Rated: R
Writer/Director: Dan Gilroy
There's always that rush when you go into a new film featuring the stars (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo) and writer/director (Dan Gilroy) of a previous film you really enjoyed, the way I enjoyed the creepy Nightcrawler. The trailer, as well, made me anxious to find the Netflix time to watch this. Then I did, and ... well, heck. Morf Vandewalt is a higly-regarded, rather snooty and self-absorbed art critic whose review could make or break an artist - and he enjoys that power. One of his closest friends (or as close as one can get to Morf) is Rhodora Haze, former member of the famous band Velvet Buzzsaw, who now has made a name for herself as an art dealer. Though Morf has a boyfriend at home, he's become re-enamored with one of Rhodora employees, Josephina (Zawe Ashton), and the two begin a torrid affair that only gets more complicated when an upstairs neighbor of Josephina's dies, leaving behind an entire apartment filled with over a thousand paintings and canvases. Josephina didn't know the old guy, and though he left word that every single piece of his artwork was to be immediately destroyed after his death by the property owners (cue ominous music), Josephina recognizes that what she see is incredibly strong and unique, and pretty much smuggles the lot down to her apartment. This is when weird things begin to happen and people begin to die - as did my patience, particularly with Gyllenhaal's performance for at least the first half of the film, where he seems to channel just about every stereotypical gesture, affectation, and mood you'd expect of a gay man in a film ... from 1950. After doing Brokeback Mountain especially, this viewer expected more and was actually offended a couple times during the film. Worse, while a unique and interesting premise, other than a cool scene with a giant silver ball the death scenes in the film are anti-climactic and weak - a condition that lasts throughout most of the scenes in the rest of the film, the one possible exception being Rene Russo in the last scene before the credits roll And I had such hopes, too. 4/10 stars
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