Ivansxtc

Loosely based on Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilych' this searing indictment of Hollywood must be one of the most under-appreciated films of the last ten years.

Danny Huston plays Ivan Beckman, a typically sleazy, coke-snorting Tinseltown agent who is forced to confront the emptiness of his life when he learns that he is dying of cancer. Amongst the many people with whom he is surrounded but cannot confide in are hotshot director Danny McTeague (James Merendino), gun-toting homophobic mega-star Don West (Peter Weller), and Ivan's girlfriend, Charlotte (Lisa Enos), who may or may not be using him to further her own ambitions.

IVANS XTC. actually begins with the news of Ivan's death, and apart from the first 15 minutes or so the story is told in flashback. This works superbly because we immediately discover just how meaningless Ivan's life and career really were. Nobody really gave a damn about him (nor does anyone believe for a minute that he died of cancer rather than a cocaine OD), and his death merely serves as an inconvenience to those involved in the film project he was trying to get started (West and McTeague even have the insensitivity to confront each other in the middle of Ivan's funeral service!).

When Ivan learns of his cancer he tries to binge his way to redemption through drink, drugs, and women, but there is none to be found. Nothing can ease his physical or emotional pain. He can't even find an image of beauty or happiness in his head - everything he can think of is "shit". Ivan was already a victim even before the cancer took hold.

Many films have successfully attacked the excessive yet soulless Hollywood machine in recent years e.g THE PLAYER and SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, but IVAN's XTC. is perhaps even better (British writer-director Bernard Rose drew from many of his own bitter experiences). The film is shot entirely on DV (with oddly effective use of Wagner as musical accompaniment!) and this gives it a documentary-style realism (you really feel you're in the back of that limo with West as he snorts coke off Charlotte's leg). It is also to the film-makers' credit that no punches are pulled when it comes to conveying exactly what Ivan's cancer is doing to him (the visceral last reel is not for the squeamish).

The performances are first-rate all round, but Huston is especially brilliant and should have had an Oscar nomination. Although Ivan is an unpleasant individual - and Rose never dresses him up to be anything but - Huston manages to elicit the viewer's sympathy simply by demonstrating Ivan's ever more desperate need for something to fill the complete void that is his quickly fading life. As far as the 'terminal illness' genre goes this film is ultimately far more moving than blatantly manipulative stuff like TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and MY LIFE precisely because there is absolutely no on-screen sentimentality whatsoever. Ivan's one moment of true tenderness comes not with Charlotte or with any of his friends or family... but with a nurse he doesn't even know. The glorious closing shot is surely one the best in recent film-making history.

This is a disturbing film that is at times difficult to watch. Yet at the same time it is so perceptive and involving that one feels it actually deserves several viewings. Highly recommended.

I love this film. Danny Huston, in a remarkable performance, makes you care for a truly unloveable character. The film shows us the vile antics of those charged with maintaining the glam facade of Hollywood and the big studios. Let's have more on this theme. Some on these pages think this film smacks of jealousy; that somehow Bernard Rose is envious of the morally bankrupt lives led by the likes of Ivan. He's not (how could anyone be?). When Ivan muses on his fate and tries to find one, just one, memory that would make it all worthwhile, he comes up blank. It would appear to your average punter, who's taken in by the trappings of wealth and showbiz, that Ivan had it all. In the end, we see he has nothing. His death scene is one of the most moving ever committed to celluloid, sorry, HD-V. Consider the response of his colleagues on hearing the news of his demise. Consider the response of his former clients. Those with a knowledge of the way these agencies work will know that this film is eerily accurate. There are so many shocking, uncomfortable and perversely funny scenes in this film that you'll be thinking about it for a long time afterwards. Wow, a film about Hollywood that actually makes you think. How weird is that?

Hmm, what a fab. movie. Just caught this flick at a film festival and let me tell you it is one dame fine movie.

Sitting thru the opening scenes I must admit that I thought that it was going to be total @#!&*, but it soon got going. Being involved in the "entertainment" industry I did feel a connection with this film. The acting was superb, the general production values good, although the hand-held camera work did occasionally get on my nerves.

It was quite strange actually, the start of the movie (opening credit sequences) seemed to go on for ever, and the credits that would normally be put at the end were put at the start. Anyway, I think if people can get thru the first 15 minutes, they will see the film for what it is.

Great character performances, great story and subject matter. Think an "arthouse" version of "The Player.

Just ordered this on DVD from the UK. MUST SEE!

Again, we have a literary masterpiece "adapted" to the big screen (e.g., the recent "Bartleby"). Not a total success, in my opinion. First of all its transformed setting...the Hollywood scene...while the film creates its reality fairly well...is far from the original characterization of a public servant (a magistrate) and his powerful, reflective downward path to death. Secondly, the depiction of the movie business as superficial and full of back=slapping and phony relationships is a rehash to the point of cliche.

That said, Danny Huston's performance as the high-living Hollywood agent, facing his imminent death is very convincing and even moving at times...and creates sympathy for an otherwise vacuous character. We are spared none of the grim details of his last days on earth...so be warned.

Ivans xtc is shot with slow shutter speeds and no 'tripod', with the result that it looks like a documentary - but it's not. Add to that some superb acting performances and the result is an extremely credible fiction film. One reviewer here complains of a lack of wisdom; I wasn't looking for wisdom. I was just watching a film about some very believable characters and what happened in a short section of their lives. Yes, it was interesting and gripping. It was also supported by some magnificent music, including excerpts of Richard Wagner's Tristan. I cannot recommend this film highly enough.