Rick

It is surprising that an indie film was able to attract the talent of such talented actors, designers and crew, but over looked a critical element which is the film score. The music composed and arranged for this film was a very amateur work. So much so that it pulled you out of the story each time the poorly done music was played. You have to fight to not listen to it, so that you can keep your head in the story and action of the film. This is not the purpose of film music, it needs to work with the film, not against it.

The art direction was right on, as was the location shots of the film including the offices and the apartment. It is too bad that this wasn't done with a composer of the talents equal to the rest of the level of this film.

When the Munich Filmfest 2004 offered "Rick" I was delighted. Because I love Verdi/"Rigoletto" and I happen to think that Bill Pullman is a very fine actor. (Whom I would like to see on stage; the biggest compliment I have to offer, Mr. Pullman -) However, I was/am deeply disappointed because this "adaptation" of a tragedy of Shakespearean or Greek dimensions, excepting one short moment, just didn't come off. To start with, Rick is such a hard-core bastard (much more so, mark you, than Rigoletto when, mistaking or over-doing his role as jester, laughs off the sorrow of a grieving father) that his janus-faced attitude of a loving father is about as 'convincing' as a square football! Moreover, his daughter Eve, apart from being a fairly attractive young female, has none of Gilda's characteristics. On the contrary, she's arrogant, spoiled, thoughtless, pretty ruthless and - in her own way - heartless. Very much like 'Duke' in fact whose part doesn't even begin to work, and remains shapeless and pale throughout the film. Thus, by victimizing Eve accidentally the writer and director achieve little more than a "Too bad"-reaction. And there are aeons between this and the suicide of Gilda, who knows only too well that she deliberately sacrifices her life for a man unworthy of her love.

However, there is ONE moment in "Rick" that is worthy of great drama/tragedy. And we owe it to (apart from Mr. Pullman) Ms Sandra Oh who (as Michelle) curses Rick in a night bar so vehemently, ferociously and convincingly that it took my breath away! Wow, WHAT a scene, what an actress!

Don't let the presence of Bill Pullman (Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Singles) fool you; this is no breezy romcom. Not by a mile.

Based on a famous opera (in case you don't already know which one, I won't tell you because that might ruin the story), it's a pretty clever modernization. It begins innocently enough like a good dark comedy, but almost immediately you start to pick up cues that the director is trying to unsettle us. Scenes of New York City are shot from low, wide angles creating a claustrophobic effect. Most of the story seems to happen at night in shady places or in the dark, ominous halls of the sleazebag corporation where Rick works. All of this offsets the comedy which is rife in the first half.

But if you're expecting a comic morality tale like "Scrooged" or "Groundhog Day" or even "A Christmas Carol", you'll be in for a few surprises. First of all, the choice of leading actor Bill Pullman is a puzzler. We're supposed to hate him, right? How can we possibly hate the eternal good guy "Walter from Sleepless in Seattle"? The answer is we can't. And I believe this casting choice was intentional. In the DVD extras the filmmakers say it's much more complicated than bad-guy-takes-his-lumps. Instead they create a complex protagonist who is evil but not without just cause. This complicates matters as we become sympathetic toward him. The experience can be very emotionally draining, but that's why I think this is a good film.

An outstanding performance from Agnes Bruckner as the daughter, as well as great supporting roles from everyone involved, keep things moving at a somewhat fast pace. You barely have time to notice the great architecture and powerful sets featured in the film, not to mention all the literary allusions and little winks at the audience (for example, notice how the phone number on Buck's business card keeps changing).

As far as creative retellings of classic stories go, "Rick" is a winner. Other good ones include "The Claim" (a wild west adaptation of the Byron poem "Ozymandias"), "Dolan's Cadillac" (based on Stephen King's rewrite of Poe's "Cask of Amontillado") and--a bit of a stretch but--"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", a kick-butt retelling of Moby Dick.

This movie moved in such a quick and informative cycle I felt I couldn't spare 3 minutes to grab a feed bag and a bottle. I can't remember any movie I've seen lately being as captivating and quick.

The cast plays the characters in an alternately despicable and delectable, very off-hand way. Who to loathe... more? Many characters are disastrous self-absorptions.

Especially notable are the performances of Sandra Oh, Bill Pullman and Dylan Baker. I guess the most notable performance award from me goes to the guy who played Bill Pullman's boss (BIGBOSS), because I disliked that character so much I forgot to even look up the actor's name.

Details, details, delicious details are all over this film. The constantly changing phone number on BUCK's business card. The changing wallpaper, the distant behaviour of the friend of Rick's daughter. Rick's office door opening in different directions in different scenes.

This movie is worth every moment. I voted so high because I watched it on cable and I couldn't pause it and I wouldn't go pee.

Frankly, I found it to be a very captivating movie full of captivating characters full of honest hope and blind faith.

Other's have given good synopses of the plot so I'll not go along that route, and I'll keep this brief. One other commenter noted the quality of Bill Pullman and I have to concur. He has a habit of choosing rather off-beat films that deserve greater success than they receive; I'm thinking of The Zero Effect and Lost Highway rather than Independence Day.

I was expecting very little from this film and was awed by the quality of the production. Rick managed to build its own style as a film, being grotesque and dramatic, yet the moniker of DARK COMEDY was not a lie on the sleeve, it really was very funny.

Thankfully the film only follows the same general route as the opera. Guiseppe Verdi (sounds so dull when you translate it to English - Joe Green) never wrote for the screen. Yet... the production retains a very set-like feel, as if it was taken from a play.

The only criticism that I can really level at Rick is that it seems to lose its pacing in the last 15 minutes, when you can see the slow car-crash of a finale approaching. The director really passes up opportunities to build suspense and there is a feeling of an opportunity lost. However, this stands out only due to the quality overall.

In summary, it's got really superb characters, none of them are out of the box at all. Gothic and fatalistic, funny and sexy but cruel and merciless. The acting is faultless, stand-out performances from Bill Pullman and Sandra Oh, with a special mention for one of the most cringe-worthy bosses of all time to Aaron Stanford - watch out for him in the future.