wonderdawg
Joined Mar 2001
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wonderdawg's rating
Writer/director John Dahl reinvented film noir for modern audiences with "Red Rock West" and "The Last Seduction" and although "You Kill Me" isn't up there with those spiky gems this droll macabre comedy/romance is a welcome return to form after forgettable flicks like "Unforgettable" and "Joy Ride". Sir Ben Kingsley gives a deliciously deadpan performance as an alcoholic Polish-American killer for hire named Frank Falenczyk. "Every time we send you out I have to make a call to find out if they're dead," moans mob boss Roman Krzeminski (Phillip Baker Hall). "I can't trust you anymore, Frank. Even if you are my nephew." Sent to Los Angeles to dry out the lonely hit-man finds unlikely redemption when he gets a job in a mortuary and meets a melancholy misfit played by Tea Leoni at her tart twisted best. Jeff Daniels has some funny lines as, well, let's have him tell us in his own words: "In a town with a ten percent vacancy rate a real estate agent is god, and that's what I am, a real estate agent."
"I had a lot of problems with horror films in general, especially the portrayal of women" Karen Walton confesses on the Writer's Commentary track, " ... lots of screaming and bouncing ... violence for the sake of violence .... I really hated the genre."
So why did she spend four years writing and polishing her script to razor sharp perfection? Simple. Director John Fawcett offered her a chance to rewrite the rules.
Gothy, antisocial and obsessed with images of death, twisted sisters Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) and Bridget (Emily Perkins) are toughing out their teens in high school hell in deepest darkest Canadian suburbia. Harassed by the popular girls and hustled by the jocks, the pair huddles together for protection. All that changes when Ginger is bitten one night by a savage wolf like creature. Once shy and quiet, she becomes assertive, self-confident and sexually provocative. Her body is going through changes as well. I mean, what's up with those silver hairs on her Lady Schick? Bridget begins to suspect her sister has been infected by the bite and may be turning into a monster. "Thank you for taking my nightmare so seriously, " Ginger scowls. Her tone is sarcastic. Yet it is precisely the film's serious treatment of her predicament that sets it apart from all those self- referential satires that followed in the wake of Wes Craven's Scream trilogy. Ginger's slow and terrifying transformation into a werewolf is meant to be a metaphor for the emotional upheaval, confusion and terror of adolescence with all its attendant physical and psychological changes.
"It's really important to go for emotional honesty, " Walton stresses. She gets it from Isabelle and Perkins. These two talented and intuitive young performers know and understand their characters intimately and are able to reach deep inside and come up with intense, unsettling, often poignant feelings and emotions. The premise may be "out there" but the portrayals ring true and it is that reality which grounds the story and makes the fantastical elements believable. The focus of the film is on the bond between the two girls and it is intriguing to watch the shifting dynamics in the relationship as Ginger begins to lose control of her mind and body. To save her sister's life, timid Bridget must finally take charge of her own.
Although the subject matter is treated seriously, the film is laced with deliciously dark humor. The dialogue crackles with sharp, sardonic wit, Mimi Rogers plays the girls' clueless suburban mom to poker-faced perfection and director Fawcett has a clever way of using visual cues as a wry counterpoint to action unfolding on screen.
Operating on a lo-fi budget, the director relies on sly camera-work, atmospheric lighting and canny editing rather than an arsenal of special effects to create tension and drama. He has a keen eye for little details and a shrewd sense of pacing. Check out the deleted scenes (15 in all) to fully appreciate his discipline as a film-maker.
There are two commentary tracks, Fawcett's is full of breezy chatter about the actors and shooting details but it is Walton's track that I found intriguing. Thoughtful and analytical, it is recommended listening for any budding screenwriter looking for tips on story structure and characterization. The extras include behind the scenes footage of Isabelle and Perkins auditioning and rehearsing their roles.
