By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Craig Lucas
Starring: Campbell Scott | Patricia Clarkson | Peter Saarsgard
Country: united_states
Year: 2005
Running time: 101
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384929/combined
Michael says: ” Craig Lucas would have been better served with a skilled director handling this adaptation of his stage play.
Each character in THE DYING GAUL commits acts of kindness and cruelty, sometimes one under the guise of the other. All of these actions are wrapped up in the gauzy wrap of karma, even as the characters plumb the depths of cyberspace.
“The central character is Robert, who sells his first screenplay for 1 million dollars to Jeffrey, a Hollywood studio executive who epitomizes Hollywood greed, at least superficially. We are surprised when the moralistic Robert sacrifices his principles for the money by agreeing to make major re-writes in the script. Jeffrey’s wife Elaine is a failed screenwriter who bonds with Robert, thus completing the triangle. When Elaine finds out that Robert is still reeling from grief over the death of his lover, she seeks to help him by masquerading as a gay man on the chat rooms that Robert frequents. Things start to deteriorate soon after.
“The strongest element of THE DYING GAUL is the acting. Peter Sarsgaard is convincing as Robert, even when his character’s decisions start to swing to wild extremes. Campbell Scott adds subtle nuance to his usual brand of cool bastard. Patricia Clarkson has the most difficult task, that of delivering some of the overwritten lines with a straight face, but for the most part she does her usual good job. There’s a little too much water imagery, a little too much clever lighting simply for effect, and a lot of unnatural, overwritten dialogue. That kind of thing works on stage, but for some reason I expect a certain level of realism in a film (unless the entire thing is stylized.) Still, for the underlying story and the performances, I give this film 3 cats.”
Diane says: “The three characters were so reprehensible that I was sorry I saw the movie. Peter Sarsgaard does a great imitation of John Malkovich. Good Steve Reich soundtrack. E-mail and chat on screen or stage completely drains dramatic tension (not to mention Web searches, as in in Sayles’ latest)–we must have no more of it. I found the acting too theatrical for a film: the delivery of lines, esp. by Clarkson (don’t tell me: was she acting out her own screenplay?) and the Dying Gaul pose. Clarkson continues to be wonderful and cute. I liked the cast a lot more than the movie. 3 cats.”
Scot says: “Oh, Diane! I guess I’ll guess that I’m alone here after all the talk I’ve heard lately about THE DYING GAUL and after the conversations over martinis at the Ptown Film Fest. But I thought the heavy-duty nasty things the characters all do is a great balance to how much we (or at least I) love Sarsgaard, Scott, and Clarkson. With the little bit of good they attempt (fruitlessly) to accomplish, this gives us a nice look into the first rule of society: we are all good; we are all evil: hence we all are neither good nor evil.
“And theatricality is the *point* here! It’s high drama! It’s Greek tragedy, in fact! But that, of course, is an acquired taste.
“But let’s get one thing clear: Sarsgaard = deliberately good. Malkovich = accidentally good. 4.5 cats. A kitten short of a slam
dunk.”