Something Wild
2.5/4
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta
Rated R (probably for Sexuality/Nudity, Language and Violence)
I've just finished watching "Something Wild," and I'm not sure what make of it. Here is a movie that is throbbing with a life of its own and contains two strong performances. But it's erratically paced uses artifice to move the plot along. I can't say that it "works" in the most traditional sense, but I doubt it's going to be a movie I'll forget.
Charlie Driggs (Daniels) is as generic a man as they come. He's just been promoted to VP at his firm. He's polite, affable and boring. The Cleavers have more personality than this guy. One day at lunch, he's spied on by a woman named Lulu (Griffith). She calls him out for leaving without paying, but it's a joke. For whatever reason, she finds him interesting. They head out on an impromptu road trip for sex and adventure. But it isn't long until things take a dark turn.
There are three principal characters in "Something Wild:" Charlie, Audrey (Lulu's real name), and her ex, Ray (Liotta). Actually, it would be more honest to say that they're the only characters in this movie. No one else has more than a few token lines. All three can be simply described. Charlie is an automaton who, through this mysterious woman, finally learns how to live. Audrey is a femme fatale with a dark secret. And Ray is a lunatic. Yet the script by E. Max Frye isn't content to stay within the lines. The characters grow and are more complicated than they seem to be. That's actually what saves the film from mediocrity.
Although he's not a big name, Jeff Daniels is one of the finest character actors working today. His range includes the likes of Jim Carrey's on screen partner in "Dumb and Dumber" and its sequel, Joshua Chamberlin in "Gettysburg" and its sequel, and a 50's sitcom character who discovers passion in "Pleasantville." It is a testament to his talent that he makes a character who could have easily been boring into someone to root for. Veteran screen psycho Ray Liotta made his debut in "Something Wild," and while he's gone on to play his fair share of lunatics on screen, he's never played a part quite like this. Liotta plays the character with his trademark viciousness but also a sense of animalistic sexuality. He's compelling. The weak link is Melanie Griffith. The actress has a very limited range, and while she's mostly effective, there are more than a few times when the role escapes her talents.
Jonathan Demme is known primarily for three films: the concert documentary "Stop Making Sense," the AIDs drama "Philadelphia" (one of the first mainstream films to deal frankly with the disease), and of course, the notorious thriller "The Silence of the Lambs." Demme has a good grasp of directing actors and helping them create characters with depth. But the film is erratically paced. Some sequences, such as the reunion, go on for far too long. Many others simply don't hit their target. You can see their purpose and while they almost get there, they don't quite land. A lot of the movie is like that, actually. Take for instance the opening scene where Charlie and Audrey meet. I didn't buy how even a super polite, super vanilla guy like Charlie would go with such a mysterious woman. I understood it intellectually and was willing to accept it, but I didn't feel it. If you know what I mean.
"Something Wild" isn't for everyone simply because it's not especially successful. But, for all its flaws, I'm glad I saw it.
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta
Rated R (probably for Sexuality/Nudity, Language and Violence)
I've just finished watching "Something Wild," and I'm not sure what make of it. Here is a movie that is throbbing with a life of its own and contains two strong performances. But it's erratically paced uses artifice to move the plot along. I can't say that it "works" in the most traditional sense, but I doubt it's going to be a movie I'll forget.
Charlie Driggs (Daniels) is as generic a man as they come. He's just been promoted to VP at his firm. He's polite, affable and boring. The Cleavers have more personality than this guy. One day at lunch, he's spied on by a woman named Lulu (Griffith). She calls him out for leaving without paying, but it's a joke. For whatever reason, she finds him interesting. They head out on an impromptu road trip for sex and adventure. But it isn't long until things take a dark turn.
There are three principal characters in "Something Wild:" Charlie, Audrey (Lulu's real name), and her ex, Ray (Liotta). Actually, it would be more honest to say that they're the only characters in this movie. No one else has more than a few token lines. All three can be simply described. Charlie is an automaton who, through this mysterious woman, finally learns how to live. Audrey is a femme fatale with a dark secret. And Ray is a lunatic. Yet the script by E. Max Frye isn't content to stay within the lines. The characters grow and are more complicated than they seem to be. That's actually what saves the film from mediocrity.
Although he's not a big name, Jeff Daniels is one of the finest character actors working today. His range includes the likes of Jim Carrey's on screen partner in "Dumb and Dumber" and its sequel, Joshua Chamberlin in "Gettysburg" and its sequel, and a 50's sitcom character who discovers passion in "Pleasantville." It is a testament to his talent that he makes a character who could have easily been boring into someone to root for. Veteran screen psycho Ray Liotta made his debut in "Something Wild," and while he's gone on to play his fair share of lunatics on screen, he's never played a part quite like this. Liotta plays the character with his trademark viciousness but also a sense of animalistic sexuality. He's compelling. The weak link is Melanie Griffith. The actress has a very limited range, and while she's mostly effective, there are more than a few times when the role escapes her talents.
Jonathan Demme is known primarily for three films: the concert documentary "Stop Making Sense," the AIDs drama "Philadelphia" (one of the first mainstream films to deal frankly with the disease), and of course, the notorious thriller "The Silence of the Lambs." Demme has a good grasp of directing actors and helping them create characters with depth. But the film is erratically paced. Some sequences, such as the reunion, go on for far too long. Many others simply don't hit their target. You can see their purpose and while they almost get there, they don't quite land. A lot of the movie is like that, actually. Take for instance the opening scene where Charlie and Audrey meet. I didn't buy how even a super polite, super vanilla guy like Charlie would go with such a mysterious woman. I understood it intellectually and was willing to accept it, but I didn't feel it. If you know what I mean.
"Something Wild" isn't for everyone simply because it's not especially successful. But, for all its flaws, I'm glad I saw it.
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