It's can be nice to see a veteran actor take the reigns of a film and contribute in a different way. John Turturro, with the help of the Coen Brothers, brings a star-studded musical to life. 'Romance & Cigarettes' is the fruit of their collective labor.
Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon). That's not good enough for him, though, as he is having an affair with a lingerie salesgirl named Tula (Kate Winslet). Kitty finds out and kicks Nick out of their home. He has to decide whether he wants to follow his impulsive nature or stick with his family. Oh, there are two daughters in the picture as well: Baby (Mandy Moore) and Constance (Mary-Louise Parker).
According to Roger Ebert's review, this was huge hit at festivals in 2005. In 2007, it had a very limited theatrical run and limped onto DVD with little to no fanfare in 2008.
From a technical aspect, many of the musical numbers seem shoehorned in and the songs are presented as strange, literal interpretations projected onto the screen. The cast also ends up singing under the original recordings which is one way to incorporate them, but it's really strange. A huge exception to this is Christopher Walken's Cousin Bo as he recalls a lost love and the sordid detail about that. The man can bring a swagger and bizarre panache to almost any role.
Actually, almost everyone in the principal cast offer great performances. Winslet, in particular, offers a very saucy spin on her role. The problem is more a matter of some of the peripheral figures aren't given anything to do. Cousin Bo just disappears after awhile, Kitty's old flame Father Vincent (Eddie Izzard) barely has a speaking role, the neighbors are barely involved and the Murder daughters are inconsequential except to manipulate the emotions of their parents. Casting Mary-Louise Parker as Mandy Moore's sister? That's quite an age gap.
Turturro's script and direction are both mostly very strong. It's no real shock that the Coen brothers helped out as producers because they left their mark on the final product. This is mostly in the cinematography, camera angles, and superficial qualities of that sort. Surely their stature in the industry also helped to attract the talent found in this project as well as Turturro's own network of friends.
One notable problem is that by the film's climax, things come to a screeching, and depressing halt. Much of the film has a darkly comic vibe, but the end is just bleak. It's not even one of those enjoyable types of bleak, this is kind of a downer.
Special features include: an introduction by Turturro, commentary, a making of featurette, deleted scenes and a preview.
With 'Romance & Cigarettes' John Turturro has given us a surprisingly strong first foray into the world behind the camera. Perhaps he was a little misguided to have it be a musical, but it admittedly does add some flair and helps it to be memorable.
The end result is mixed, but if you're a fan of those who are involved, rent it.
Rated R 106 minutes 2008
'Romance & Cigarettes' is available to rent/purchase in Allentown, the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
Comments