So why did she spend four years writing and polishing her script to razor sharp perfection? Simple. Director John Fawcett offered her a chance to rewrite the rules.
Gothy, antisocial and obsessed with images of death, twisted sisters Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) and Bridget (Emily Perkins) are toughing out their teens in high school hell in deepest darkest Canadian suburbia. Harassed by the popular girls and hustled by the jocks, the pair huddles together for protection. All that changes when Ginger is bitten one night by a savage wolf like creature. Once shy and quiet, she becomes assertive, self-confident and sexually provocative. Her body is going through changes as well. I mean, what's up with those silver hairs on her Lady Schick? Bridget begins to suspect her sister has been infected by the bite and may be turning into a monster. "Thank you for taking my nightmare so seriously, " Ginger scowls. Her tone is sarcastic. Yet it is precisely the film's serious treatment of her predicament that sets it apart from all those self- referential satires that followed in the wake of Wes Craven's Scream trilogy. Ginger's slow and terrifying transformation into a werewolf is meant to be a metaphor for the emotional upheaval, confusion and terror of adolescence with all its attendant physical and psychological changes.
"It's really important to go for emotional honesty, " Walton stresses. She gets it from Isabelle and Perkins. These two talented and intuitive young performers know and understand their characters intimately and are able to reach deep inside and come up with intense, unsettling, often poignant feelings and emotions. The premise may be "out there" but the portrayals ring true and it is that reality which grounds the story and makes the fantastical elements believable. The focus of the film is on the bond between the two girls and it is intriguing to watch the shifting dynamics in the relationship as Ginger begins to lose control of her mind and body. To save her sister's life, timid Bridget must finally take charge of her own.
Although the subject matter is treated seriously, the film is laced with deliciously dark humor. The dialogue crackles with sharp, sardonic wit, Mimi Rogers plays the girls' clueless suburban mom to poker-faced perfection and director Fawcett has a clever way of using visual cues as a wry counterpoint to action unfolding on screen.
Operating on a lo-fi budget, the director relies on sly camera-work, atmospheric lighting and canny editing rather than an arsenal of special effects to create tension and drama. He has a keen eye for little details and a shrewd sense of pacing. Check out the deleted scenes (15 in all) to fully appreciate his discipline as a film-maker.
There are two commentary tracks, Fawcett's is full of breezy chatter about the actors and shooting details but it is Walton's track that I found intriguing. Thoughtful and analytical, it is recommended listening for any budding screenwriter looking for tips on story structure and characterization. The extras include behind the scenes footage of Isabelle and Perkins auditioning and rehearsing their roles.
The blurb on the dust jacket made this veteran action fan do a double take – "Van Damme deserves not a Black Belt, but an Oscar" – TIME.
That's right, TIME Magazine.
Obviously, this isn't your average direct to video body slammer.
Sure, it's business as usual at the beginning of the pic with the Belgian beefcake kickboxing his way through a bunch of bad guys in a single take.
When the bored young Asian kid behind the camera yells "Cut!" and the star walks off the set the real movie begins.
Because in this surprising French language film from maverick Algerian filmmaker Mabrouk el Mechri, Van Damme plays himself (or at least a version of himself.)
Cut to a courtroom in Los Angeles where "Van Damme" is involved in a bitter custody battle with one of his ex-wives. His little daughter (Saskia Flanders) would rather stay with her mom because, as she tells the judge, "everytime my dad's on a TV show my friends make fun of me. And I don't want them to make fun of me anymore." Ouch! That's gotta hurt.
Broke, dispirited and suffering from jet lag, the actor returns to Belgium.
The predominant theme of the film is the tension between the illusion of celebrity and the grim reality of life offscreen.
Everywhere "Van Damme" goes he is treated like a national hero and yet with his credit cards maxed out and cheques bouncing like rubber bullets the actor has to phone his Hollywood agent (Jesse Joe Walsh) to ask for an advance on his next picture ... only to learn that Steven Seagal has replaced him in the lead. ("He promised to cut off his ponytail".)
