By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Beth Grant | Dwayne Johnson | Justin Timberlake | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Seann William Scott
Country: france, germany, united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 144
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405336/
Michael says: “‘Well, that was something.’
“My words about SOUTHLAND TALES spoken to my Chlotrudis colleagues as we left the theatre.
“‘Well, we saw it.’
“My final words about SOUTHLAND TALES as we broke up for the evening.
“Chlotrudis members love DONNIE DARKO, so it was with great anticipation that we awaited SOUTHLAND TALES, Richard Kelly’s follow-up to the cult favorite film. Sure it got booed at Cannes a couple of years ago, but really, what do a bunch of industry types know about innovative, quirky filmmaking. Still, during the lengthy road to actual distribution, Kelly decided to cut another 17 minutes from the film in order to tighten things up. Critics were decidedly mixed, with lots of scathing notices, and a few heralding Kelly’s continued genius. I was certainly hoping that I would see SOUTHLAND TALES and see Kelly’s genius in what would still probably be a train wreck of a film. As I watched the film and it became increasingly clear that I was missing the genius, I thought for sure that Ned was finding it. He was not.
“SOUTHLAND TALES is certainly a train wreck, and it’s not without the occasional amusing moment; but the main problem is it just doesn’t make any sense! Also, was it really necessary for Kelly to follow-up DONNIE DARKO with the same story (only overstuffed with a bunch of other stuff mashed in?) Kelly decides to focus on LA apocalypse films (DONNIE DARKO, REPO MAN, STRANGE DAYS) for his references this time, but there really isn’t much of a fully fleshed out story to hang it all on. It strikes me that SOUTHLAND TALES might have made a better television series or miniseries to fully explore all that Kelly wanted to explore. Suffice it to say that it’s 2008; a terrorist strike involving a nuclear bomb has taken place in Abilene, TX; the U.S. is at war all over the globe, the Republicans are poised to capture the White House again, a political movement of neo-Marxists are mobilizing in force, the son of the Republican Presidential candidate who also happens to be a popular actor has gone missing; and a new form of energy harnessed from the perpetual motion of the ocean has been harnessed. Add to all of that a rift in the space/time continuum that leads to the 4th dimension and you’ve got some of the important elements of SOUTHLAND TALES.
“Then there’s the cast, and it’s a bizarre one. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) stars as Boxer Santaros, the missing actor, and there’s something lacking in his performance. He tries hard, and it’s a potentially complex role, but just can’t quite pull it off. There’s something that works about Sarah Michelle Gellar playing capitalistic porn star Krysta Now, and she acquits herself fairly well. I was not impressed at all by the one note, scowling Seann William Scott as twins, Roland and Ronald Tavener, and while Justin Timberlake did fine as Private Pilot Abilene, his character, despite being the narrator, was completely irrelevant to the story. The rest of the supporting cast was filled with delightful (or not so delightful) faces, including Wallace Shawn, Cheri Oteri, Nora Dunn, the incomparableBeth Grant, Christopher Lambert, Jon Lovitz, John Laroquette, Bai Ling, Mandy Moore, Miranda Richardson, Zelda Rubinstein(!), and Kevin Smith. It started to become a game trying to figure out who people were in their outrageous costumes and make-up which at least distracted from the overly plotted film and the really bad digital effects. Several times SOUTHLAND TALES reminded me of Darren Aronofsky’s THE FOUNTAIN. Not for any similarities in plot, but in the way that a respected filmmaker with a somewhat rabid following went a little nuts with a film, namely a science fiction film involving the end of the world, and employed really bad digital effects! What’s up with that? I mean really… if you’re making an epic science fiction film (at least in your own mind) don’t have the effects look cheesy.
“So ultimately the three words that first come to mind for SOUTHLAND TALES have got to be incomprehensible, absurd, and pretentious. The incomprehensible could certainly have been helped out with strong editor starting at the screenplay stage. (For instance, the character of Private Pilot Abilene could really have been completely excised from the script and all that it would have affected was a sappy sub-sub-subplot.) Absurdity and pretentiousness never really work well juxtaposed. Left the way it was atorywise SOUTHLAND TALES would have been better served if Kelly had out all the stops and gone wacky. That way the film might at least have been entertaining on a humorous level. As Ned commented after the film, if the whole thing had just been a dream, and the last scene consisted of Boxer Santaros waking up scratching his head, at least there would have been a reason for the lack of anything holding the story together. Unfortunately, Kelly seems to be trying to say something coherent about identity, friendship, guilt, politics… who knows? Hopefully he will redeem himself with THE BOX. 1 1/2 cats”
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