The King at Halloween

Courtesy of my 7-year-old nephew Willie, who made a terrific Elvis!

"Into the Wild" takes you away

My freelance review:

The new film Into the Wild continues to be on my mind, almost ten days after seeing it.

As writer/director, Sean Penn has created a masterpiece. Adapted from Jon Krakauer's best-seller, Into the Wild tells the story of Christopher McCandless (played by the little-known but very talented Emile Hirsch), an upper-middle-class young man, just graduated from college, who rebelliously opts to donate his savings to charity, leave society and journey to the Alaskan wilderness to become one with nature.

And what a journey McCandless has! South Dakota, Arizona, Alaska, Mexico, California... the authentic and scenic locations come to vivid life thanks to cinematographer Eric Gautier, who produces some of the most beautifully captured pictures I have ever seen.

The story bounces around chronologically to great effect, providing balance to the generally-episodic nature of McCandless' trek. The stories and characters that unfold throughout the episodes add a lot of depth to the film. Through flashbacks and narration by McCandless' younger sister, we observe the dysfunctional relationship between McCandless and his parents, played by Marcia Gay Harden and the always-terrific William Hurt. It's interesting, in contrast, observing McCandless with the sweet, caring hippee woman (played by the endearing Catherine Keener) who provides a type of maternal relationship to him, and then later in the film with an Army retiree (tenderly played by Hal Holbrook) serving as his surrogate father.

And it's in such relationships that we see the ever-so-philosophical McCandless coming to life. At one point in his travels, he develops a buddy relationship with a farmer played by Vince Vaughn (demonstrating a considerably wider acting range than his typical film roles allow). McCandless also bonds with a talented young woman (played by Kristen Stewart) living in a California desert RV camp that attracts non-conformists and vagabonds. He takes to making music with her; a touching, soothing moment in the film has the two of them singing to the desert commune the John Prine song "Angel in Montgomery."

Also contributing to the overall mood of the film is the powerful soundtrack by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. His songs are haunting and fit the movie perfectly.

There's great appeal to watching this film. Beyond the acting, the cinematography, the editing, the music, the mood -- all of which are great -- there's something more. Perhaps deep down, at some point or another, each of us has had a desire or an impulse to run away, perhaps to leave civilization, to push our lives in another direction. Few of us, for various reasons, ever do. Witnessing the story of someone who has made this happen, I found an utter fascination to observe and to study -- and, for a few hours, to allow myself to be taken away.

I don't expect to find a better, more engaging film this year than Into the Wild.

"The Clean House" shines

My freelance review:

The Rep doesn't get much better than this!

The Clean House, the first show of the season for the St. Louis Repertory Theatre's Studio Theatre series, is a shining gem of a production. The play delivers plenty of laughs, drama, romance and poignant human emotion.

The setting is modern-era Connecticut and the home of two busy, high-powered physicians, Lane and Charles, and their zany, young Brazilian housekeeper Matilde, a woman with a problem -- she hates to clean!

Matilde, played by Roni Geva in a rich performance that couldn't be any better, prefers trying to dream up the funniest joke in the world! Her parents, she confides, were the two funniest people in Brazil, and when they died it was left to her to be the funniest.

Enter Lane's sister Virginia who loves to clean and, in a secret deal with Matilde, arranges to take care of the cleaning behind Lane's back -- an arrangement that is just too perfect to last.

This play is chock full of laughs as the story plays out, and the laughs only get stronger in the second act when Charles brings home a patient, the free-spirited Ana (played with gusto and charm by June Gable) -- much to the dismay of his wife.

The other cast members are first-rate, too. This includes Andrea Cirie and Carol Schultz as sisters Lane and Virginia and John Rensenhouse as Charles.

The Clean House is playright Sarah Ruhl's sixth play. It won the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded annually to the best English-language play written by a woman, and was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Director Susan Gregg, the Rep's Associate Artistic Director, delivers a great production of The Clean House. It's fairly obvious that Gregg and her cast and crew had a lot of fun putting the show together.

