Leo

I agree with the reviewer who wrote that "Leo" is vulnerable to charges of being pretentious. It also dips into melodrama in a couple scenes involving Dennis Hopper's stock villain, and some of the other characters needed to be fleshed out more. However, I would much rather see a first time director tackle a project with the complexity and ambition of "Leo" than to have them make yet another pseudo wry, post modern, Tarantino imitation, or, worse, a boring, routine slasher film. Therefore, I applaud Mehdi Norowzian for his effort, even if his reach may currently exceed his grasp. I will look forward to seeing future efforts from a director who obviously has talent. BTW, I think one of the "external reviews" makes an issue of Norowzian's background in commercial work. I don't understand the negative view of this. Many talented filmmakers got their start directing commercials or music videos. Robert Altman made industrial films before his first, undistinguished feature, which starred future "Billy Jack," Tom McLoughlin. A person has to learn their craft somewhere. There are only so many Orson Welles types who spring forth a genius in their first effort.

Why had I never heard of this movie until I saw it sitting on the video store shelf? I hadn't seen Elisabeth Shue in anything really good lately, and I hadn't seen Joseph Fiennes in anything since Shakespeare In Love, so I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But I'd have to say it's one of the best I've seen in a long time.

This is one of those movies in which different story lines converge into one towards the end of the film. Fiennes is a recently released convict, having served 15 years for murder. Shue portrays a lonely wife and, later, a seemingly heartless mother. While both actors are great in this movie, Shue in particular is shocking (in a good way). Shue is unfailingly likable, whether playing a babysitter or a hooker, so seeing her as Mommy Dearest is both unsettling and refreshing. Having been in the industry for nearly 2 decades when this movie was released, it's exciting to see the (still gorgeous) actress making yet another Leaving Las Vegas-style breakthrough.

I don't want to give away any important plot points, so suffice it to say that this movie left me with the same disturbed, depressed, yet greatly moved feeling that I get from movies like American Beauty. Don't let the fact that most people have never heard of it keep you from picking it up during your next trip to the video store.

Joseph Fiennes is a fine actor, and the consistency of his performance is very much the centrepiece of this movie. There are elements of the script which don't seem as coherent, but I could gloss over these because of his consistency.

I like the look of the movie, and the direction costumes and sets complemented each other well, and this was maintained in recounting present day and 'flashback' experiences.

There are comparisons to other films which could be made, especially to Blue Velvet. Indeed Dennis Hopper could have made the two films without changing stride. And Fiennes' character is similar to that played by his brother Ralph in Cronenberg's masterpiece Spider, without the same degree of madness.

I picked up fairly early on the way the plot would head, and I was right. The late novelist Kurt Vonnegut used to often tell the reader how the book would end in the first chapters, and yet the books were compelling. I found this equally so.

Writing gives you the ability to create worlds and examine your own life more effectively. Could writing be the perfect ticket to self-understanding? That may sound contrived, but it may just not be.

Leopold Bloom is a young gifted writer, but his mother believes he is the product of an affair. For this she resents him. Stephen on the other hand, is an ex-convict. He's quiet and controlled, as is Leopold. In a class, Leopold is asked to write a letter for an exercise. He writes this letter to a convict, where it is received by Stephen. They exchange letters, and become each others only friends.

The ending is cliched, but with the rest of this highly original behind it, there was no other way.

You'll be surprised by how moving this becomes towards the end after remaining quite sterile for most of its runtime.

A quiet man who's a gifted writer (Joseph Fiennes) gets out of prison in Mississippi and immediately starts writing in his motel room while working at a nearby restaurant where he has to deal with the local loudmouth (Dennis Hopper). Meanwhile a woman struggles with her moral failings as she lives in an antebellum mansion (Elisabeth Shue). Sam Shepard, Justin Chambers, Deborah Kara Unger and Mary Stuart Masterson are also on hand.

"Leo" (2002) is Southern Gothic that mixes elements of "Sling Blade" (1996), "Blue Velvet" (1986) and "Two Moon Junction" (1988) with a little "Forrest Gump" (1994). While nowhere near the entertainment level of "Forrest," it's arguably on par with the others. It was Mehdi Norowzian's only feature-length film and his (currently) last one, which is a shame because it certainly shows that he knows how to make an aesthetically appealing motion picture.

If you appreciate those movies, give it a try. I value it for its artistic style and the quality cast, but the storytelling could've been more compelling and less ambiguous on certain points. I'll have to view it again soon to try to figure out those muddy aspects. I'd say more, but I don't want to give anything away.

The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot in Oxford, Mississippi, and Charleston, South Carolina.

GRADE: B-