In Praise of Shadows

source: In Praise of Shadows

This is not a movie about crime in New York. It is not a romance, nor an action picture. It is a slow-paced film that carefully examines the ways in which our anxiety about personal survival corrupts our values, our dreams and goals, and our intimate relationships. Through the four central characters, the audience is shown various human subjects at different stages of moral corruption and psychic emptiness. There are clear correlations drawn between their existential vacuity and the actions that they willingly sign on to again and again, as the film progresses. . . . . and yet we are treated to a superb film here because three of these four central characters do seem to struggle with their decisions, with the choices that embroil them more deeply in tragic "destinies" that they construct for themselves.

I am going to default to the GradyHarp review that is among theses many reviews. Mostly from disappointed viewers. Grady Harp hits the ball right on all points about this Jay Anania film. This movie is for people who delve into symbolism, contemplative scenes of quiet and delicate colors and the messages humans can project with just expression and few or no words. William Vincent is obviously a person with a disturbing past that he believes he can change with his 'new identity'. Unfortunately he is the same person inside and no amount of paperwork can change that. A film lover will enjoy this movie, it's music, it's colors, it's shadows, and it's story. Great dialog, camera work, and the pacing is perfect for the persons that we see!

This movie is different. It does have some recognizable names in it and it might sound intriguing. But it might also bore you to death. Saying this was moving at a snails pace would be an exaggeration. Some people might call this "Artsy", some will call it waste of time. It's tough to say what corner you'll be belonging to. But you will be able to tell, where your feeling about the movie lie, after a couple of minutes. Though you might not always be able to tell what the characters feel at any given minute. There was a very irritating scene with James Franco, where he is being asked things (mostly about his emotional state). It almost looks like he's about to crack up and laugh. Not something that seems fitting considering the situation he's in. That might be over analyzing, but watching this movie will bring this sort of thinking out of you

This is not a gangster movie. The above point is so important it deserves its own paragraph. Really, this is as much about gangsters as "2001 A Space Odyssey" is about space monsters and laser battles. So if you're looking for a gangster movie then you might wanna find yourself a nice wholesome De Niro movie where he does batting practice on peoples brains. So what exactly is this movie? "In Praise of Shadows" (the film's original title before some marketing bonehead changed it to the flashier yet utterly meaningless "Shadows & Lies") is a film for shadow lovers. No, I don't mean goth chicks who sleep in coffins, although those folks are certainly invited to the party. I mean, in the tradition of the Japanese essay "In Praise of Shadows" from which this film derived its rightful title, it is for those of us who choose dark subtlety over bright glitz. As a line in the film goes: darkness allows us to focus on details that would be lost in bright light. And so, literally as well as symbolically, this is a story that's told against a dark, unknown, mysterious backdrop. James Franco, in his best role ever, is a mysterious drifter with many similarities to Camus' "The Stranger". He is morally ambiguous, neither kind nor cruel, neither good nor bad, but simply what he is. He takes a job as a criminal henchman almost out of curiosity (or boredom) rather than any other motivation. His first day on the job he meets the boss's mistress, and that leads to... shall we say... complications. The plot is certainly a tense one, and whoever wrote the DVD packaging (probably the same bonehead who renamed it "Shadows & Lies") had a field day ramping up our expectations for a wild thrill ride of Scorsesesque proportions. But, here I go again, this is not a gangster film. Sure there's blood, drugs, prostitution and a bullet or two. But there's also hummingbirds, trees, prehistoric jellyfish and a frog or two. WTF, you say? Yeah, doubtlessly anyone expecting a gangster flick will say WTF. But I would sooner compare this incomparable film to the works of Japanese master Takeshi Kitano ("A Scene at the Sea", "Dolls", "Fireworks") or maybe even Kieslowsky. If you aren't familiar with those directors, don't worry; I'll try to explain... Here director Jay Anania (NYU film professor who taught James Franco) takes a deliberately slow and very visually vivid approach. You won't find any jumpy Mtv edits or grandiose camera flourishes to upstage the raw simplicity of the moment. Neither will you find a lot of quippy one-liners or drawn out monologues to express what is sufficiently done with a facial expression. The story being told here is not a flashy, action-packed romp (although, like I said, there are some tense action scenes) but instead it's the story of how one man with no identity, no past and no future, methodically observes his world and forges a sort of identity for himself through actions that can only be described as if he were playing out a dream, one episode at a time. And dreamlike, this definitely is. With a fractured narrative that jumps back & forth in time and often to odd, seemingly irrelevant characters, it disrupts our expectations of a straightforward story. It becomes a challenging mystery--not necessarily how the plot will play out, but who the main character is. What is his nature and what will he turn out to be? And the same is to be said of the surrounding characters: who will they turn out to be, and will they be guided by free will or predestination? Well, it's been a long ramble but if you made it all the way through I think you'll enjoy this movie as much as I did. In closing I'd like to say it one... more... time... Aw hell, why don't I just quote a scene from the movie. WILLIAM: You're talking as if you're in a movie, Victor. A gangster movie. VICTOR: Do you think you're a gangster? WILLIAM: No!

This beautiful looking art film is...well, it just is. It is brooding and a sedimentary sedative. An anti mainstream tributary with a grandiose vision of non ness. A portrait portrayal of big city criminals with a modern soulless insignificant existence and an existential shallowness. So many movies and television are shot and edited with an amphetamine-like atmosphere speeding along at an addictive, adrenaline fueled pace. This is the antidote. An opposite, opium-like seduction. Calming the audience with a warm wave of emptiness. There is space to wonder and more space to ponder and even more space between the space, lulling the viewer into a comatose comfort with a creative turn that says, wait a minute...wait...wait...not so pleasant dreams...it seems.

