By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Paul Auster
Starring: David Thewlis | Irène Jacob | Michael Imperioli
Country: united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 94
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479074/
Bruce says: “Paul Auster’s The Book of Illusions is a magical work. It tells the story of Martin Frost, a man devastated by the loss of his wife and children, who returns to the living when he discovers the films of an obscure filmmaker who had disappeared years earlier. The novel is a beautiful blend of literature and cinema, a reading must for anyone who loves both genres.
“Auster has written and directed THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST, which presumably takes place several years after The Book of Illusions. Frost (David Thewlis) is given use of a country home belonging to good friends. He has just finished a novel which took three years to write. It’s time to chill out, live the life of a stone for a change. Frost falls asleep the first night and wakes up next to a woman in his bed. Her name is Claire (Irène Jacob) and she is a friend of Jack and Diane, the owners of the house who have mistakenly given her the use of the house, too. Frost’s tranquil respite has been ruined. After a viscous exchange the two housemates call a truce and agree to coexist on their own during the day and fraternize in the evening hours. But something weird begins to take shape – Frost begins writing another story. Soon, Frost falls madly in love with Claire. When Jack and Diane call to make sure the boiler is serviced Frost mentions that Claire is at the house with him. Jack and Diane don’t know anyone named Claire.
“Joe, the Boiler Man (Michael Imperioli) enters very late in the game and provides a much needed outlet for humor. In each of his scenes he wears a costume befitting an aspiring writer with boundless imagination. Joe’s niece (Sophie Auster) makes an even shorter appearance, but she literally owns the film’s finale.
“THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST has a literary feeling created in part by the dialogue and in part through moments when the film disconnects from the visual narrative using a voiceover as smoke rises through a black background or a typewriter floats in space. Filming a story that combines reality, imagination and otherworldly creative output is a daunting
challenge, one that Auster meets only halfway. Although THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST has a few wonderful visual moments it is generally hamstrung by mediocre cinematography.
“David Thewlis’ performance is tried and true but not what I imagined Martin frost to be when I read The Book of Illusions.
Irène Jacob is lovely as the muse of the lonely writer. When I asked if The Book of Illusions would ever be a film, Auster replied ‘I hope not. It would be too difficult and too long.’ Both might be true, but a director of greater talent could, in my opinion, produced a masterpiece from the material. Certainly THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST might have been a better film in more accomplished hands. 3 cats
“THE INNER LIFE OF MARTIN FROST screened at the 2007 New Directors/New Films festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”