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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

SHADOWS AND LIES

DVD review by David Blackwell

 

100  minutes, previews

VIDEO:  1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO:  English 5.1 Dolby Surround, English 2.0 Stereo

Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish

 

STUDIO:  Millennium Entertainment/ Rabbit Bandini Productions/ Final Cut Collective/ Blackacre Entertainment/ Limerick Films

RELEASE DATE:  6-7-2011

William Vincent (James Franco) is a man who erased his past after a plane he was supposed to be on crashed into a mountain.   He edits nature videos in an empty storefront in Chinatown where he also lives.   His meaningless pick pocketing brings him to the attention of a New York gangster (Josh Lucas) who wants William to work for him.   The gangster uses Victor as his middleman and William (unfortunately) falls for gangster's girl, Ann (Julianne Nicholson).   Soon William is threatened and told to leave New York City and never see Ann again under the pain of death.   William stays away for four years until he wants to rescue Ann from her fate.

 

SHADOWS AND LIES is a dreary and slow neo noir.  It tries to come off like what if Terrance Malick  directed a film noir and instead you end up with this plodding snoozer.   It drags everything out as the characters are doomed to live out their lives with no hope for anything better.   What makes it worse is the film doesn't give me any reason to care for these characters who do bad things with not enough to show the good side of who they are.  It is like they are playing out the moments as time ticks away.   They live their lives by routine and they just don't seem very alive.   The cinematography sometimes is interesting, but it doesn't save the film from a story that feels like it is twice as long.   Even the music is the same repeated pieces.     I know writer/ director Jay Anania is trying to make a poetic piece of noir, but most people will not get it as they want something more layered or more fast paced.    It tries to be a poetic slow burn only to be a slow drag you should skip.

 

this DVD review is (c)6-7-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com