The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
dir. Stephen Hopkins

Another day, another biopic. There's no doubt that this one looked rather promising: from HBO Films, who produced both Elephant and Angels in America last year, this Cannes-selected film focuses on the life of the quite enigmatic figure of Peter Sellers, bound to be a fascinating subject. Unfortunately, despite the thematic trickery of director Stephen Hopkins (of 24) and a quite brilliant imitation by Geoffrey Rush in the lead role, anchoring a stellar cast, The Life and Death... does not live up to expectations. Its real shortcoming is in fact the story it's trying to tell: I sometimes found myself wondering if, in fact, Sellers was deserving of a representation of his life on film at all.


As Sellers himself repeatedly affirmed (in real life, and in this film), he was quite devoid of a personality: while he had incredible comedic talent and produced some of the most memorable comic characters of all time, the man Sellers was a fairly blank mystery, even to himself. This is not the best of starting points for any biopic. By the end of the film I had only really learned one thing about Sellers: in real life, he was a fairly horrible, childish man who disappeared into his characters partly as a means of escapism. Considering the running time is over two hours, and I had figured this out within ten minutes, Sellers is quite draggy and repetitive. Hopkins thus tries (and is usually successful) to keep the pace of the film up by rushing between the big key points of Sellers' life: characters such as Clouseau and Dr. Strangelove, and well-known figures such as Britt Ekland and Stanley Kubrick. It's all down to the cast to keep us interested, and they succeed quite admirably.


As Sellers, Rush provides a very specific and memorable imitation of both the man himself and all of his famous roles--as well as occasionally transforming into other characters in the story. It's a showy but undeniably challenging performance and Rush must be applauded for his consistent believeability and for trying his best to make Sellers as magnetic a screen presence as possible. Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, Miriam Margolyes and Stanley Tucci are all impressive as Ekland, first wife Ann Sellers, mother Peg Sellers and Kubrick respectively. Even better is the peerless John Lithgow as the fiesty Blake Edwards. It's rather a shame that the film is quite downbeat and concentrates on the familial and marital problems of Sellers: some more lighter material could have quickened the film's pace and watchability considerably. As it stands, Sellers is a quite stunningly acted, but unfortunately rather run-of-the-mill portrayal of a man both fascinating and dull in equal proportions.

**

Collateral
dir. Michael Mann

I haven't updated this blog in a long time. Since my last post I have, of course, seen quite a few movies. Collateral was certainly one of the best I've seen in theatres these past few months--and with time, it has only grown in terms of quality in my mind. It's a simple, pacy bit of neo-noir from Mann, a far cry from the more sweeping and weighty Ali, The Insider and Heat. A hitman on business gets into a cab: complications develop as the cabbie realizes what's going on. It's a simple little concept movie that succeeds so beautifully because of the two lead characters.


As hitman Vincent, Tom Cruise is at the top of his game. Clipped and controlled, Vincent is like an unstoppable locomotive: with a single goal in his sights, we never doubt his unwavering conviction to achieving what he's set out to do. Cruise is utterly convincing, building up Vincent's cool, amoral persona in the beginning of the film and slowly, ever so subtly drawing out the human character underneath through his interaction with the cabbie, Max. It's easily the best Cruise has been since 1999's Magnolia, proving he can still be truly impressive in a traditional marquee role.


Jamie Foxx, usually quite a showy and attention-grabbing personality onscreen (who was also magnificent in Mann's Ali) has the much more difficult role of Max: while Vincent is all cool, prowling and lurking in the dark sheen of Los Angeles like a coyote, Max is subdued, shy and withdrawn. The script is at pains to point out the mundanity of Max's life as the film begins: he can predict the time of taxi journeys almost to the second, and his insistence that his 12-year shift behind the wheel of a cab is 'only temporary' doesn't even convince himself anymore. As he challenges and stands up to Vincent, however, Max's long-dormant personality asserts itself and Foxx is well up to the challenge of making this believable. He's better in the scenes with Cruise (the two make very good foils for each other) and this is perhaps why the movie slightly drags in the finale as the two are thrown apart, but it's nonetheless another strong performance from a rising star.


The look of Collateral also cannot be ignored. The digital photography lends nighttime LA a quite suitibly haunting feel, making it a crisply modern underworld. The action is mostly brief, effective and realistic--Vincent's total detachment from the clinical murders he committs proving both shocking and quite exilherating. The extended set-piece in a busy nightclub is one of the most kinetic and exciting scenes of the year--the more convoluted finale certainly has its moments but runs slightly out of steam. Complaints about plot are almost irrelevant with such a high-concept film: Collateral is not meant to register that high on the realism scales. It functions extremely effectively as an intense thriller, but also as a wonderful little character study with two fascinating lead performances that gain only more layers with re-viewings. Another triumph for Mann.

**** 1/2