O Centro do Mundo

A digital camera does not a movie make but Wayne Wang didn't rely on avant-garde technique alone when he decided to revisit the basic boy-meets-girl story. He simplifies the problem by choosing two people with very little in common and then taking them out of their natural settings and putting them in the unreal world of Las Vegas. The man is a socially inept but financially successful engineer so typical of our times and his character is developed and portrayed very realistically by Peter Saarsgard in a role very different from what he played in Boys Don't Cry. He's got it down even to the careless dressing and awkward laugh. I know - I work in the Bay Area. Molly Parker is equally convincing as the drummer-by-day-stripper-by-night career woman who has such a cool and invincible air about her that it makes quite an impact in the few occasions when she does let her armor down.

It almost seems as if Wang has taken the Hollywood classic Pretty Woman and has decided to deHollywoodize it. And in that he has been quite successful. The graininess of the Blair Witch style digital camera coupled with innovative shots including unexpected close-ups follow no clichés. Equally cliché-free is the screenplay which follows a loosely linear narrative advanced primarily by the sexual encounters between a man and a woman who are placed in the near-equivalent situation of a desert island and come from different worlds. In this, one can discern shades of Last Tango in Paris, except that this movie is set in a more cynical time where love has been deconstructed and is not worth killing for. Sex becomes the center of their world but even as they escape into sex they cannot quite leave their personalities, their dreams, their insecurities behind and that is what ultimately saves them and their story from the mundaneness of a forgettable sexual encounter. Although they go into into the deal for purely selfish reasons - he desiring an escape from Internet porn and she looking for some extra cash - their encounter, like all good stories, becomes something of a journey of self-discovery.

Mention must be made of the attention to detail which makes the setting very believable. The soundtrack is eclectic and follows the local Californian club scene rather than big label network music. And the dialogue is very boy-girl-next-door rather than being made up of grand lines. However, this movie is not everybody's cup of tea. The lack of a discernable narrative in some of the scenes risks losing the viewer's attention. And there's no simple message or tying up of loose ends here. But those who can brave that and the graininess will be rewarded with a contemporary look at love in our times.

If you decide to rent this film or catch it on HBO (which seems to run it several times a month these days), know up front that it is uneven and ultimately doesn't really end up anywhere interesting. The writer/director Wang was trapped with only two possible outcomes, granted. But after the level of trust his performers put into him, he owed them and us something more satisfying than where the movie takes the audience. However, the performance of Molly Parker makes watching this film more than worth the failings of the script.

No one, NO ONE, came close to what she does in this film that year. If you have any respect left for the choices the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members, not to mention most of the critic groups, don't watch this movie. The fact that Parker was completely overlooked, while Julie Robert's over-hyped, far-short-of-spectacular turn in ERIN BROCKOVICH got the accolades, shows what total rubbish these critical popularity horse races really are. In CENTER OF THE WORLD Parker gives an astoundingly brave performance. Yet it is the nuanced, subtle touches that show the viewer her character's shifting attitudes that make it such a stand-out job.

Without a single line of expository dialogue to illuminate the internal one, one can follow the character's struggle to maintain the control she thought she had on her own emotions. The idea that some young people have the wisdom of adults without having had the experiences to form that wisdom and what happens when they face situations that test them in a similiar fashion is very intriguing. Its a shame the film cannot match the effort Parker puts into it. Peter Sarsgaard does a 180 degree flip from his turn in BOYS DON'T CRY and while not as amazing as Parker, he does fine job too. His character is more of a now stock one: the brilliant guy with immature sexual development.

But above all else, bravo Ms Parker, BRAVO!

"Center of the World" is a very well photographed drama and is highly worth a viewing, but has several flaws.

"Center of the World", an almost mirror image of "Leaving Las Vegas" (better film), is about a computer whiz named Richard's (Peter Sarsgaard) three day escape from his everyday life to Las Vegas with a stripper named Florence (the lovely Molly Parker), who he pays to go with him under the conditions they won't have sex.

