Friday, November 6, 2009
Movie review: (Untitled)
High-minded, pretentious art can take one of two forms when it comes to movies: Either the movie itself is that kind of art or it's making fun of it. I normally steer far away from the former, as I like to be entertained by the films I see rather than be shown a meditation on the obscure ideals of the filmmaker. Obviously, then, anything that makes fun of things like that is right up my alley.
Which is why I don't know exactly what to make of (Untitled). On the one hand, all of the “art” presented in the film is so ridiculously over-the-top that you can't help but laugh at it. On the other hand, the joke remains the same from beginning to end, no matter how many pieces we are shown, so could director/co-writer Jonathan Parker and co-writer Catherine DiNapoli be serious about all this?
Adrian Jacobs (Adam Goldberg) is your typical tortured musician who claims, in a scene that opens the movie, that if he hasn't made it in three years, he'll kill himself. We soon find out that his demise may be all but preordained as Adrian and his band practice a type of “music” that is purposefully atonal and cacophonous, and involves such off-kilter instruments as a chain in a bucket and shattered glasses.
Adrian and his band making "music."
Adrian's brother, Josh (Eion Bailey), is a painter who happens to bring his girlfriend/gallery owner Madeleine (Marley Shelton) to a performance by Adrian's band. Madeleine actually likes the music, and thinks that it would make the perfect complement for her gallery's next opening, which features tortured animal art by Ray Barko (Vinnie Jones). Madeleine and Adrian soon start a relationship of their own, with their respective quirkiness both attracting and repelling each other.
As stated, each piece of art presented in the film is more outrageous than the next. Monroe (Ptolemy Slocum), another artist, is as minimalist as they come, with his pieces consisting of a sole thumb tack or Post-it. But by the time we get to Monroe, the joke about just what can be considered art has been made too many times. The film never really progresses past that point, which makes you wonder as to whether the filmmakers want us to be laughing at the movie or not.
Weird music and weird art always seem to attract each other.
That said, all of the actors are perfectly believable in their respective parts. Goldberg never seems happy in any of his roles, so playing a possibly-suicidal artist doesn't require much of a stretch for him. Bailey and Shelton play off him well, with Shelton especially proving to be a good foil. The only actor that was out of place was Jones. Jones, a former soccer player, is mostly known for playing tough guys, so his style of acting never seemed to fit with his character or surroundings.
If taken as a comedy, (Untitled) is moderately successful. But it relies on the same joke over and over again, all but eliminating the effect of its satire.
