xamyks
Jul 14, 2006 07:03PM

On Clerks II, Tenacious D and The Limbo Room
Written by Brent Simon
Friday, 14 July 2006


Summer is upon us, and I’ve been chiefly escaping the thermometer-bursting heat like any sensible film fan would — indoors, in the cooled if not quiet comfort of screening rooms all around Los Angeles. Forthwith, a few tidbits on the upcoming Clerks II, a sneak preview screening of Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny and an intriguing independent movie searching out distribution.
The New Jersey-set story of two disenfranchised minimum wage jockeys, perpetually beleaguered Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and his everlastingly sarcastic pal Randal (Jeff Anderson), 1994’s Clerks was the film that established writer-director Kevin Smith...
Its sequel comes a dozen years later, and re-deposits Dante and Randal (above) in another dead-end job, even on the eve of the former’s impending marriage and move to Florida. A full review will follow on the site next week...
Eagerly awaited, much discussed and long delayed for a variety of reasons (depending on whom you believe), Liam Lynch’s Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny enjoyed a test screening last night in Pasadena.... “It restores my faith in Jack Black again after Nacho Libre,” my source said. “It’s really funny, even though you can tell they’re going to have to tighten it up a little.” The title refers to a magical guitar pick that they set out to purloin to aid them in their quest.
For those in Los Angeles, meanwhile, the estimable Ray Greene mentioned to me that the American Cinematheque’s sneak preview “Alternative Screen” presentation of The Limbo Room on Thursday, July 20 features a striking new voice in American independent film in the form of actress-turned-director Debra Eisenstadt. Both David Mamet fans and disgruntled college professors, of course, will remember Eisenstadt — who made her debut as a writer-director with 2001’s Daydream Believer — from the 1994 film version of Mamet’s incendiary two-hander, in which she played the female lead opposite William H. Macy. Both that experience and the text of Oleanna itself inform this feature, which Greene calls “an intriguing blend of Michael Haneke and All About Eve,” about the blurring of reality and fiction in the lives of a group of New York stage actors working on a play involving an onstage rape. The film played at Slamdance earlier this year, and is currently seeking North American distribution. More to follow…

xamyks
Jul 13, 2006 07:39PM

Cackalackydance
Southern accents in Park City, Utah

BY DAVID FELLERATH

Slamdance has persevered as the primary Sundance alternative and a necessary second-guesser to the tastes of the Sundance programmers.

As recently as last year, Mad Hot Ballroom received its blastoff from the Slamdance launch pad at the Treasure Mountain Inn, located at the top of Park City's steeply inclined Main Street.

Last Tuesday evening I visited Slamdance to catch up with area actress ANDREA POWELL. Powell was on hand for the Slamdance premiere of THE LIMBO ROOM, a low-budget indie by New York filmmaker Debra Eisenstadt. Powell plays the lead role as a struggling stage actress named Ann who works as an understudy to a temperamental diva. Although The Limbo Room is frequently quite funny, the film delves into some serious issues, including on and offstage sexual intrigue, the fears of aging actors, and rape. Powell is surrounded by a strong cast, including Melissa Leo as her acting rival and Zack Griffiths as a callow stud. Midway through, Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) makes a show-stopping cameo, to which the Slamdance audience gave a round of hearty exit applause.

After the film's unexpected and startling conclusion, Powell stood with Eisenstadt and several other cast members and took questions from the audience that was packed into the cramped screening room. Eisenstadt revealed that her film was partly inspired by her understudy experience in Oleanna, David Mamet's tale of campus sexual politics. (Although the lead role was originated by Mamet's wife Rebecca Pidgeon, Eisenstadt took the part for the film version, opposite William H. Macy.)

Later, Powell and I chatted in the lobby as actors and fans milled about. "I had the same manager as Debra, and the manager recommended me," Powell says. "I fell in love with my character, and I was afraid of that because that usually guarantees that you're not going to get it."

One of the notoriously touchy subjects tackled by the film is the issue of feminine aging. Powell's character turns 40 in the film, a melancholy milestone for many people but particularly for actresses. (Powell in fact seems to be enjoying a long-term lease on her mid-30s.) Still, while the age issue no doubt bothers the likes of Nicole Kidman as much as lesser-known performers, the consolations of success can ameliorate the sting of aging.

Powell's character in The Limbo Room is forced to confront her motivations for being an actress. In the film, she shrugs and says that it's too late to reinvent herself. Eisenstadt's strikingly pessimistic script offers no easy reassurances about the value of the acting trade, and even suggests that many motives are unhealthy.