Like the real Van Damme, the character here is trapped in an endless cycle of direct to video clunkers. Even his agent can't keep track of them.
JCVD: So what's next
AGENT: What's next? 'No Limit Injury'. It's about a Viet vet ....
JCVD: I've done this movie six months ago.
AGENT: We did?
JCVD: What's next?
AGENT: 'No Limit Injury 2' It's about a Gulf War vet who tries to pay for his son's education ...
Just when you think things couldn't get any worse for our beleaguered star, he walks into the local post office ("I'm here for a transfer. The name's Jean Claude van Varenberg, not my stage name Van Damme", he snaps at the cashier) and finds himself in the middle of a robbery/hostage drama. The robbers force him at gunpoint to negotiate with the police on the phone and the cops (and the media) assume he has had some sort of breakdown and is masterminding the heist.
Director (and co-writer) El-Mechri and his star use the situation to take some wicked potshots at the action movie biz and the people who work in it.
One of the gunmen, Arthur (Karim Belkhadra), turns out to be an avid and knowledgeable action movie fan.
Trapped in the bank with the other hostages "Van Damme" is as fearful for his life as any of them and yet Arthur persists in relating to him as the action hero he has seen and worshipped in countless films.
"He's the one who brought John Woo to the US," the gunman tells the frightened hostages. "Without him (Woo) would still be filming pigeons in Hong Kong. And then what? He drops you."
JCVD: "At least he did Face-Off".
ARTHUR: "So what? He could have picked you. On the other hand, when you see 'Windtalkers', there's a justice."
Speaking in his native French, Van Damme achieves an eloquence and an artistic freedom that his English language bust-em-ups never even hinted at.
At one point the actor floats right out of the set and talks directly to the camera in a Shakespearean-style soliloquy which – to quote the venerable show biz trade paper VARIETY - "must be seen to be believed. "
During the course of a six minute monologue (call it an out-of-movie experience) the actor goes from stoic to teary-eyed as he comes clean about his many marriages ("I've always believed in love"), his drug addiction ("I tried something and I got hooked ... I was wasted mentally and physically") and apologizes to his fans for failing to live up to his early promise ("You made my dream come true ... I promised you something in return and I haven't delivered yet. ")
Looking tired, haggard and desperate this is definitely not the confident young kickbutt star of 1993's "Nowhere To Run", 1994's "Timecop" and 1996's "Maximum Risk". (I am such a longtime fan I can still remember when Van Damme flicks opened in theatres rather than video shelves.)
Like Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (another fictional tale with real life roots) Van Damme goes through a startling and poignant character transformation in this film.
Okay, maybe an Oscar nomination was wishful thinking. But a Golden Globe would have been nice.
SIDEBAR: Hyperkinetic Hong Kong thrillers like "The Killer" (1989) and "Hard-Boiled" (1992) made John Woo a buzzworthy name in U.S. film circles but it was a Van Damme movie, "Hard Target" (1993) that first brought the filmmaker to Hollywood. Although Woo went on to make hits like "Broken Arrow" (1996) and "Face-Off" (1997) with John Travolta he never worked with Van Damme again. His Stateside career tapered off after "Windtalkers" took a critical and box office beating in 2002.
That's right, TIME Magazine.
Obviously, this isn't your average direct to video body slammer.
Sure, it's business as usual at the beginning of the pic with the Belgian beefcake kickboxing his way through a bunch of bad guys in a single take.
When the bored young Asian kid behind the camera yells "Cut!" and the star walks off the set the real movie begins.
Because in this surprising French language film from maverick Algerian filmmaker Mabrouk el Mechri, Van Damme plays himself (or at least a version of himself.)
