May 17, 2003
Proof
A look at the stars before they were stars. Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith in The Matrix, Elrond in The Lord of the Rings (and a whole bunch of other stuff over the years, of course)) plays a blind man with photography for a hobby. Which makes exactly no sense until you watch the movie and find out that he does it for perfectly sensible and very sad reasons. Russell Crowe plays a dish washer who becomes Weaving's friend after a chance encounter involving an alley cat. Completing the triangle is Geneviève Picot as Weaving's obsessive, ever-so-slightly psychotic housekeeper.
The movie reminded us of Memento with its similar theme of "who can you trust and what can you believe when you know your perception is impaired?" (The poster for Memento even echoes this film's a bit.) This is a much more accessible film than Memento. All three lead actors are excellent in what is basically a three-person story. A little more thought could have been put into the conflict--Crowe's character's actions strain credulity a bit--but with how well the rest of the plot was handled I'm willing to let that go. In amidst all the serious emotional issues, there is a fair amount of humor especially in a brief sequence where Weaving's character finds himself behind the wheel of a car being pulled over by the police.
Verdict: 3 stars (out of 4)
Posted by jeffy at May 17, 2003 11:04 PM