Okay, first of all, I gotta say that I don't think the rating of this movie is very fair. The rhythm of the movie is slow, so if you're not the type of person who could sit still for two hours and adore the visualization of a slow film, just let it go. After the ending, I began thinking how the movie had no purpose at all and that it wasn't sending out a message. And then I thought, maybe it wasn't supposed to. Maybe it was just trying to show a small part of a depressed, not-finding-a-meaning-in-life guy's life. And even so, it still lacked something, it was a little lost, like there wasn't much thought behind the story. It wasn't very well figured out, neither were the characters. But the good news is, it gets you thinking. The photography is beautiful, and so is the acting. James Franco does a great job in this one, every expression on his face has a meaning behind it, the tone of his voice, how the characters linger before saying something, that is All very good. Not so many great lines though, it's mostly body language. After all, I think it's worth watching. There are many beautiful scenes that you wouldn't want to miss, regardless of the not-so-good story.

Writer & director Jay Anania's brooding, low-budget, artsy-smartsy crime yarn "Shadows and Lies" could easily have been inspired by the late Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's film "The Passenger." In the Antonioni epic, Jack Nicholson takes over the identity of a dead gun runner and gallivants all over Europe until the mob catches up with him and kills him. In "Shadows and Lies," James Franco plays a man who steps off a plane because he forgot his book and then decides to ride across country on a bus to his home state of Connecticut. When he reaches New York, he learns that the plane that he had booked passage on has crashed and every single passenger has been incinerated. This sounds rather like the first "Final Destination" franchise movie, too. Anyway, at this point, our protagonist obtains a fake passport in Chinatown and begins a new life as an editor of nature films. When he isn't editing some really cool footage on his Final Cut Pro system, William Vincent--as he has come to call himself--gets his kicks by picking the pockets of strangers. Actually, William is pretty good at it, until he finds himself confronted on the street one day by one of his victims. What the victim doesn't realize is that William has dumped his booty in the trash. When William's victim challenges him about his billfold and cell phone, a crime boss named 'Boss' (Josh Lucas of "Sweet Home Alabama") and his chief henchman Victor (Martin Donovan) intervene on his behalf. Boss wants William on his payroll, and Victor serves as the go-between. Eventually, William meets Anne (Julianne Nicholson) and they hit it off. William gives her a kimono, but Victor hears about their assignation and warns William to keep his hands off Ann. Indeed, Boss uses Ann as a prostitute, and a jealous William walks in on her while she is with a client. William wields a lamp and beat the man to death and then takes it on the lam. Anania confines "Shadows and Lies" to a quartet of characters: William, Ann, Victor, and Boss. The action occurs in flashback as the film opens with William following Ann unobtrusively through the streets of New York and then mailing her a letter after a four year hiatus. No sooner has William mailed the letter than he is attacked by Victor. It seems that Boss is a very jealous individual. Victor has warned William to stay away from Ann, but they ignore these warnings. William handles some unsavory business, including an episode with two women who receive a cocaine shipment. When William rejects their advances, the two girls label him gay. Evidently, from his attitude around Boss, William doesn't need the dough and he has no qualms about assaulting people himself. The dialogue is cryptic and often repetitive. The performances are tight-lipped. Martin Donovan fares the best as Boss' chief henchman, while Josh Lucas wears a Van Dyke beard that gives him a sinister look. Franco is Franco; he looks like a pretty boy. Although he can be violent, Franco's character doesn't seem to care a whit about money or emotional displays. He plays in cool throughout "Shadows and Lies." Composer John Medeski's melancholy music adds to the grim atmosphere, while lenser Danny Vecchione shoots predominantly in medium shots and close-ups. Altogether, Anania has fashioned an urban crime drama that doesn't rely on bullets blazing, careening car chases, or ritual torture. If you prefer pictures with subtlety, "Shadows and Lies" qualifies as a must-see. Unfortunately, none of the characters here are remotely sympathetic. Further, Anania keeps us at arm's length from them. They are all a lot of cold fish. If you like your films with less contrivance, you should skip this opus.

This movie is awful! It moves extremely slow and it has random moments of nothing that seem to last forever. Summed up...it will show a photo up close of an insect for 5 minutes while different people are narrating. Then it shows the guy randomly doing things like just sitting there eating staring off blankly or just standing there yet again blankly staring at something and we watch them do this nothingness for a good few minutes. Then it will flash to the leading lady in a different setting doing a random guy for a minute and then flash back to him eating blankly staring and we switch between the two a few times before moving on to another picture of an insect with a different narrator in the background followed by him standing on a train staring into space and then it flashes back and forth between him standing/staring on the train and the lady doing a different random guy. Most of the movie moves extremely slow with little talking and even less interesting things happening...BORING!!! I guess that's what you get when you buy a $1 movie from the dollar tree. All in all I am giving this movie 1 star only because I have to...if it were up to me I wouldn't be that generous. I am at the point where I would almost pay the store to take it back!

This film is a tragedy in its truest sense: tragedy in dramaturgy is sometimes defined as "potential not realized". With this great cast and crew, this director & producers should be shot for making the film stock worth so much more before it was shot. James Franco is too good an actor to be used, misused and abused in a film like this. His teacher should not have cashed the favor on this film. The only thing that is more boring, than the boring life of the main character, is the film itself. Telling the story of a boring character does not have to be boring. This film does not know the difference. The ultimate irony lies in the fact that Franco plays a "film editor" -- this film if edited correctly could perhaps make an interesting 15 minute thriller -- and I am being generous.