Cut to a courtroom in Los Angeles where "Van Damme" is involved in a bitter custody battle with one of his ex-wives. His little daughter (Saskia Flanders) would rather stay with her mom because, as she tells the judge, "everytime my dad's on a TV show my friends make fun of me. And I don't want them to make fun of me anymore." Ouch! That's gotta hurt.
Broke, dispirited and suffering from jet lag, the actor returns to Belgium.
The predominant theme of the film is the tension between the illusion of celebrity and the grim reality of life offscreen.
Everywhere "Van Damme" goes he is treated like a national hero and yet with his credit cards maxed out and cheques bouncing like rubber bullets the actor has to phone his Hollywood agent (Jesse Joe Walsh) to ask for an advance on his next picture ... only to learn that Steven Seagal has replaced him in the lead. ("He promised to cut off his ponytail".)
Like the real Van Damme, the character here is trapped in an endless cycle of direct to video clunkers. Even his agent can't keep track of them.
JCVD: So what's next
AGENT: What's next? 'No Limit Injury'. It's about a Viet vet ....
JCVD: I've done this movie six months ago.
AGENT: We did?
JCVD: What's next?
AGENT: 'No Limit Injury 2' It's about a Gulf War vet who tries to pay for his son's education ...
Just when you think things couldn't get any worse for our beleaguered star, he walks into the local post office ("I'm here for a transfer. The name's Jean Claude van Varenberg, not my stage name Van Damme", he snaps at the cashier) and finds himself in the middle of a robbery/hostage drama. The robbers force him at gunpoint to negotiate with the police on the phone and the cops (and the media) assume he has had some sort of breakdown and is masterminding the heist.
Director (and co-writer) El-Mechri and his star use the situation to take some wicked potshots at the action movie biz and the people who work in it.
One of the gunmen, Arthur (Karim Belkhadra), turns out to be an avid and knowledgeable action movie fan.
Trapped in the bank with the other hostages "Van Damme" is as fearful for his life as any of them and yet Arthur persists in relating to him as the action hero he has seen and worshipped in countless films.
"He's the one who brought John Woo to the US," the gunman tells the frightened hostages. "Without him (Woo) would still be filming pigeons in Hong Kong. And then what? He drops you."
JCVD: "At least he did Face-Off".
ARTHUR: "So what? He could have picked you. On the other hand, when you see 'Windtalkers', there's a justice."
Speaking in his native French, Van Damme achieves an eloquence and an artistic freedom that his English language bust-em-ups never even hinted at.
At one point the actor floats right out of the set and talks directly to the camera in a Shakespearean-style soliloquy which – to quote the venerable show biz trade paper VARIETY - "must be seen to be believed. "
During the course of a six minute monologue (call it an out-of-movie experience) the actor goes from stoic to teary-eyed as he comes clean about his many marriages ("I've always believed in love"), his drug addiction ("I tried something and I got hooked ... I was wasted mentally and physically") and apologizes to his fans for failing to live up to his early promise ("You made my dream come true ... I promised you something in return and I haven't delivered yet. ")
Looking tired, haggard and desperate this is definitely not the confident young kickbutt star of 1993's "Nowhere To Run", 1994's "Timecop" and 1996's "Maximum Risk". (I am such a longtime fan I can still remember when Van Damme flicks opened in theatres rather than video shelves.)
Like Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (another fictional tale with real life roots) Van Damme goes through a startling and poignant character transformation in this film.
Okay, maybe an Oscar nomination was wishful thinking. But a Golden Globe would have been nice.
SIDEBAR: Hyperkinetic Hong Kong thrillers like "The Killer" (1989) and "Hard-Boiled" (1992) made John Woo a buzzworthy name in U.S. film circles but it was a Van Damme movie, "Hard Target" (1993) that first brought the filmmaker to Hollywood. Although Woo went on to make hits like "Broken Arrow" (1996) and "Face-Off" (1997) with John Travolta he never worked with Van Damme again. His Stateside career tapered off after "Windtalkers" took a critical and box office beating in 2002.
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