By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.75
Director: Allison Anders
Starring: Don Cheadle | Gabriel Mann | Kim Dickens | Rosanna Arquette
Country: united_states
Year: 2001
Running time: 117
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0245501
Michael says: “I’m going to have to file this latest film by Allison Anders (SUGARTOWN; GAS, FOOD, LODGING) under intriguing disappointment. I’m a big fan of Anders’ films, but this one just didn’t work.
Sherry (Kim Dickens) is a burgeoning singer/songwriter playing the bar circuit in Coacoa Beach, Florida. Something keeps sabotaging her success though, as once a year she is arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct at the home of a young mother’s (Elizabeth Pena). Her long-suffering manager/boyfriend (Don Cheadle) tries to keep her on track, but she just can’t seem to get her act together.
Meanwhile, Chuck (Gabriel Mann) a hot writer in a Los Angeles-based music magazine hears about Sherry from an intern and realizes that he knew her as a teen. The magazine decides to write a story about her as her new song gains popularity on college radio. The song is based on a rape she endured years earlier. Chuck is somehow linked to the rape, and is driven to re-connect with Sherry.
THINGS BEHIND THE SUN is based on Anders’ on experience with rape, and while the things Sherry endured are horrific, the viewer is left a little distanced and detatched. By dividing the focus of the film between Sherry and Chuck, the power of Sherry’s story is diluted. Chuck certainly has his own story, but it didn’t interest me at all, and it fell rather flat. The performances were nicely natural, particularly Dickens and Cheadle. There are some terrific scenes (a scene where Sherry has sex with two fans and must ‘re-enact’ the rape to get turned on is particularly effective) but others are awkward and contrived. My favorite moments involved small roles by fabulous actresses: Elizabeth Pena as the homeowner where Sherry keeps returning, CCH Pounder as a judge of hears Sherry’s case, and an almost unrecognizably matured, past-Chlotrudis-nominee, Allison Folland (ALL OVER ME, TO DIE FOR) as Chuck’s intern.
I hope making this film helped Anders, and I look forward to seeing what she will do next cinematically.” 2 cats
Hilary says: “I am a big fan of Allison Anders’ previous work, and thusly was quite curious to see this film.
“As in earlier films, one of the central themes was musicians and the role that music plays in people’s lives. Here it was both a link to painful memories of the past as well as a means of trying to address them in present life. The former expressed far more successfully than the latter.
“As Michael said, it is obvious that this is a highly personal project for Anders, and I think that comes through. I felt that it was lacking balance. The flashback to the rape was powerful but much of the rest of the film, particularly the ending, seemed too simplistic by comparison. I had hoped that the scene where Sherry finally goes back to the house and is invited inside would be more satisfying. Ultimately, the whole thing felt rushed.
“The performances were quite uneven. In addition to some Anders regulars, such as Patsy Kensit, Eric Stolz and Rosanna Arquette, most of the roles were played by lesser-knowns, with the exception of one of my favorite actors, Don Cheadle. However, I was quite disappointed with his performance. I generally find him to be a bit more subtle and intriguing, but both qualities were lacking here.
“Gabriel Mann (whom I’ve only seen before in JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS, which I admit liking, damning though it may be) as Owen, reminded me of James Spader in his best days, though in his more vulnerable side in SEX, LIES & VIDEOTAPE. Not a bad thing, as far as I’m concerned, and I think he has the potential to go on to better things.”
Laura says: “I found the main flaw with THINGS BEHIND THE SUN to be what I think of as CRY FREEDOM syndrome, a time where several films about Black strife came out that told the story from the POV of a white man. Here, a story of a rape was told through the eyes of one of the perpetrators, who was also supposed to be regarded as a victim! An unusual idea, perhaps, but not one that I could accept.”
Scot says: “I really didn’t care too much for this one. The rape Sherry survives leaves her a total mess and we never see any spark of creativity or drive in her at all which renders the character completely unbelievable as a talented musician. Chuck, the magazine writer, follows a completely random impulse to ‘save’ Sherry after ten or so years and so comes off as a total buffoon. And poor Don Cheadle and Eric Stoltz have little to do but sit around and look worried and evil respectively since their characters are not real people but rather one-dimensional influences on poor Sherry’s broken life. But the ultimate failing of the film is that Sherry is completely ineffectual. She has no control over ruining or fixing her life. And the huge number of clichés delivered with a straight face in the second half of the film is truly shameful.
As far as rock-n-roll destructive life stories go, Bette Midler did it better in 1979 and the bloom is off this ROSE.” 1.5 cats