But Richard's promise eventually gets the best of him and he begins to obsess about having the best sex of his life with Florence. Florence, meanwhile, holds Richard back with teases and a "Fire and Ice" (Don't ask me) routine off screen.

With each tease, the characters' chemistry builds up and we begin to wonder if Richard and Florence are actually falling in love.

"Center of the World" has beautiful cinematography. The entire film was shot on tape and a few scenes are in one of the best shades of black and white I've ever scene.

Peter Sarsgaard is very good as the naive but extremely polite computer whiz and Molly Parker (although very better in "Pure") pours herself into the tough role of Florence almost as good as Jennifer Connely portrayed Marion in "Requiem for a Dream".

The film does have several flaws though. It has far too many sex scenes (often gratuitous), the chemistry between the two characters blooms and dies at any given time and the surprise ending is almost ruined by two scenes directly after the surprise (you'll have to see for yourself).

"Center of the World" is a good film worth watching once.

I thought this movie was a very worthwhile rental. However, it is not for everyone. Here is what I enjoyed:

1. Extremely convincing acting; 2. Sophisticated scripting and edits; 3. Intelligent dialog; 4. Interesting use of digital video (think grainy "Blair Witch" shots); 5. Some hot sex scenes; 6. Characters that interested me; 7. Deals with very raw and real emotions for these characters; 8. Director doesn't spoon feed the viewer. Some things in the scenes are better left unsaid, and they are left implicit for the viewer to grasp. I enjoy being treated as intelligent; 9. I appreciate the take on the dark side of Internet wiz-kids; 10. The movie succeeded in getting me to feel the mood of the characters very well. The feelings you are left with after watching the film--the ambiguity, the desire, the bitter-sweet frustration, even the slight weariness--enhanced the impact of the film for me.

What you May Not Care For:

1. Was I able to relate to the main male character only because I am a male involved in high-tech field?

2. Very slow pace. This is about burning emotions, coy dialog, and appreciation of believable acting. It's very cerebral. Not a typical drama by any means.

3. If you want to see even more sex, then rent a porn film. The sex here is not just about sex, but about adult loneliness and other adult themes.

4. There is a lot of subtle symbolism and fragments of dialog that you have to pay attention to get the most out of the film.

5. Many people who did not groove with the director as a whole would think the beginning, middle and ending was too slow and not satisfying.

6. If you don't appreciate the challenge of shooting realistic looking digital video in poorly-lit situations you may think the photography sucked. I didn't, it worked for me, but it's not for everyone.

7. Confusing cross-cutting scenes forward and backward in time. I thought it was very appropriate, but it could annoy others looking for simpler fare.

8. Too many things left unsaid in the dialog to be totally clear what is going on. I liked this, thought if very appropriate for what the characters were experiencing, and it made it feel much more voyeuristic, even kinky. Again, not for everyone.

9. You may not be able to get beyond the fact you are supposed to feel sorry for an Internet Wiz Millionaire and a confused young stripper who gets paid a lot of money for one weekend in Vegas. On the hand, they are still just two human beens and that is, I think, the whole point...

10. If you are a horny person looking for naked woman with big boobs I think the film will leave you, well, kind of flat.

In short, an interesting film for a young guy involved in high-tech and likes to think...

To the best of my knowledge "The Center of the World" was shot on a digital camera. If this is the case, then that was a very wise choice for the material and tone of the same. "The Center of the World" is an intellectual adult's version of "Pretty Woman" (although, I couldn't help but notice a few similarities to Egoyam's "Exotica"). On the most basic level is where we leave "Pretty Woman", however. This film is definitely not for all tastes, but that would be a loss for those folks. "The Center of the World" has a lot to say about human sexuality, loneliness, and money and the simple link between them in this modern-age. It's about the loss of human contact and connection between people in the same room; it's about perception and misjudgment. Additionally, there's a very primal ritual running through the sex scenes in this film that speaks volumes about human evolution versus technological evolution. There's a lot here and I don't want to ruin it for anyone by continuing my rant.