pjr
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pjr's rating
This is a great movie version of "Midsummer." Calista Flockhart is funny in a goofy way as the lovesick Helena. The best is last, however, when Kevin Kline leads his rough and ready troupe of actors in the play within a play. It's never been done better. The best performance in the whole movie is by Sam Rockwell in the small part of Flute (Thisbe in the play within a play). In one brilliant death speech he goes from campy drag heroine to dying poet. He should get an oscar.
Some day people will view this film because it is Sam Rockwell's first starring role as an adult (he played a high school student in Clownhouse when he was 18). Nobody saw the movie in theatrical release. It played for a week in one theater in Santa Monica. It came out on video but is almost impossible to find in video rental stores. It's not a great film, but Rockwell's performance makes it worth watching. Judy Reyes and some of the supporting actors are also excellent. Allen Garfield in the title role is the major weak spot.
I saw this movie at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 1998. I can't figure out why it hasn't opened in the US yet, it's a great movie. A black comedy a bit like Pulp Fiction but not as gory. It seemed more stylized than Pulp Fiction and funnier. It's about two partners in the hitman business. Joe Mantegna as Tom teaching Sam Rockwell as Jerry how to kill people for money.
All the acting is great, but especially Rockwell's. The movie spans 10 years, during which the character of Jerry goes from goofball teenager to a man who kills for a living and wants to be remembered by other hitmen as a legendary assasin. Rockwell's performance is flawless--from funny to chilling and back again. The movie itself is a gem. It was originally a play for three actors. One played all the murder victims while the other two played Jerry and Tom. In the film the victims are played by fine actors William H. Macy, Ted Danson and Charles Durning.
Mantegna is perfect as Tom. You see him slowly realize the evil of his profession as his "student" becomes an accomplished murderer.
All the acting is great, but especially Rockwell's. The movie spans 10 years, during which the character of Jerry goes from goofball teenager to a man who kills for a living and wants to be remembered by other hitmen as a legendary assasin. Rockwell's performance is flawless--from funny to chilling and back again. The movie itself is a gem. It was originally a play for three actors. One played all the murder victims while the other two played Jerry and Tom. In the film the victims are played by fine actors William H. Macy, Ted Danson and Charles Durning.
Mantegna is perfect as Tom. You see him slowly realize the evil of his profession as his "student" becomes an accomplished murderer.