Sometimes films slip through the grasp of the faithful moviegoer. While it is preferable to see a film on a big screen as it is intended, it is impossible to see everything that hits the theaters, especially those films that fail to find an audience in their first week and are hurried out of town to make room for the next one.
The slow release has made way for the bigger openings, which hurts the chances of the little movies, especially if the Academy looks them over. Often these little gems make their way to the video shelves with little fanfare, where they sit while renters pass them by for the latest Hollywood fluff.
Rather than being ignored, these films deserve an audience that will appreciate them. The following are some films that you may not have seen in the theater but are now available on video and DVD and are well worth your time.
Possession
***1/2
A film that primarily concerns academic research about a 19th century poet is not something one would consider being an interesting picture, much less an engrossing mystery that mesmerizes its audience, but Neil LaBute’s “Possession” is that movie.
Based on the A.S. Byatt novel, the film follows two academics (Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart) who discover lost correspondences between a famous poet thought to be an incredibly faithful husband and a woman who may have been his mistress. The discovery could lead to great notoriety among the literary community for whoever proves the connection. Since this is a light suspense film, the two leads have to gather their proof before another group of unethical researchers claims the discovery for themselves.
Paltrow and Eckhart make a charismatic pair. Their performances are extremely well done, but it is Jeremy Northam (who gets my vote to be the next Bond if Brosnan retires the role) and Jennifer Ehle as the two 19th century lovers who are the heart of this story and make a very romantic pair.
While it may seem an unlikely candidate for an edge-of-your-seat mystery (actually, more of a middle-of your-comfy-couch-cushion), LaBute creates a certain amount of suspense by switching between modern day and 19th century England as he unveils the romance in both stories. After the genuinely wonderful “Nurse Betty” and the incredibly disturbing “Your Friends & Neighbors,” LaBute has proven he is a versatile and thought provoking filmmaker.
Moonlight Mile
***
In “Moonlight Mile,” Jake Gllyenhaal plays Joe Nast, a young man trapped by his own guilt after his fianc?e dies, while playing the part of the never-to-be son-in-law to her parents (Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon). Dealing with their sorrow, the three become a temporary family, determined to push on with their lives only to be stopped by their own ignorance and need to heal.
Hoffman and Sarandon, while they may not seem a likely couple in the real world, make for a great married couple in the film. Both demonstrate the best of their acting ability, but it is Gllyenhaal who shines. After incredible performances in “The Good Girl” and “Donnie Darko,” Gllyenhaal is having the career Tobey Maguire should have. (Rumors before production of the “Spider-Man” sequel had Gllyenhaal taking over the Peter Parker role.)
Director Brad Silberling has made a very quaint and very sweet movie about sorrow, which is loosely based on his own life. After the saccharine-soaked “City of Angels” (which, even with all of its faults, was better than the highly overrated and incredibly pretentious “Wings of Desire” which it was based on), Silberling has found a mid-point between sickly sweet and overly morose with this film.
Stephen Allan can be contacted at [email protected].