DVD Roundup (Love Song For Bobby Long, Suspect Zero, The Woodsman)

A Love Song For Bobby Long

I knew very little about this movie other than the cast and that it had gotten pretty good reviews. So I was a pretty blank slate when I sat down to watch it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got. This movie was far better than I anticipated. It is everything that is great about independent films, it's subtle, quite and beautiful. The performances by the 3 leads were all spot on. Travolta give maybe the best performance of his career as the likeable and hateable Bobby Long. Travolta uses the charm and charisma that he seems to have in all his great roles here to make his character much more likeable than he really should be. What really impressed me was that for most of the movie Travolta looses that charm and dives head first into playing this broken man. The result is a beautifully textured performance that is both subtle and flashy. Scarlett Johannson is also good (big shock, is she even capable of being bad?) as the girl that thrusts Bobby Long back into life. The real surprise here for me though, was Gabriel Macht. I expect Travolta and Johannson to be good, but Macht was new to me. I know I have seen him in supporting roles over the years, but nothing like he gets to play here. Macht really steps up to the plate and is equal to the task. He turns in a touching performance as the guy who holds this quasi-family together. The movie is a simple tale about 2 people being given a second shot at life thanks to a fragile little girl. What makes the movie rise above it's subject matter is the great acting, the subtle direction and the great choice of location. New Orleans is ingrained in the story and almost becomes a character. It is hard to believe this by a first time director. It certainly won't be her last film. Definitely worth seeking out.


Suspect Zero

Suspect Zero sets out to rise above the often bland serial killer genre, and with an interesting premise it had a shot, but ultimately we don't get much new and exciting. Ben Kingsley is good, as usual and the film occasionally has great moments, but they are too few and far between. What "Suspect Zero" really needed was more serial killer (Kingsley) and less FBI agents (Aaron Eckhart and Carrie Anne Moss) chasing him. The FBI agent chasing the serial killer has been done to death and the movie seemed to fall flat whenever Kinglsey was off screen. I expected more from a serial killer movie by the director of the wildly inventive "Shadow of the Vampire". Not bad, but not all that good either.


The Woodsman

Kevin Bacon is truly one of the great actors of his generation. Sometimes he allows us to forget this fact by making complete and utter crap, but then he does movie like "Mystic River" and "The Woodsman" and reminds us just how good he can be. Bacon's portrayal of a child molester in this film is so good, that he almost makes you feel too sorry for him. He takes what often comes off as a despicable person and give him heart and makes you feel for him. This of course made more than a few people upset after seeing the movie. People like their pedophiles unlikeable it seems, but my guess is that not all of them are. The supporting cast is also solid, with good performances turned in by Kyra Sedgwick, Ben Bratt and especially Mos Def as the police officer convinced that once a child molester, always a child molester. This movie is great at unobjectivly showing the struggle of a man who can not always control his demons, even though he wants to and hates what he becomes. It is not always an easy watch, and you may watch part of it through your fingers. But it is always interesting. A strong film by another first time director.