Tristate Movie Group } Reviews

Photo © The Weinstein Group

Ask The Dust
Drama, romance.
1hr. 57 mins.
March 17-24th platform, 2006
MPAA: R for some sexuality, nudity and language.
The Weinstein Group

Starring: Colin Farrell, Selma Hayek, Donald Sutherland, Idina Menzel.
Directed By: Robert Towne
Produced By: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Don Granger, Jonas McCord.
Screenplay By: Robert Towne . From the novel by John Fante.

Reviewed By: Welington Lee

Rated 2.75/5

In a Nutshell:Acclaimed writer/director Robert Towne's("Chinatown")adaptation of Fante's depression era novella. A tortured magazine writer from Colorado, struggles to capture the gritty feel and characters of Los Angeles. Townsend pulls away from film noir and delves into Ferrell's creative hallucinations, and a love affair with a sultry Mexican waitress(Hayek).Authentic design, cars and cloths from that era. Shot brilliantly, by the 'perfectly matched' for this genre,Caleb Deschanel. Location:South Africa standing in for L.A.!

Feature Review:Writer/director Robert Towne wrote one of the handful of best screenplays of the 20th century: Chinatown. "..Dust" is his fourth turn at the helm, and paired with Caleb Deschanel's(Passion of the Christ; the Patriot)cinematography, they capture an authentic feel of 1930's L.A., in the final throes of the Great Depression. In the first act, I had a hankering for a more authentic, black and white, film noir. Not long into that act, Towne purposefully shifts the style. "..Dust" moves from Noir to romance and then melodrama, pinning "..Dust" with an original, blended style, that works at times; and at times loses its focus.

Arturo Bandini(Colin Farrell)is a transplanted Colorado writer, looking to freelance short stories for the prominent "Look" magazine; and other literary magazines of the time. The first twenty minutes are flashbacks to his arrival in L.A., and his confident charm of landlady Eileen Atkins(memorable mini supporting role) for a room. These alternate with scenes of his present, despondent state. He is nagged for being 6 weeks behind with the rent, and suffers from writerâ€™s block. Arturo is reduced to stealing milk, as he gives away precious depression era 'dimes', to inveterate neighbor Hellfrick(Donald Sutherland). He dreams up stories and bangs them out on a black, manual Underwood. Dir.Towne stacks the plot with the anguish of a love story, and the creative distress of this broke writer, into the noir styling. Ferrell is well cast, and handles his role adequately at first. Colin is especially good at physically looking like the despondent, half crazed writer. His Arturo is compassionate with Hellfrick, but covers his awkwardness around love interest Camilla, with cruel put downs and naked aggression. Sutherland is never better in his nuanced performance of this likeable, partly senile, partly alcoholic dementia, boarding house neighbor.

The initial scenes between spunky diner waitress Camilla, and the smitten but bumbling and aggressive Arturo, are as hot as the weather. We are taken right back to those pre internet and cable T.V/DVD days, when people often entertained themselves with lively interchanges. Arturo cannot deal with his obsessive attraction to her, but he returns to the diner time after time, insulting her, then making up. These hot interchanges culminate in Camilla taunting Arturo to a Moonlit skinny dip, mesmerizingly shot by master Caleb Deschanel. He cannot go with the flow, or even kiss her. This is the last sign, that he needs this love/hate, in order to write. Hayek reaches the peak of her character's performance. When she can move or react to Farrell(Arturo),her screen presence is strong. She looses obvious confidence in the tame, domestic role of Camilla in the second and third acts. She perks up when Colin Farrell's character gives her reason to fight.

In this second act and into the third, writer/Dir. Towne clearly moves away from film noir, into what could be a near autobiographical portrayal of the agony of a writer's creative process. Camilla is his ideal, sensual muse. When he begins to make money from a letter to the editor, published(ironically) as a short story, he cannot handle the consistency, of a couple's life by the sea. There is strong support from bartender Sonny(Justin Kirk) in Camilla's haunt. His character's scenes and relationship to Camilla, is brilliantly written to be vague and open to interpretation.

Townsend creates two imaginary women that Arturo conjures up, to comfort him and kick him into action. Vera Rifkin(Idina Menzel:"Rent" '05)is the mistress and mother of Arturo's writing struggles. Her character appears again and again over the next 25 mins., cajoling him to keep Camilla knuckled under. Her mother side sits on his arm rest, quieting his paranoia about Camilla, cooing him to write. When Townsend's screenplay cuts her, there is an awkward attempt by lead Arturo to create another muse. The clues that these are hallucinations are too obvious. This acclaimed movie writer's screenplay could have taken the path of "Swimming Pool"(writer star: Charlotte Rampling), or to a lessor degree, the character of Charlie Kauffman in "Adaptation". There was strong audience W.O.M.(word of mouth)about these movies and there more subtle clues, that are open to interpretation. Our regional movie group after discussions, were lively, and I received numerous emails and copies of further takes on the various symbols(especially Swimming Pool).

Townsend's character Arturo appears to be somewhat autobiographical. A near Charlie Kaufman, "Adaptation" like reveal about the internal, creative struggle of writers. There is an obvious swipe from Hayek's "Frida" in the final act, that she surely had to approve, if not inject into the shooting script. Overall this is a beautifully shot(C. Deschanel: "The Passion of The Christ":) and designed production, that captures the feel of the final stage of hot and run down, depression era Los Angeles. Ardent Fans of Ferrell or Hayek, who are patient with heavy doses of the psychological/creative process struggles, thrown in with the Film Noir and Romance, should not be disappointed.

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