The Clean House plays through Nov. 11 at the Emerson Studio Theatre at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre in Webster Groves.

"Reservation Road" is slow, flawed

My freelance review:

Author John Burnham Schwartz's critically-acclaimed novel Reservation Road has arrived on the big screen, with some big talent both in front and behind the camera. Unfortunately, there are some major flaws with the outcome.

The film Reservation Road focuses on two fathers and their families. One is college professor Ethan Learner (played by Joaquin Phoenix), a family man with a wife (played by Jennifer Connelly) and a young son and daughter. The other is law associate Dwight Arno (played by Mark Ruffalo), a divorced man with partial custody of his young son.

Just a few minutes into the film, an accidental tragedy occurs at a roadside gas station late in the evening as Ethan's 10-year-old son is struck and instantly killed by Dwight's car. Although aware of what happened, a panicked Dwight speeds away, seeing a shellshocked Ethan holding his dead son through his rear-view mirror.

A police investigation follows, and the story alternates back and forth between the two fathers and how they deal with the tragedy.

And this is where the first major flaw of the film comes into play: The flaw of way too much coincidence.

Although the two fathers don't know each other, the flaw of way too much coincidence allows their paths to suddenly cross in more ways than one. I've not read the novel, but I've heard that writer/director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) took some dramatic license here.

Another problem with the film is its very slow pace. While the novel was acclaimed for jumping back and forth gracefully among the two fathers and the dead boy's mother, the film doesn't quite succeed in the same way. There isn't that much story coming across.

Both Phoenix and Ruffalo turn in good performances, but Connelly is surprisingly weak as the boy's mother, delivering some of her lines with a degree of awkwardness.

Reservation Road is the kind of film to rent and play in the background while you paint or put a puzzle together. It's not the kind of film that deserves your full attention, unless you are bored and don't have much else to do.

Leopard

At the Apple Store buying Leopard, the new version of Mac OS X. The store is jam-packed. I am one of the first 500 people to wait in line for the 6:00 PM bewitching hour when the software went on sale -- so I got a free OS X Leopard t-shirt! Okay, I am a geek!

Elvis is in the building

My sister sent me this cell phone picture of my 7-year-old nephew Willie in his halloween costume: Elvis!

The dating game exposed

My freelance review:

Looking for an intimate theatre experience? Look no further than Bad Dates, now playing as part of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' Off-Ramp series.

Bad Dates is a one-actor show, with that actor playing just one character on just one set -- but when you walk out of the show, you'll feel a sense of having seen a show rich in characters and situations.

And you'll also feel good for having laughed -- a lot.

Annie Fitzpatrick delivers an outstanding performance as Haley Walker -- a 40-something single mom, newly-successful restaurateur and designer-shoe addict. As the story begins, Walker is frantically trying to find the right outfit for her first date in a long time. As she redresses herself multiple times, she explains to the audience her background and what she is up to.

That date -- the first of several -- doesn't go very well. But it's a hoot hearing the details!

Haley's conversation with the audience is interrupted only a few times -- phone calls, speaking to her off-stage teenaged daughter, or when leaving for a date. Otherwise, the focus is Haley's conversation with the audience. As with life, the conversation can be light-hearted, serious or some combination of both. Playwright Theresa Rebeck has crafted a rich, human story.

Which brings me back to Fitzpatrick. She demonstrates incredible range as an actor. At numerous points throughout the show, I was struck by her performance and how sincere your character's emotions seemed. For example, when Haley breaks down after having her heart broken, I was tempted to run on-stage to be with her!

The production plays out very well on its small stage. Haley's New York City apartment (by scenic designer Narelle Sissons) is inviting.

Director Michael Evan Haney, who directed the thrilling Witness for the Prosecution from two seasons ago and the touching The Heidi Chronicles from last season, scores another win.

Bad Dates plays through November 4 at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square in St. Louis City) as part of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' Off-Ramp series.