News about
D: David Mamet
S: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon
Verbose, witty, in-jokey comedy from David Mamet. When a big movie comes
to a small town, homely values meet Hollywood amorality with predictable
results. Caught in the axis (at State and Main, so to speak) is screenwriter
Philip Seymour Hoffman (
The Big Lebowski
),
a playwright grappling with his artistic integrity who is faced with an
even greater ethical quandary when he witnesses an accident involving star
Alec Baldwin which could threaten the entire production if he tells the
truth about what happened. His problems are compounded by the fact that
he has been drawn to local bookstore owner Rebecca Pidgeon, whose values
seem rooted and grounded by comparison with his own and with whom he seems
to share a sense of empathy and understanding. Crossroads and conundrums
abound as Mamet sets ethics and values in opposition amid gags about the
movie business and its symbiotic (and symbolic) relationship with American
society. It is mostly funny, sometimes hilarious, and though it does tread
familiar ground, Mamet loads the film with his characteristic rapid-fire
dialogue and an impressive cast of performers who carry it along.
There are a lot of characters in this movie played by big name actors.
They have been expertly cast by Avy Kaufman. William H. Macy is terrific
as the harried director, desperate to bring the production in under budget
and without scandal after it has already been run out of Vermont under circumstances
never made entirely clear. This actor seems to have been born for roles
like this, playing a combination of harried everyman and confident achiever
which works nicely in the balance. David Paymer is equally good as his producer,
a classic executive bully who crosses swords with locals and professionals
with equal ease. Alec Baldwin is a hoot as the hotshot actor with a taste
for young girls and Tuna BLTs which is set to land him in trouble once again,
especially when local waitress Julia Stiles sees his fetish as a ticket
out of small town life. Sarah Jessica Parker has fun as a the female lead
of the movie within the movie, ranging from vulnerable outrage to vampism
as suits the moment. Charles Durning is amusing as local mayor George Bailey
(in joke alert! in joke alert!), and Patti LuPone is priceless as his social
climbing wife. Clark Gregg is a little overripe as a jilted lawyer who tries
to move in on the production with writs and lawsuits and has personal reasons
for doing so.
Mamet is able to dole out the one-liners among these stars relatively
evenly, making it a superb bit of ensemble playing comparable with a Preston
Sturges farce. There is a wide variety of action which pits the actors against
one another in various combinations almost always to good effect. Married
with his usual level of sharp observation and keen humour, the script has
plenty of depth in spite of the familiarity of the premise. Mamet has some
points to make about the business, and though he is not saying anything
new, they hit home nonetheless.
The film is really kept afloat by the convincing performances of its
primary actors though. Hoffman and Pidgeon are both believable and sympathetic
as the characters most directly confronted with the thematic centre of the
film. Their sense of connection is tangible and credible, and Mamet's elliptical
dialogue allows an even greater sense of psychic symmetry to emerge from
the performances. Pidgeon takes a deceptively wide-eyed and physically restricted
approach to her character which calls to mind Frances McDormand's work in
Fargo
. Hoffman is nicely understated for his part, but manages a
number of delicate shifts in mood which make the character work.
It is unfortunate that some of it is so obvious though. Despite its postmodern
sniggers-up-the-sleeve, this is still old-fashioned Capraesque American
social satire which has not really been brought up to date in any respect.
The story adds no wrinkles to the formula other than some detail on contemporary
vice. This is still a doggedly conventional tale of down-home values and
finding the true centre of one's moral life which George Bailey would certainly
appreciate. Just because Mamet is capable of being ironic about the fact
that he's poking fun at picket fences and small-town doctors doesn't mean
the film automatically rises above its own source material. Winks to the
audience are all well and good, but does this constitute a radical re-visioning
of the representation of small town Americana?
Blue Velvet
it is
not.
State and Main
is an entertaining and well acted movie which benefits
from solid professional credits in all departments. It might well have passed
without notice in a world where thoughtful adult entertainments were more
common, but when its most recent competitor in subject and tone is
Bowfinger
,
it seems to stride high above the pack.
It is not necessarily an immediate candidate for a casual evening's entertainment,
but it is funny, pacy, and features a cast which has to feature at least
one actor you like. Mamet fans will enjoy it all the more, but then you
knew that.