Trixie

There seem to be two major demographics that film audiences fall into. The commercially reliable, and the more risky arthouse, or as Trixie would say, "but I see it the other way". "Trixie" falls into the arthouse, with its star, Emily Watson, fitting in perfectly to its offbeat nature. Watson has proven in her career, from "Breaking the Waves" to "Hilary and Jackie" that she is one of the most underrated and capable actresses in modern film. Following a "noir" mystery tale of murder, and political corruption, "Trixie" takes the cliches of a thriller and combines them skillfully with the creative tongue of the English-slaughtering lead character. For people who enjoy daring, open-minded pictures, "Trixie" is a fun way to spend an evening. For people who enjoy loud, explosion-packed films, go see them.

Ok - I have to admit....this movie was painful. Just painful to sit there and take all those mixed metaphors like punches to the head. BUT...I stumbled across this movie on a Sunday afternoon. Never heard of it..no expectations, etc. And actually had a good time watching it. My wife hated it (so she says) but we both laughed and kept rolling our eyes at each other throughout the movie. It was like reading a trashy novel...the characters were total stereotypes (the young, good looking womanizer (trying to have a heart of gold), the drunk, corrupt senator (always grabbing ass, etc) and of course the favorite - the bumbling, almost moronic detective making it all happen -kind of like a female Inspector Clouseau only with less physical humor and more verbal humor. Some of the words that came out of her mouth were really funny - like "I woke up unconscious" and my personal favorite, "Do you think I have a ace up my hole?" I wouldn't go out of your way to see this movie but if you come across it one afternoon....see how long you can stand it :)

I had heard that the malapropism of Emily Watson's character would begin to wear after a while. Not for me, it was like watching a seriously deadpan Gracie Allen at work.

The key to the film (which covers some of the same territory as "Fargo" and contains a few references to the movie) is the realization that it is not only Watson's character whose utterances are ridiculous, but those of the major characters, but Red's description of his relationship to the dead woman and Senator Avery's comments to the reporters show a similar dislocation with reality and sense. We start by realizing that her comments are off the wall, but they turn out to be nothing compared to the double-speak that we have become accustomed to coming out of the mouths of politicians and developers.

The ending is a bit harum-scarum but overall a very enjoyable movie. The plot twists at the end weakened it, although they were very much in keeping with the noir genre.

Good movie. Odd, off balance, imaginative, agitating - everything that an ultra-passive braincell-hybernating spoonfed-explosion stale-cool critics-approved movie pencil-envies. My opinion.

Brilliant mixed metaphors, fabulous dialogue. I can see how someone may not like it if they don't get or don't like word play, but if you like a good turn of phrase I highly recommend it! Huzzah for John Binder, whoever he is, not much on his resume, I can't wait for the next script!