Trust the Man
Playing in limited release right now is the romantic dramedy, “Trust the Man”.
The film stars David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a pair of couples each having their own crises of faith.
Each couple have their ups and downs and, in retrospect, the entire film plays out like a full season recap of a television show which isn’t entirely a good thing.
The film follows their lives over the course of many months, constantly jumping ahead from one setback to another. However, few of the separate issues get a full treatment.
There is a main thread running underneath everything that is easy to follow but instead of giving us the casual brush stroke, I would have preferred writer/director Bart Freundlich have concentrated on one or two specific things rather than aimlessly wandering around.
That negative aside, the performances are very good and there are many humorous moments. The actors just seemed to be having a great time and that translated onto the screen.
Oh, I almost forgot about the ending. It’s weird.
There’s some good reviewing, huh?
Okay fine, I’ll explain.
I was sitting in the theater, enjoying the film, when we reach the last 10 minutes or so and the genre shifts from dramedy to farce.
Nothing set up prior to the end really prepares the audience, not just to the actions of the main characters, but the looseness with which the surrounding characters and environments accept what is going on.
It was as if Freundlich was filming the movie, got a call that he had to wrap it up because of budget constraints, and hastily threw together an ending at the location they were shooting.
So while I enjoyed the film overall, I really wish there had been someone on set to say to the director, “Hey, uh, boss. How about we do something a bit more, um, realistic.”
Oh well. Not every film can be a winner. I’m giving “Trust the Man” a 2 out of 5. A few script revisions and the film could have been much more serviceable. Still, fans of the main cast will find something to like here, all else should probably stay away.
The film stars David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a pair of couples each having their own crises of faith.
Each couple have their ups and downs and, in retrospect, the entire film plays out like a full season recap of a television show which isn’t entirely a good thing.
The film follows their lives over the course of many months, constantly jumping ahead from one setback to another. However, few of the separate issues get a full treatment.
There is a main thread running underneath everything that is easy to follow but instead of giving us the casual brush stroke, I would have preferred writer/director Bart Freundlich have concentrated on one or two specific things rather than aimlessly wandering around.
That negative aside, the performances are very good and there are many humorous moments. The actors just seemed to be having a great time and that translated onto the screen.
Oh, I almost forgot about the ending. It’s weird.
There’s some good reviewing, huh?
Okay fine, I’ll explain.
I was sitting in the theater, enjoying the film, when we reach the last 10 minutes or so and the genre shifts from dramedy to farce.
Nothing set up prior to the end really prepares the audience, not just to the actions of the main characters, but the looseness with which the surrounding characters and environments accept what is going on.
It was as if Freundlich was filming the movie, got a call that he had to wrap it up because of budget constraints, and hastily threw together an ending at the location they were shooting.
So while I enjoyed the film overall, I really wish there had been someone on set to say to the director, “Hey, uh, boss. How about we do something a bit more, um, realistic.”
Oh well. Not every film can be a winner. I’m giving “Trust the Man” a 2 out of 5. A few script revisions and the film could have been much more serviceable. Still, fans of the main cast will find something to like here, all else should probably stay away.
posted by Upgrayedd at 9/07/2006 07:05:00 PM
2 Comments:
David Duchovny, why won't you love me?
Bree Sharp reference ... all right!
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