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March 27, 2013 By iluvcinema 2 Comments

Everybody Has a Plan (Todos Tenemos Un Plan) Argentina, 2012

First off – sorry this review is posted so late; but as the following passage in the Robert Burns poem, To a Mouse states:

But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

I so had the best of intentions last week and while I had bits of my commentary written out, I just could not manage to finish and refine it on time. ANYWAYS, I am finally there and so, here we are.

Normally when I am posting a review/response to a film, I do not look at what others say. This time however and for this film in particular, I was a bit curious. When I read the IMDB rating and the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate, as well as read some of the corresponding reviews, I was a bit surprised. While I would not put this film up there with the great thrillers of this or any other era, it is not the as bad as some would characterize it.

Indeed the film is held together for the most part on the strength of its lead, Viggo Mortensen; but there is another element that captured my notice – the environmental setting, known in Argentina as the Tigre Delta. It seems the perfect location and backdrop for a story shrouded in mystery; one that relies on the revelations of the unknown.

foto-viggo-mortensen-en-todos-tenemos-un-plan-5-525

Directed and written by filmmaker Ana Piterbarg, Everybody Has a Plan (Todos Tenemos Un Plan) tells the story of brothers Agustin and Pedro (Mortensen in a dual role), who could not be any different. By all accounts, Agustin is respectable doctor who lives with his wife in Buenos Aires. Eventually the audience is made privy to the uneasiness that Agustin has with his staid life and is seeking life’s ‘next big adventure.’

His identical twin brother, Pedro, lives in the aforementioned Delta of their childhood. Early on, it was not totally apparent to me what he was involved in, but it definitely looked a little shady. Almost immediately, my suspicions were confirmed.

foto-viggo-mortensen-en-todos-tenemos-un-plan-4-527

At the moment of Pedro’s untimely (?) death Agustin decides to put action to his thoughts about pursuing that adventure, assuming his brother’s identity and returning to the Tigre Delta. Upon his arrival ‘home,’ he soon discovers the many layers of his brother’s less-than-noble activities.

———

So what did I think about the film? Off the bat, I must admit, that yes, some of the criticism (and praise) I have read was reasonable. On the plus side thee was the already referred to performance of Viggo Mortensen.

On the negative side, on more than one occasion, I was not sure what this film was trying to be – was it a straightforward crime thriller? an intense family relationship drama? a taught mystery?

Now, this is not to say a film cannot have ALL of these elements but rather that at its most effective, a film more or less follows an identifiable narrative path. The process of moving beyond this convention to surprise and shock an audience is usually left to the most artistically adventurous of filmmakers.

For Mortensen’s part, I can totally see why he would take on this project (he is also credited one of the film’s Producers). Having spent his early years in Argentina, this marks a homecoming of sorts. It is obvious in his portrayal that he is comfortable and at ease with the material and the language.

So to recap, not a great film but definitely a terrible one either (at least in my opinion).

Filmed in Spanish with English subtitles; total running time of 118 minutes.

 

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: everybody has a plan, spanish language film, viggo mortensen

March 19, 2013 By iluvcinema 6 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: The Indian Runner (1991)

This week’s pick is 1991’s The Indian Runner, directed by Sean Penn (directorial debut) and starring Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as brothers who could not be more dissimilar.

THE_INDIAN_RUNNER

The Indian Runner is the tragic tale of two brothers – Joe (Morse), the one who stays on the straight and narrow, a man of the law and Frank (Mortensen), a troubled, restless soul who constantly finds himself on the wrong side of the law. Frank drifts in and out of everyone’s life without much explanation – he just is. This aimless drifting includes a stint in Vietnam (the film is set in the 1960s) and a little later on, serving some time in the slammer. Upon release from prison, he returns home after a double tragedy – the death of their mother and their father’s subsequent suicide.

In spite of his best efforts to get his life together, including sticking around for the impending birth of his daughter and landing a steady job, Frank manages to finds himself again at odds with the law; this provides a continued source of conflict between him and Joe.

——

Please be forewarned, this film is a downer that does not let up. That said, as a first time feature it holds together well enough that I think the emotional ride you find yourself on while watching it is well worth it. I am not sure about its video availability but if you have HD cable television, it airs on the MGMHD.

The supporting cast of the film includes Charles Bronson, Patricia Arquette, Sandy Dennis (in her final screen role) and Dennis Hopper (Benicio Del Toro is in it too)!

Fun fact: The film’s screenplay (written by Penn) is based on a Bruce Springsteen song (“The Highway Patrolman”).

Be sure to check out other overlooked/forgotten films by visiting Todd Mason’s blog.

Filed Under: Overlooked Films Tagged With: david morse, overlooked film, sean penn, the indian runner, viggo mortensen

November 6, 2012 By iluvcinema 8 Comments

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: A Walk on the Moon (1999)

On balance my selection this week A Walk on the Moon is not destined to go down as an all-time classic, but since its release in 1999, I have found myself stopping to watch it whenever I see it on TV. The film stars Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin and directed by Tony Goldwyn.

It is the summer of love (1969), the age of Woodstock and Neil Armstrong is about to make history in outer pace. Meanwhile in upstate New York, Pearl (Diane Lane) and her husband Marty (Liev Schreiber) are accompanied by their teenage daughter Alison (Anna Paquin), young son Danny Marty’s mother Lillian at their summer camp retreat. Due to work commitments, Marty can only be with the family on the weekends, leaving the family and Pearl specifically to their own devices. It is not too long before she meets the tee-shirt salesman, free spirit and all-around hippie Walker Jerome (Viggo Mortensen) – do I really need to tell you where this one is headed?

Running in parallel to this story is the coming-of-age for the teenaged Alison.

Maybe I am just a sucker for these types of stories that take an idyllic look back at such a turbulent time in our recent history. Or maybe I just like looking at Mr. Mortensen on screen 😉

Have you seen it? If so, let me know what you think?

Filed Under: Overlooked Films Tagged With: a walk on the moon, anna paquin, diane lane, viggo mortensen

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