Converging with Angels

Having seen many of the films made in the Dogme style I wasn't terribly excited to see "Converging With Angels." From the other films I had never been satisfied. "The Celebration" was exciting film making in parts, but it wasn't much as a whole. Its' sense of realism was false which left me feeling empty and let down. But "..Angels," is a beautifully mastered balancing act. The subject matter is interesting and could have easily been cheapened in this post-Tarantino era. Sorenson and his fine cast (especially the two leads Robert Tobin & Melissa Muniz) bring such a true sense of maturity, loss, loneliness and heartbreak that you believe their story. Not many of us have delved into the gigolo profession but we (as an audience) have no trouble relating to the Dylan character. I know I'm not stating this well, BUT what I'm trying to say is that, "Converging With Angels" deserves to be seen. This is honest, at times uncomfortable but true and fresh filmmaking. I think the filmmakers have a bigger audience out there than they realize. SOMEONE TAKE NOTICE who has the power to get this film out there! Otherwise the rest of us will just have to seek it out....and we will SEEK IT OUT. "Converging With Angels" is an all around class act.

When I saw this film at a private screening in Chicago earlier this year I got really upset about the ending. I felt like I'd been beaten up and left for dead! But if the goal was to show us the reality of what it would be like to live this lifestyle, mission accomplished and then some.

This movie is really long (over 2 1/2 hours), but I really got involved with these characters, and what they have to go through during the course of the story broke my heart. I never understood the mindset of someone who would rather pay for sex than be loved by someone. This is the first time I've seen it presented as a lonely person buying the illusion of intimacy, which is sad for them, and confusing for the person who has to provide it.

I would have a hard time recommending this movie to most of my friends because of the intensity and the explicit sex scenes. My ex-boyfriend goes to Columbia College, and explained this whole "Dogma" thing to me. I think the actors in those scenes were actually having sex with each other, which is really weird. I'm not into pornography, and I still don't know how I feel about that line being crossed.

But if you like independent films that are gritty. intense, well written and uncompromising, this is a must see.

After conversing with the director/co-writer, Michael Sorenson, at the world premiere (Montreal World Film Festival), he told me that he wrote this story after he and Alija Sighvatsson, the second co-writer, found out that a common friend had committed suicide. The woman in question had been living a double life of prostitution and the writers wanted to find out how this atrocity came to be and attempt to bring closure to their emotional pain. After some research in the streets (which by the looks of it payed of), they completed the screenplay.

The story of Converging with Angels is a great look at the ins and outs of prostitution and has a very sincere and real quality to it. It is a study of the underworld, but also a study of life and people. The Dogma certification adds a touch of homemade real-life story, but occasionally decreases the quality of the picture (especially the lighting). This is no real obstacle though. What is the most tedious however is the editing chose of keeping the running time up at 2hours 42mins. There were no scenes that should really have been cut out, but certainly long silent scenes that could have been trimmed without losing any of the essence of the film (e.g cooking scene or dark sex scene).

Overall, the film is very good. The dialogue, the story, the acting (nods off to newcommer Robert Tobin who conveys a good range of emotions), and the realistic portrayal of the underworld. The final scene more than adequately tops of the movie and artistically captures the conflicting reality of a sex worker.

7/10

panning this film feels a little unfair, a bit like criticizing a high school drama production. but having read the sterling evaluations given here (which i can only assume must have come from the cast and crew) i felt like i needed to comment. this film is excruciatingly bad and is made all the more so by the 'heavy' subject matter it so poorly addresses. the brilliance of the dogme manifesto is that it leaves cinema bare to its crucial elements (acting, directing, storytelling, etc), there is nowhere to hide. when these elements are at a high level, the result can be wonderful, but when these elements are amateurish and clumsy the result is torture. this film was torture.

It's great to see someone take a different approach to movie making. I wasn't familiar with 'Dogme95' prior to seeing "Converging with Angels", but now I see why people are so excited about it. My wife and I own over 300 DVDs, and they cover quite a range. What we really liked about this film is that it didn't remind us of anything else. Every scene was unique, as was the overall plot. In an atmosphere where every movie looks like either last summer's blockbuster, a teen flick, a sci-fi gimmick or a remake of a classic, this film is truly a breath of fresh air.