First Love, Last Rites

I watched this one a couple of months ago on video while I spent some time in the USA. I especially liked the performances by Giovanni Ribisi (who is also great in "The Gift") and Natasha Wagner (one of my all-times favorites). Another positive effort is the nice soundtrack and the slick editing.

The main problem of "First Love, Last Rites" is that first-time director Jesse Peretz sometimes slows down the pace a bit too much so that you may need some patience to sit this one through. Nevertheless it´s still worth watching especially if you like Ribisi and Wagner.

By the way: ever since I watched this movie I tried to find out whether or not it has been released on DVD (no matter which country or regional encoding as long as there´s an English-language track on it). So, if anyone who reads this knows where, when or how to get "First Love, Last Rites" on DVD inform me about it, I´d be very pleased!!!

FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES is a movie that I know people will be bored with. It is slow for some tastes. Life is slow. This movie is so true to life and it's pacing seems all too real. It's amazing it's a story not of plot but of documenting time. The story inspired a screenplay that I just finished Belmar. It has such a slow core to it and is so atmospheric. Bottom line THIS IS AN ART FILM. ("A movie simple enough for a child to understand with images strong enought for an adult"-Roger Ebert. Different people will react differently to this movie. It's for the art crowd and for film students. It's not for the average multiplex movie goer unless they get darring and wana try something new. I hope Jesse Perez makes another movie, the actors were great, well I am a huge fan of Natsha Gerson Wagner. It's a very steamy masterpeace that moves with the charactors and the atmosphere. I have no idea why this film didn't make it big. It sure is a discovery on video!

This is an excellent film, marked by nicely nuanced acting brought forth by a splendid first-time director. The screenplay, editing and cinematography are all first-rate. Wagner and Burke, in particular, master their roles. Ian McEwan's symbolism in the original story is nicely transferred to the screen. A strong feeling of tension keeps one fascinated until the ending.

This is a strange movie. The young stars spend a lot of time at home being bored, then they have sex, get bored again, listen to a phonograph, have sex, get bored again, talk, talk and talk. Natasha Gregson Wagner looks and sounds so much like her mother sometimes it is eerie. Slow moving, I think it was meant to be that way, perhaps to get the feeling of swampy Louisiana. Wagner's character is very unappealing, and it really hurts the film, but I liked her performance. Offbeat, and it sure doesn't make you feel warm all over. There didn't seem to be much point to the film. No one in the cast but Wagner stands out and the direction is simply bland.

The filming of this movie is beautiful and well planned, however it doesn't make up for what, in my mind, the story lacks. At times the peculiarity of the events (and of Robert John Burke's failed attempt at a Creole accent) made me cringe. "How could anyone be so stupid?" I asked myself as Joey tagged alongside Sissel's creepy father. Other events that made me borderline-nauseous: the moontanning incident, the rat in the wall, the sex-on-the-pier fiasco. "The sex-on-the-pier fiasco" seemed to be Peretz's attempt to finally connect the dream sequences to something physically occurring in the movie, though in my mind, it failed miserably and I got a good hearty laugh out it. Besides the picturesque setting and great camera work, the only other redeeming qualities were Giovanni Ribisi (Joey) and Jeanetta Arnette (Sissle's mom). Natasha Gregson Wagner's Sissel seemed to a bit too psychotic for my tastes. Ribisi seems to have much talent, and Arnette's small role helped add moments of humor and excitement. See this movie for the acting/cinematography, not to be blown away.