Wild Side

Intriguing, eye-opening thriller this, featuring an outrageous, insane and over-the-top performance from Christopher Walken even compared to his usual crazed output. Essentially a romance between the two leading ladies, Walken is the central figure and catalyst of all events as his loopy as hell gangster feller messes around with some women, is picked on by some dodgy coppers, and generally acts like a total loon. Joan Chen and Anne Heche are good as, respectively, his longtime girl and partner in crime, and his newest conquest and hobby, both putting in subtly sensual and remarkably sympathetic performances, and Steven Bauer is impressive (in the first role I've really noticed him in since Scarface) as the totally twisted, corrupt undercover cop on Walken's back, but this is really all Walken's show, as he chomps at the scenery with massive gusto. The atmosphere is dark and warm and a little steamy, there's plenty of expensive looking whisky about the place and people leading lives on the edge of sanity; the tragic Cammell's last film is a dark, intense, often inspired and occasionally hilarious gaze into the wilder side of sexuality and empowerment. Definitely one to watch with an open mind.

I watched the Director's Cut of this movie premiered August '99, together with clips of the trash that the studio released. The studio movie is trash - completely and utterly and doesn't even aspire to be anything better. The editing is flat and the performances look like rehearsals. The Director's Cut (pieced together by the Editor after the Director's suicide) is an outstanding piece of cinema. Not a frame wasted. The opening sequence shocks you into an awareness that this movie will be very different to anything you've seen before. Chris Walken gives one of the best performances of his career. This is exciting, original cinema that riveted my attention in every moment of its two hour authorised version. The script sparkles with wit and dry, unpretentious humour and you never quite know what is going to happen next. A sexy, stylish thriller that makes you laugh and also appreciate the beauty inside every villain. The tenacity and integrity of the Editor and Scriptwriter that saw it through to completion is a monument to the industry.

Curiously, I continued to watch this...as unlike many flicks around these days, it was quite unpredictable. Okay. It has a few flaws, like Mister Walken's sometimes way out overacting, but this may have been down to the director's untimely death after the project was taken out of his control. Anne Heche, who everyone condemned a few years ago for riding on the coat-tails of her former love Ellen Degeneres, turns out to be quite an accomplished actress (check her out in One Kill), and is believable as a woman torn in many directions. It's also very easy to see why Walken's character would fall for her. Ryuchi Sakamoto's haunting music recorded nearly five years after the movie was shot, adds to the surreal atmosphere of some scenes, even though they can seem a little far fetched.

Film Four has done a fine job restoring the movie, it's a shame though that the BBC's excellent documentary, Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance, isn't included on the DVD.

I met Donald Cammell shortly after he finished production on "Wild Side" We were at director Martin Donovan's house in Los Angeles. It was one of those eclectic memorable evenings in front of the fire in that fabulous Italian villa of Whitley Heights. Johnny Whitworth and Liv Tyler were there, so was Renee Zellwegger with her director Dan Ireland, Valeria Golino and Benicio del Toro, Shirley Knight and even Fabrizio Mioni with Faith Domergue, yes the legendary Faith Domergue, Howard Hughes's protègè. Donald Cammell dominated great part of the evening, exhausted but bursting with energy. So excited about his new film, about Joan Chen, Steven Bauer and Christopher Walken's performance. Editing with his long time collaborator, Frank Mazzola. It was a dangerous movie, it walked a very thin line, but he trusted his abilities as an tightrope walker. Years of experience. A few weeks later I was invited to see his cut of the film. I must admit, It took me by surprise. The darkness of the film didn't seem to match the lovely, kind, gentle Donald. The film was also brutally funny. A very individual, frightening, fascinating vision of the world. Shortly after I found out the film had been taken away from him and re edited. I saw Donald Cammell a couple of times after that, he smiled, he was charming and kind as usual, but in his eyes you could see his sadness. The next time I went back to Martin Donovan's house was to attend Donald Cammell's memorial service. He had killed himself, leaving a tangible, painful, tragic void. That day was also memorable, to be part again, with China, Donald's wife, of an eclectic group, from Drew Hammond and Bud Cort to Ken Russell and Cassian Elwes, to pay tribute to Donald Cammell the man, the artist, the friend. The other version of "Wild Side" hit theater for a second and disappeared without a trace. Frank Mazzola, the original editor, has restored it since, with love and for love of an unforgettable friend.

The story goes like this : Donald Cammell died , heartbroken by the producers' typical butchering of his film, which was released as a "straight to late Friday night" sleazy thriller; ...and, with hindsight, it's easy to believe this. Thankfully, the director's assistant was able to re-cut the movie, according to the artist's wishes and, as a result, ... "Wild Side" is a mindsuck ("suck" is not the actual appropriate word I had in mind here ) of a masterpiece.

It grips you from the first scene (what on Earth is going on here, who's what, is the cop bad, is the bad girl good ??), through its barely credible tortuous twists and double-crossings, until the unescapable -and yet unpredictable- end. Followed by another end, of course.

The involvement of the actors, their very limited number -hardly anyone else than the damned foursome dares cross the threshold into Cammell's world- works to perfection, as it introduces some kind of claustrophobic atmosphere (there is supposed to be a world outside these half-lit hotel rooms, but we won't see much of it until the last sequence). These four characters drift in and out, each less trustworthy than the last : past ten minutes, it will be hard to remember who's supposed to be forming an alliance against who. Key word here : intensity. Hey, the, er..., climax of the film involves the -explicitly not homosexual- gangster (almost or not : up to you to find out) raping his male driver, an undercover cop, just to prove his love to a prostitute ! Confused ? Yes, you will be, and that's nothing compared to the actual script : everyone works very hard to double-cross everyone else, not least their lover.

And now, let's tackle the major asset of this film : its acting.

Amazing. By now, it is pretty obvious to everyone that Anne Heche is a truly terrific actress, all ambiguity and secret resolves. She certainly doesn't disappoint her growing number of admirers here. Steven Bauer , who plays the cop, has -quite simply- never been near as impressive as he is here. But the cherry on the cake, the surge after the lollipop, the tour de force extraordinaire, has to be credited to who else but Christopher Walken.

Christopher Walken, as we know, IS Christopher Walken -no introduction needed, but in "Wild Side", he just... delivers his most demented performance to date, if you can start to imagine. His endlessly fascinating ambisexual reptilian face, his weird yellowy skin, his eyebrowless laser eyes -not to forget a hair rock stars would advertise soda for-, the man is scary beyond frightening. He's not deranged, he's from another planet ! Nearly incomprehensible. Let us be very clear here : "Wild Side" is an absolute must for all Christopher Walken fans out there.

There will never be another Donald Cammell film, and that's a real tragedy. Especially when you bear in mind that the man co-authored mandatory-cult-movie "Peformance", yes, the very one "Performance" that sent E. Fox over the edge for a few years. Thanks God, Christopher Walken still walks amongst us lesser mortals (and occasionally steals an entire Tarantino scripted movie by only appearing five minutes).