Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 17) www.homemediamagazine.com REVIEWS I THE SENSATION OF SIGHT Street 9/2 Monterey, Drama, B.O. $0.02 million, $24.95 DVD, ‘R’ for some language. Stars David Strathairn, Ian Somerhalder, Daniel Gillies, Jane Adams, Ann Cusack, Elisabeth Waterston, Joe Mazzello, Scott Wilson. F inn (Strathairn, also a producer on the film) is suffering a catastrophefueled midlife crisis. He abandons his career as an English teacher to sell encyclopedias in his small New Hampshire town and separates from his wife and child to experience his grief. It’s through him that we meet most of the other characters, all of whom are struggling in a fog of grief, but not all for the same reason. The Sensation of Sight unfolds in fragments of the lives broken by tragedy and plays out in vignettes punctuated with brief flashbacks of happier times. At first it’s difficult to understand any connection among the characters. When the strands come together, it’s like the quivering edge of a violin string, threatening to snap at any moment. The ensemble cast does a good job — almost too good — of sharing the characters’ isolation, pulling viewers into their varying shades of despair. Strong performances and Finn’s eventual epiphany as he figures out how to let go of the past are the payoff, and there are hints that the cloud lifts for others as well. It’s an accomplishment to make a film with good production values in just 18 days and on a low budget, especially for a first time writer-director (Aaron J. Wiederspahn). This one won three festival awards and was an official selection at five others, probably on the performance quality and excellent use of symbolism and metaphor, stitched together with literary quotes that give clues to Finn’s introspection. Bonus materials are a making-of featurette and cast bios. The film will play best with auteurs, acting students and people who liked Lost in Translation, but with the caveat that it has few happy or even funny moments. Don’t watch it with children or anyone who’s prone to depression. – Holly J. Wagner I ITTY BITTY COMMITTEE Street 9/2 Wolfe, Comedy, B.O. $0.02 million, $27.95 DVD, Unrated. Stars Melonie Diaz, Nicole Vicius, Melanie Mayron, Carly Pope, Daniela Sea, Guinevere Turner, Deak Evgenikos, Jenny Shimizu, Lauren Mollica. D irector Jamie Babbit’s Itty Bitty Committee is a frothy, romantic tale of what happens when a lesbian has come out but still doesn’t fit in. Anna (Diaz of Be Kind Rewind) is a young woman who hides behind too-long bangs and frumpy clothes. She didn’t get into her first and only choice of college, and wiles away her time working at a plastic surgery clinic where her perky coworker tells her to take advantage of their breast implants discount. Her first girlfriend has broken up with her, and her beautiful older sister is about to get married. Then Anna meets Sadie (Vicius), a charismatic and beautiful feminist activist with a fatal flaw: She’s tied to the apron strings of her much older girlfriend (Mayron of “Thirtysomething”). Anna dives into the activism scene — Sadie’s group stages guerrilla art pranks — to be near Sadie, but finds her ideals and life shifting as she learns more about feminist and LGBT issues and about the different members in the group itself. Committee doesn’t feel as polished as Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader, but it’s got an energy and spark that feels authentic to the Los Angeles underground and this ragtag group of lesbians and feminists. The soundtrack is impeccable, and the cast is equally top notch. Babbit does an excellent job casting strong, beautiful women as varied as they should be in a film of this nature, from butch lesbians and transgendered people to older women, women of color, and those who defy labels such as butch and femme. After an ending that isn’t nearly as revolutionary as it wants to be, Committee is outed as not saying a whole lot about anything — love is in the air instead of politics. Older women who’ve lived through this scene may find it too naïve and simple, but younger audiences will likely grab onto this enjoyable tale of a segment of society that doesn’t often get its story told, especially given the buzz this film has built off Babbit’s reputation and solid festival showings. – Laura Tiffany August 31–September 6, 2008 Home Media Magazine 17 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.