Cold Souls

Cold Souls

Cold Souls

If you're familiar with my movie reviews, you know I'm a tremendous admirer of Paul Giamatti - the man can do no wrong in my estimation; I think he's one of the finest actors of our generation and certainly one of the most versatile - so when I heard about Cold Souls, a film in which he plays an actor named Paul Giamatti who, suffering under the unbearable weight of his tormented soul, decides to have it removed and placed in storage (but not in New Jersey, anywhere but New Jersey), I was expecting to hugely enjoy it, based on his performance alone. What I hadn't expected was to discover a thrillingly gifted new filmmaker, Sophie Barthes, who manages to pull off the near-impossible with this, her first feature, by taking an absurd 'what if' plot and turning it into a stunningly thoughtful, deeply intelligent and magnificently subtle meditation on what it means to have a soul, to not have a soul and even to have someone else's. In the hands of a less talented writer, Cold Souls could have been a disaster - a disaster with a magnificent, transcendent central performance from Giamatti (whom I'm convinced at this point is one of the greatest actors of all time) - but a disaster nonetheless. The concept is beyond tricky; it's the sort of plot I call a tightrope act, where the overall tone is everything, and once established, this tone has to be consistent throughout or the believability is shot. Barthes succeeds brilliantly in this by never allowing the surrealistic goings-on to become a cheap joke; instead the situation, with its varying and creative ramifications, is played in dead earnestness, with unwavering commitment on the part of Giamatti and the rest of the cast (particularly Emily Watson as his wife, who senses something's different about Paul early on, in the scenes when he's operating soulless - there's a great exchange in bed where she touches his skin and says he feels 'scaly'. "Scaly?" he repeats incredulously, "Like a lizard?!?"). And it's because of this dead seriousness that the film in spots is hilariously funny - the humor comes naturally, out of the situations themselves, not through any contrivances; Barthes is already far too confident an artist for that – she clearly trusts her material and her actors, and it shows. The result is a stunning experience that will resonate with you long after you leave the theater, if you're lucky enough to be able to see it in a theater, that is – the movie was slated to go from the film festivals direct to DVD, but right now it is playing in a few places and is supposed to open wider shortly, I've heard. Otherwise, get it on DVD the second it becomes available. Your soul will thank you.

Just saw this at the Sydney Film Festival. From what I've already read, director Sophie Barthes was inspired to write this by a dream. She is also reportedly tired of comparisons to Kaufman's films. What does she expect? If you crossed Being John Malkovich with Eternal Sunshine and added a sprinkle of Zach Helm's screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction you would probably end up with Cold Souls. Barthes dream must have been a great one as the concept for the story sucks you right in. Without going too much into the details, it involves a tired and stressed actor (Giamatti) who discovers a 'soul storage' company who specialise in extracting souls. Giamatti ums and ahs about the procedure before signing his life away, or soul away, as it may be. Needless to say, things don't work out as planned and pretty soon his wife notices his weird behaviour and there are Russians also involved in illegal trafficking of human souls. Anyone who enjoyed Giamatti in American Splendour and Sideways should enjoy this. Carrying the film virtually on his own, he does a brilliant job as the angst ridden actor in desperate search for his soul. Emily Watson and David Strathairn do well in small support roles. Dina Korzun is also very good as the sad Russian 'mule' who swaps peoples souls for short periods to traffic them to and from the States and Russia. Unfortunately her character is never fully fleshed out which is a real shame and therein lies the problem with the screenplay. Even with Giamatti working his arse off, he ultimately can only do so much with the material. I agree with other viewers who have posted that the story is uneven and Barthes doesn't get the middle or the ending right. It's choppy and not thought out enough. I found the film entertaining but certainly wasn't moved by it. As mentioned, the idea is a good one but I was somewhat disappointed that Barthes didn't fully explore the themes and make this as interesting as it could have been. It's a damned fine effort though but she will have to get used to the Kaufman comparisons.

I read that director Sophie Barthes goes mad if she' s asked about the similarities between "Could Souls" and Kaufmann's "Synecdoche, New York". I see nothing mad about it. Both films are very similar in their "philosophical" approach and sometimes even in coverage - camera angles, pacing etc. Also Giammati's tormented soul rings the bell reminding about Hoffman in "Synecdoche". Their major difference though, is that you can still make sense of what happens in "Could Souls" and follow the plot, while "Synecdoche" sinks in ideas that are simply impossible or boring on screen. Parekh's cinematography - lyrical, but simple and to the point - is a great treat as always. Giammati's performance - lovable, if predictable. After all, a nice, little independent gem after a glass of wine in a restaurant.

Easily among my favorite films of the year so far, Cold Souls is an absorbing, widely imaginative, funny satire our consumer society, simultaneously a delirious comedy and an introspective drama. Paul Giamatti is excellent and shows perfect comic timing and great sense of irony. As a broken soul wrapped up in an absurd situation, he delivers anxiety, confusion and pain in the serious scenes and a totally hilarious straight-faced, deadpan in the comic scenes. The funniest and most astonishing performances are when he acts in Anton Chekov's "Uncle Vanya" with and without a soul and then with a Russian poet soul. The film asks the audience to actively think and raises disturbing questions about our relationship to the soul. Overall the performances are strong. David Strathairn particularly does a great job as the nutty doctor. Recommended to surreal films lovers.

Greetings again from the darkness. I really enjoyed the originality of the basic story here, but originality is not sufficient .. this one needed some script doctoring prior to filming. Paul Giamatti delivers another fine, hangdog, long-suffering turn as, well, Paul Giamatti. Exasperated with his general outlook on life, he does some research into the company who removes the soul from those like him. David Strathairn is the doctor at the soul removal clinic and he plays the knowledgeable, caring professional to perfection. At different times, this one will remind of Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind, and Total Recall, it never really delivers the depth or entertainment value of any of these. It's almost as if first time feature director Sophie Barthes has so many ideas that it became more important to include them all, rather than refine the best. As for sci-fi, this one is worth seeing, but ranks behind Moon as this year's best in the genre.

