Adoration

Atom Egoyan's latest feat, "Adoration", features among Egoyan's most profound work, and it is also one of the best independent or underground films you can rent this year. Now, you might be wondering how I can call a film by Atom Egoyan 'underground', when he's one of the most renowned directors in the world. It's precisely the same question I asked a fellow critic of mine who recommended it, and now that I've seen it, I have the answer: It features a large cast of 'unknowns' (with the possible exception of Scott Speedman), a large crew of unknowns, it features a small budget, it's artsy...but most of all, it aspires and tries to be overwhelming at its impact and appealing to the masses, and it fails to be either at the end. Not even the seal of recognition from the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 saved this film from being on a short release during the winter of 2009 and from finally emerging on DVD, at the end of the same year.

But please, bear with me. The film deals with a teenager called Simon (Devon Bostick) who's written a fictional monologue where his father left his pregnant mother on a plane and hid a bomb on her carry-on bag, which is discovered by the authorities and which foils his plans of terrorism. Prompted by Sabine, his French teacher (Arsinée Khanjian), he makes his classmates believe the story is true, and publishes it on an Internet chat room which makes thousands of bloggers go crazy on the subjects of terrorism, victims, love, recognition, the value of life, etc...all of that, prompted by his story. Simon is scared to find out how much of his fictional story is true, since for some reason it has a familiar ring with some images of his past. So he decides to make a video diary where he films the bloggers who heatedly comment on his story, and who provide him with the necessary 'mind fuel' to deduct whether his father actually WAS an assassin, whether his mother was his victim, whether his grandfather (Kenneth Welsh) polluted their memory and whether his uncle (Scott Speedman) is hiding something.

I know, it sounds like a complicated storyline...and it is. There are infinite separate plots (each character has ulterior motives, an agenda, and a haunting past which establishes their present personalities), and the film is given to us in puzzle pieces, with the separate scenes jumping from present, to future to past...to imaginary present, future and past...all of this to a point where you won't understand a thing you see on screen if you're not fully concentrated. I was, thankfully, and I found it easy to keep up with so many plot lines, and as the film progressed and I discovered more details and secrets every second, I felt my heart pounding and my palms sweating from the tension and the heavy drama on screen. THAT'S where the film is genius; on the way it uses an intelligent and complicated plot perfectly, and on how it reaches over to the audience.

The film IS good, it is very very good, actually, but it tries to exceed its own potential, giving way to a large amount of unfinished plot twists, undeveloped characters and confusing situations. Stories begin to fit in together, resolutions are being taken, and by the end of the film the principal characters have all found catharsis in their own way...but what about the infinite number of other characters the film presents? They're all left behind, with no completion whatsoever. SO many topics that were effectively handled and most of them weren't developed! The main characters (Simon, the French teacher, the uncle, the grandfather and the parents) have incredible depth, and halfway through the film you're convinced that this might just be THE deepest and most intelligent film of the decade...but soon after that, the film is over and only the superficial plot lines where resolved, only the surface of the characters came full circle. It's one of those movies where the credits start rolling and you say "It's over?! But what about the...", then you start making so any questions, and you start coming up with so many answers, all of them giving birth to more questions...until you have no idea what you're even coming up with.

Perhaps this was Egoyan's point, to keep us thinking and thinking until our thoughts seem to have detached from the film itself; it's a good thing to do- to have your public ponder so much- but it's bad when it affects the movie. Like I said, it tries to overreach, it goes literally everywhere with so much plot that OBVIOUSLY there are going to be mistakes and plot lines will be left unsolved. But even through these flaws, the film delivers interesting messages, it gives us a couple of memorable characters and a story (however complicated it may be) that entertains and envelops the viewer. And even if the balance of the film slowly shattered at the end, for most of the duration it was maintained, giving the viewer a very rewarding hour and forty minutes of viewing experience.

If you love artsy, independent films- see it. If you're tired of mainstream Hollywood brainless flicks and want something new- see it. If you love Atom Egoyan or are planning to introduce him into your cinema knowledge- see it. If you're expecting to see a paramount in independent cinema that transcends our expectations on the seventh art- skip it. This is very good, but not great. Nevertheless, I still recommend it.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4!

Every character is sympathetic, nobody is good or evil, instead showing everyone as a human being, no matter what our cultural differences are. The compelling performances(Bostick in particular) are slightly offset by an overuse of background music, in addition to the slightly non-linear structure taking some time to get used to. Despite the background music occasionally distracting from what's in front of you, Adoration is a compelling film, not just as a character study, but as an experience many will be familiar with.

People like me have come to expect thoughtful pieces of celluloid from filmmakers like Egoyan and he delivers once again, even with the film's minor technical flaws.

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

There is not much to say about this convoluted story. Its based on a real event. It relies on lots of talk and minimal action. Atom Egoyan had full control in making this film, from writing to direction. The main pluses are the performances of the principal three of the principal actors. The main negative is the questionable use of "technology", particularly of teenage chat rooms, of older people chat rooms, of video cell phones and so on - the focus of these internet & tech based products is to present talking heads by other means. There is also a violin, which is the one major non-tech focus of the story.

There is no doubt that this film has potential. It has the making of a compelling plot, given its built in twists, turns and periodic surprises. Could it have been presented in a more exciting and direct way? Maybe not given budget considerations, which are so obvious.

At an early point, the movie takes on that feeling of seeming to go on and on and on. But, there is an interesting, underlying story. And Egoyan is a skilled and always worthwhile filmmaker. So, one persists watching, with some judicious use of occasional fast forwarding of the DVD (particularly the seemingly endless, ridiculous multi-channel computer talkfests). The film has craft and is a serious endeavour. But in the end, it is boring. And boring is boring.

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.