Silver City
2/4
Starring: Danny Huston, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Richard Dreyfus, Kris Kristofferson
Rated R for Language
If there is a political satire more bitter and cynical than "Silver City," I haven't seen it. John Sayles doesn't hide his anger at governmental and corporate corruption. In fact, he embraces it, ripping apart the web of secrets, lies and money that allow very wealthy people to do some very unsavory things. While "Silver City" is fiction, almost no suspension of disbelief is necessary to accept what goes on during the two hours it takes for this story to unfold. The problem is that very little of it is told well.
"Dickie Pillager (Cooper) cares about you!" That's what his ads loudly proclaim. Presenting himself as the everyman espousing small government and family values, Dickie is the front-runner for governor of Colorado. While shooting a campaign commercial, Dickie accidentally pulls up a corpse with a fishing rod. Desperate to keep it quiet, his Machiavellian campaign strategist Chuck Raven (Dreyfus) hires a disgraced journalist turned private investigator named Danny O'Brien (Huston) to uncover the truth. But the deeper Danny digs, the more he realizes there are some very nasty connections going on between the Pillager family, a wealthy corporate magnate named Wes Benteen (Kristofferson) and a place called Silver City.
"Silver City" is an angry film, and when I say angry, I mean seething with rage. Sayles sees small government conservativism as a facade hiding all sorts of wickedness and rot. I have nothing against a film, particularly a fictional one, taking a partisan stance, so you won't find me criticizing the film on those terms. I will criticize it for having a plot that's about ten times more confusing than it needs to be. The story rarely makes sense, and what is clear isn't all that gripping.
The film belongs to Chris Cooper, who has appeared in a number of Sayles's films. Dickie Pillager is as big a case against populist candidates as they come. When he sticks to the script, Dickie looks like he knows what he is talking about. When he doesn't have a prepared speech, he shows himself as he really is: a complete moron who can barely tie his own shoes. He's got a lot of down to earth appeal, but he's obviously incompetent to hold any sort of government position. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the inspiration for Dickie is George W. Bush (the film was released in 2004), but Sayles doesn't go out of his way to highlight it.
As painfully funny as Dickie is, he's not the central character of the film. That distinction goes to Danny O'Brien, who isn't nearly as interesting. Part of it is due to how the character is written, but part of it is due to the uneven performance of Danny Huston. There are moments when Huston is effective as the disgraced journalist, but more often than not his performance is off-key. He definitely has the "fingernails on the blackboard" effect on more than a few occasions. At least the supporting cast, which includes the likes of a vicious Richard Dreyfus, the always welcome Maria Bello and Kris Kristofferson, Thora Birch and Billy Zane, is nice.
"Silver City" is a difficult film to review. It's too bad to be good, but at the same time, it's too good to be bad. As messy as the plot is, the film is rarely boring and, apart from the uneven Huston, is consistently well-acted. On some level, I have to recommend this film, because it highlights the very real threat of corporate corruption. At the same time, Sayles uses a poorly thought out story to explore it.
"Silver City" is one of those movies that would do well with a remake.
Starring: Danny Huston, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Richard Dreyfus, Kris Kristofferson
Rated R for Language
If there is a political satire more bitter and cynical than "Silver City," I haven't seen it. John Sayles doesn't hide his anger at governmental and corporate corruption. In fact, he embraces it, ripping apart the web of secrets, lies and money that allow very wealthy people to do some very unsavory things. While "Silver City" is fiction, almost no suspension of disbelief is necessary to accept what goes on during the two hours it takes for this story to unfold. The problem is that very little of it is told well.
"Dickie Pillager (Cooper) cares about you!" That's what his ads loudly proclaim. Presenting himself as the everyman espousing small government and family values, Dickie is the front-runner for governor of Colorado. While shooting a campaign commercial, Dickie accidentally pulls up a corpse with a fishing rod. Desperate to keep it quiet, his Machiavellian campaign strategist Chuck Raven (Dreyfus) hires a disgraced journalist turned private investigator named Danny O'Brien (Huston) to uncover the truth. But the deeper Danny digs, the more he realizes there are some very nasty connections going on between the Pillager family, a wealthy corporate magnate named Wes Benteen (Kristofferson) and a place called Silver City.
"Silver City" is an angry film, and when I say angry, I mean seething with rage. Sayles sees small government conservativism as a facade hiding all sorts of wickedness and rot. I have nothing against a film, particularly a fictional one, taking a partisan stance, so you won't find me criticizing the film on those terms. I will criticize it for having a plot that's about ten times more confusing than it needs to be. The story rarely makes sense, and what is clear isn't all that gripping.
The film belongs to Chris Cooper, who has appeared in a number of Sayles's films. Dickie Pillager is as big a case against populist candidates as they come. When he sticks to the script, Dickie looks like he knows what he is talking about. When he doesn't have a prepared speech, he shows himself as he really is: a complete moron who can barely tie his own shoes. He's got a lot of down to earth appeal, but he's obviously incompetent to hold any sort of government position. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the inspiration for Dickie is George W. Bush (the film was released in 2004), but Sayles doesn't go out of his way to highlight it.
As painfully funny as Dickie is, he's not the central character of the film. That distinction goes to Danny O'Brien, who isn't nearly as interesting. Part of it is due to how the character is written, but part of it is due to the uneven performance of Danny Huston. There are moments when Huston is effective as the disgraced journalist, but more often than not his performance is off-key. He definitely has the "fingernails on the blackboard" effect on more than a few occasions. At least the supporting cast, which includes the likes of a vicious Richard Dreyfus, the always welcome Maria Bello and Kris Kristofferson, Thora Birch and Billy Zane, is nice.
"Silver City" is a difficult film to review. It's too bad to be good, but at the same time, it's too good to be bad. As messy as the plot is, the film is rarely boring and, apart from the uneven Huston, is consistently well-acted. On some level, I have to recommend this film, because it highlights the very real threat of corporate corruption. At the same time, Sayles uses a poorly thought out story to explore it.
"Silver City" is one of those movies that would do well with a remake.
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