ENTERTAINED BY “THE LOFT” BUT… – At The Movies With Kasey
Seeing The Loft this week is a testament to just what I will put up with for James Marsden. The film is set up as a seedy film noir adventure, but proves to be too despicable and overly plotted for its own good, providing no characters to care about, much less root for, and more twists than necessary.
The Loft focuses on the investigation of five friends after a woman is found murdered, handcuffed to the bed in the fancy loft they share. Sharing the loft was a plan contrived by Vincent (Karl Urban), the architect of the building and a flagrant womanizer. His friend Marty (Eric Stonestreet) is immediately on board with the plan, as is Philip (Matthias Schoenaerts), whose wedding to a rich and beautiful woman is the occasion of distributing the keys to the loft. Philip’s half-brother, Chris (James Marsden), and their friend Luke (Wentworth Miller) are less keen on the idea, but both eventually cave. Chris wants a key when he starts up an affair with Anne (Rachel Taylor), a high-class escort. Luke wants a key too, but no one is sure why, as he insists that he won’t cheat on his wife. The first big strike against The Loft is how one-note its characters are for most of the film. Chris is the good guy stuck in an unhappy marriage with his unhappy wife, Allison (Rhona Mitra). Vince is basically the devil, controlled by all his baser instincts, yet somehow married to Barbara (Valerie Cruz), who is pretty great. Marty is drunk for basically the whole movie and wants to cheat on Mimi (Kali Rocha) because…he can? Vince is doing it? Luke just watches everyone and broods, or attends to his sickly wife, Ellie (Elanie Cassidy). Meanwhile, Philip was abused as a child so he became a druggie rapist. If only he had had Chris’s father. It’s all dramatic and stupid.
I can go along with pretty weak characters if the plot is good enough. Even bad movies can be entertaining. The Loft, however, is irredeemably sleazy. With a non-linear plot, The Loft tries to unfold like a great mystery, but when the motive is “bad things should happen to bad people” it’s hard to really feel shocked or invested in the narrative. I will admit that I was entertained by The Loft, but the quality of the entire production is so bad that I am embarrassed of that. Rent The Loft or watch the first mystery that pops up on your TV or Netflix queue. Just don’t pay to see this one. 1/5 stars. The Loft is rated R for sexual content, nudity, bloody violence, language and some drug use.
With the Oscars on next weekend, many people may be trying to get caught up on the nominated films. On February 20-22, Cinema Center has a limited run of Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s film up for Best Picture and five other Academy Awards. On the 20th, there’s even an adult prom to accompany the screening. Visit cinemacenter.org for more information.
Boyhood was filmed with the same cast over a 12 year time frame, telling the story of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), and their estranged parents, played by Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. For me, Boyhood is mostly worth seeing for the intriguing method of production. It was interesting to see the actors evolve over 12 years, through growth, aging, weight fluctuations, bad haircuts, and all. In that way, the film looks less-Hollywood and more real-life than most. The flip side, however, is that I think that the story could have been edited more tightly, but a lot was left in in order to stick to the conceit of the film. 165 minutes is a really long movie and at times I was itching to pause and go do something else. Part of the issue I had was that the characters, Mason in particular, are not that engaging. I was far more interested in Samantha who seemed more proactive and spirited than Mason. Much of the plot just happens to Mason and I started to wish that the film was titled Girlhood instead. These issues aside, I rate Boyhood 3.5/5 stars for its ambitious and beautiful craftsmanship.
Boyhood runs 165 minutes and is rated R for language including sexual references, and for teen drug and alcohol use.
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