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Capone Reviews SLIPSTREAM

Published at:  Oct 26, 2007 4:15:33 AM CDT

Hey all. Capone in Chicago here.

I don't even know where to begin with this puppy. In what is technically his third feature as a director, (after a filmed one-man show about Dylan Thomas and his serene “Uncle Vanya” adaptation, AUGUST), Anthony Hopkins has pulled out both guns and maybe even a third at his boot heel and come out blazing with a psychotic stream of consciousness by the name of SLIPSTREAM. Seemingly taking its cues from recent David Lynch offerings, Hopkins' story of aging screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer (played by himself) blurs and sometimes totally erases the lines between fantasy, reality, movies, real life, sleep, death, dream and complete mental meltdown to the point where I can barely tell you in conventional terms exactly what happens in this film. I'm fairly certain that characters from Bonhoeffer's scripts all start popping up in his real life, some of which are played by the same actors. Sometimes the dialog is very natural and believable; other times the characters are speaking in the style and rhythm of different genres, such as '50s sci-fi or '40s film noir.

Written by Hopkins, SLIPSTREAM pulls together an eclectic group of actors including Christian Slater, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Clarke Duncan, John Turturro, Fionnula Flanagan, Michael Lerner and Camryn Manheim, but my favorite appearance is by Kevin McCarthy as himself and as a version of the character he played in INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. The film is referenced quite a bit here, and it's one of the few elements of this movie that I kind of understood…sort of…maybe. Hopkins and his team (I'm sure working with zero budget) have assembled a provocative and furiously edited piece with a soundscape that will probably creep you out with its intricacies. To try and make sense of the "plot" is pointless and unnecessary. Once you give yourself over to its hypnotic chaos, you might be able to appreciate its trippy charm. Or you'll think it's a colossal mess not worthy of being projected on the big screen. Or you might be like me and alternate between both thoughts as the movie progresses.

Hopkins is clearly going for the feel of an experimental film with the best cast any experimental film has ever had. SLIPSTREAM feels like the work of a much younger man. There's an energy and fearlessness to the work that is easy to admire. It's also terribly easy to despise. I think I fall somewhere strangely close to dead center. I couldn't wait to see what was coming next, but I almost wasn't impressed with what Hopkins cooks up. I guess this is a moderate recommendation for those of you who have convinced yourselves that you like something a little off the beaten trail. It's worth a glance at least.

Capone



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