For Powell, the film is a welcome corrective to public notions about the reality of the acting trade. "There's such a culture of celebrity," Powell says. "Thousands of people in town come to see the celebrities. This film is a rare look on the other side where the majority of actors are just slogging away."

"I mean, I went straight from shooting a network television show to doing a training film on the assembly of a self-cleaning cat box," she says, referring to her recurring role in the upcoming F/X series Thief, which stars Michael Rooker and Andre Braugher.

The Limbo Room is, at its best, an actor's film, both in its thematic concerns and in the strength of the main performers--all experienced thespians who betray no evidence of the production's surely stressful nine-day shoot.

Despite its limitations--chiefly the hardships imposed by the tight budget--The Limbo Room proves the value of the Slamdance festival, which is more concerned with providing a fresh point of view than with production values. As accomplished as most of the Sundance films are, often there is an enervating familiarity to their narrative arcs. A case in point is The Hawk is Dying, which appeared in Sundance's dramatic competition. Despite a typically powerful performance from Paul Giamatti, the narrative was as orderly as night following day: A downtrodden Everyman has a grandiose dream, endures humiliations and heartbreaks before finally achieving his ambitions.

The Limbo Room, in contrast, avoids those narrative traps on its way to its jarring and abrupt conclusion. And in its themes and in the practice of making the film, The Limbo Room accurately captures the sentiments on movie sets small and large, according to Powell, who has seen both: "Just get through the day and hope they'll have you back again."

two-headed-boy
Jul 03, 2006 12:54AM

The Limbo Room has hints of an intriguing back story that just might raise some eyebrows among the NY theater congnoscenti. However, I'm not privy to whatever that might be. I do think The Limbo Room is a courageous act of exorcism by someone who can't live with theater and can't live without it.

I caught Debra Eisenstadt's film at Slamdance and was impressed by the number of cast members who had flown out for the screening. But I shouldn't have been surprised, for The Limbo Room is an actor's film, written and directed by an actor and the story concerns psychological, emotional and physical hazards of the trade. It's little wonder that Eisenstadt's cast would be so fervently supportive!

birdbuff
Jun 27, 2006 08:05AM

"The Limbo Room" is a must-see. It quickly gets you on its characters' sides, drags your heart around with them, and ultimately not only entertains you but makes you see sometimes uncomfortable things in a new and very funny light. This film unsettles in that wonderful way that sets independent films apart from the usual fare. It is superb in its storytelling, performances have been deftly directed in an almost documentary style, and the camera allows us to see deep inside the characters' souls. Bravo!

jiggyboy
Jun 20, 2006 06:07AM

I saw The Limbo Room at the Slamdance Festival where a highly discerning and savvy audience dropped its slacker-cool and began to cheer for the film's deep-striking and emotionally complex characters. The Limbo Room is very, very funny, but it has no qualms about slapping the laugh right off your face. Its like watching your sister slip and fall on ice and laughing uproariously--until you realize her back is broken. The engaging lead character, Ann (marvelously acted by Andrea Powell), endures the unexpected turns that only a real and believable life can bring. There is fine acting throughout the ensemble cast and no character gets off easy. There are no simple Hollywood solutions here. A must-see for any artist. Brilliant, challenging, and driven by a truly original, down-beat, smart-ass (and smart) script. If your heart aches--as mine does--for the ever-rarer uncompromising spirit of the truly independent film, you must see The Limbo Room.

Sav
Jun 19, 2006 12:32PM

I watched this film as a part of an afternoon double-feature, preceded by the award-wining Capote. I found myself more absorbed by The Limbo Room than Capote because, while Capote indeed has all the trappings of an excellent mass-market film, The Limbo Room spoke to themes and issues more immediate to life as it is today, and its pacing, humor, and irony added to this immediacy. The line between art and life can be blurry while at the very same time stark. The Limbo Room makes this complex point as well as any other film I've seen.

bride
Jun 19, 2006 11:59AM

THE LIMBO ROOM IS FUNNY, ABSORBING AND DISTURBING. DON\'T MISS IT!

littlesister
Jun 10, 2006 06:25AM

I am in Debra's touching funny insightful film. Firstly it was a joy to work with her, and the result is a film I am very proud to be a part of. When I saw it for the first time with a full audiance at Slamdance this past winter, I was so pleased and it was evidant the audiance was getting a special treat in seeing this film. Then for every one to learn in how little time with what limted resources Debra realized this film it becomes very impressive. The Limbo Room is a real insiders tale of life in the off Broadway theatre world of New York. As full of odd and interesting folks as that world is. I highly recommend a viewing at any of the upcoming festivals The Limbo Room can be seen at. This Falls Woodstock Film Festival included.