Cold Souls (2009) This is a concept movie, in a way, though the concept--that you can have your soul extracted and stored in a jar so that you can live without its weight--is actually a bit thin after awhile. What drives it is not something actually heavy or surreal, about having and trading real souls, but more the idea that your soul also affects, very slightly, your personality, or your talent. So really what happens is people begin to trade or borrow souls, and they acquire a little bit of the owner's qualities. And that carries along a few consequences. naturally. Everything is presented in a deadpan comic way. The souls stored in their foot long glass jars vary greatly, some looking like creative sculptures and others like, well, a jelly bean. Or in the case of our hero, Paul Giamatti, a garbanzo bean. (The Russian half of the cast says in joyful astonishment, "a chick pea!") Giamatti is not my favorite actor but all my friends think he's terrific and I like the type he plays, a schlumpy everyman with Homer Simpson eyes. And Giamatti, who plays a character named Paul Giamatti, makes this movie. It isn't a tour de force, an Al Pacino or Cate Blanchett jaw-dropper, though I think it's meant to be (he even has roles within roles, with his character rehearsing a stage play). To some extent his willingness to succumb to the movie's simple, clever plot is one of its charms. There are echoes of the absurd and the playful of two earlier (and better) movies, the incredibly inventive "Being John Malkovich" and the cinematically engrossing "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Both of those are written by the astonishing Charlie Kaufman. Here the writer Sophie Barthes is working almost solo since she is also directing, and if it's solid it's also short of its potential, which unfortunately is so obvious. It's a great idea. And a rather good movie.

"Cold Souls" begins with possibly the best premise I have seen on film. It is fitting that screenwriter Sophie Barthes was nominated for Best First Screenplay from the Independent Spirit Awards. Paul Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti, an actor struggling with the weight of Checkov. Uncle Vanya is weighing down his soul. This is a problem afflicting most New Yorkers, but there is now a solution. A company can extract your soul and keep it in storage for you. Brilliant. The opening scenes offer some insightful humour and intelligent wit, and offers a fair number of laughs for everybody who immediately saw the comedy in the premise. David Strathairn and Giamatti have great interactions and are very funny, both together and on their own. The rest of movie, though, plays out like a dark mystery or thriller which doesn't really fit the wonderful comedic start. The main obstacle for our hero, and the thriller plot are significantly darker and melodramatic than I was expecting. Although it is titled "Cold Souls", I was hoping for less cold and more soul-fulfilling insightful humour. It is a dark comedy, so probably a must-see for fans of the genre. However, I think one of the problems with coming up with such an inventive idea, is viewers will likely form their own story line, so if it doesn't play out as you would have written it, it will seem disappointing and disjointed as it did for me. But that being said, the interest and intrigue behind this story would be too much to pass this up.

My first and sadly only chance to see a film at SIFF turned out to be a terrific choice. Cold Souls, featuring Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson and David Strathairn is wonderful. A surrealistic sci-fi meditation on the soul; it's effect and meaning we give it in our lives. Sounds heavy and at times it is, but beautifully interwoven with comedy and thoughtfulness throughout. Set sometime in the future, Paul Giamatti plays himself. He is an emotionally drained actor who is struggling with the lead role in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. The part is causing him extreme anxiety. He discovers a place that will extract your soul and put it in cold storage until the time you are ready to put it back again. By extracting his soul, Paul believes this will free him up more to play the part without it placing such a heavy emotional burden on himself. However, things do not turn out as planned and we are left with seeing Paul struggle with the meaning of his soul and the fear that he must face within himself. In turn, we in the audience also cannot help but look inward. The film also includes an interesting subplot set in Russia with Russians doing their own version of soul extraction but with deeper consequences. Paul's soul is taken by a soul trafficker mule back to Russia to be inserted into a no-talent soap opera actress. This leaves Paul with no alternative but to go to Russia and track down his soul. This great film helmed by first time writer/director Sophie Barthes is filled with lush metaphors, some beautiful camera work and a beautiful ode to one of the world's greatest playwrights...Chekhov. There have been comparison's to Being John Malkovich, but don't let Miss Barthes hear that. This is her original work, based on a dream she had. She originally meant this to feature Woody Allen but she needed someone younger with more energy. She couldn't have picked a better choice in Paul Giamatti. This is a Tour de Force acting by Mr. Giamatti. He pulls off several different characterizations of soulless people that are just magnificent. There is one particular instance when being without his soul he is acting as if he has forgotten how to act, it is hilarious. If you want to see great acting, check out this performance. Everything Mr. Giamatti does is clear. You understand his circumstance and how he feels about it. I loved his relationship with Emily Watson who plays his wife Claire. Miss Watson is another stellar actress but sadly, she is underused in this film. David Strathairn plays Dr. Flinstein who is charge of the company that does soul extraction. I liked his portrayal. It was honest and unforced. He worked well off his partners by simply listening and responding in a meaningful way. Actually, there isn't really a bad performance from anyone in the film. Even the Russians are pretty good. Which leads me to the soul trafficking mule, Nina (Dina Korzun). I felt she was a great metaphor for a Chekhovian character. She embodied psychological angst with stillness and subtlety. Although, it is not a great performance but it is still compelling. The ending is exquisitely ambiguous. It will mean something different to each person who sees it. This original work should receive award recognition come next awards season. I will be shocked if Mr. Giamatti is not graced with many Best Actor nods. It will be out in a limited engagement starting in August. Watch for it. This is a gem and by far the best movie I have seen so far this year.