans debut CLEAN SHAVEN. that´s all there is to say about this original piece of work. and i can´t wait to see kerrigan´s new film IN GOD´S HANDS which is still in the making.