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THE EVENT Rating:   (out of 5 stars)Director: Thom Fitzgerald Producers: Bryan Hofbauer, Thom Fitzgerald Writers: Tim Marback, Steven Hillyer, Thom Fitzgerald Director of Photography: Thomas M. Harting, CSC Cast: Parker Posey, Olympia Dukakis, Brent Carver, Jane Leeves, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew |
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It seems that recently I haven't been able to write a review without using the word "melodrama." Well that streak won't stop here, because Thom Fitzgerald's The Event comes alarmingly close to overdosing on the dreaded M word. The Event attempts to blend aspects of a genre piece with a character study, and for the film's first half, despite some clunky direction, it remains intriguing because of the interesting character development. But Fitzgerald allows the painfully overwrought sentimental aspects of the story to completely seize control by the film's conclusion, which fights so hard to evoke the viewer's tears that you can almost see perspiration dripping off the screen. Ever feel like someone was trying to manipulate your emotions?
Donning a sometimes unintelligible New York accent, Parker Posey stars as Assistant District Attorney Nicole "Nick" Devivo, who is investigating the suspicious suicide of an AIDS afflicted man named Matt Shapiro (Don McKellar). Matt's death is the latest in what could be a string of "assisted" suicides, and Nick's suspicions lead her to Matt's best friend, Brian (Brent Carver), who runs an AIDS hospice.
Through her conversations with Brian, some of Matt's other friends, the man's mother (Olympia Dukakis) and younger sister, Dana (Sarah Polley), Nick is able to piece together Matt's life after he was stricken with the illness. It is the man's older sister, the ostracized Gaby (Joanna P. Adler), who hints to Nick that her brother may have had some help leaving the earth.
The title of the film refers to the night and the manner in which Matt died. His friends and family gather at the man's apartment to hold a farewell party, and at the end of the evening's festivities, with loved ones by his side, Matt's life will presumably reach a peaceful and happy conclusion.
When the mechanics of the police procedural plot take center stage -- mostly in the second half of the film -- The Event starts to sag under the weight of its ambitions. A scene when Nick's policemen brother goes undercover and is exposed by Matt's drag queen friend, Rory (Rejean J. Cournoyer), who captured "The Event" on videotape, crosses the border into silliness. Framing the exploration of Matt's life through Nick's investigation is a novel concept, but the attention paid to that aspect of the narrative could've been better spent adding depth to the relationships between the characters.
Thom Fitzgerald wields an odd directorial
hand throughout. His digital video compositions are strangely
shaped (i.e. fairly ugly) and the characters' movement within
the frame, especially in the wider shots, is awkward. There are
instances when the flow of the dialogue sounds purely unnatural
-- actors appear to deliver lines a beat too early or a moment
late -- but Matt's struggle to take control over the remainder
of his life, told via fractured flashbacks, is absorbing. It's
raw filmmaking but it works. Don McKellar is very good as Matt,
making you sympathize for his character as be breaks down physically,
although he still displays an undeniable passion for life -- a
proactive spirit who won't accept pity
But eventually the, yup, melodrama comes crashing down like a
raging tsunami. Fitzgerald couldn't have made a more diligent
effort to make his audience weep unless he demanded that bags
of chopped raw onions be handed out to everyone in attendance.
His musical selections are incredulously over-the-top, including
a shrill ballad near the end that made me long for earplugs.
Paralleling Matt's sickness and subsequent death with the loss
of Nick's father also comes across as a forced move.
The Event's ultimate failing is easily detected -- it's purpose simply becomes too single minded. The director appears so fearful that somehow his audience will not connect with the emotional elements of his movie that he totally discards even the slightest speck of subtlety. And this approach only serves to communicate a lack of confidence in the material, very much compromising what certainly begins as a promising, powerful film.
(A THINKFilm release. Opens in New
York and Los Angeles on October 3, 2003. Expands to more cities
at later dates.)
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