Waltzing Anna

I was really excited for this film. Betsy Palmer and Pat Hingle back on a movie screen? The lovely Emmanuelle Chriqui in a lead role? And then I sat in the theater on 11th street and 2nd avenue in New York City. I was alone...literally, in the movie theater. The film had opened only the night before. The movie is poor. Technically poor to boot. I'm talking about the kind of poor where some shots are even out of focus. Scenes don't cut together well. Bad sound recording too. Sometimes, they seem to cut to a reaction shot just so they could poorly dub over the other actor's line in post production. Were they changing the script? Was the acting and directing so off the mark it rendered the film confusing in spots and they tried to clear it up with added lines? The sound mix (i know I keep harping) is crude and seems unfinished, poorly mixing songs over montages and transitions. Student films have this problem. These guys should know better. Speaking of these guys, there's the lead actor. Who is this guy? Who would offer him this lead role? I've just learned that this film was his project. That would explain a lot. A vanity project. I honestly don't think anyone else would ever cast him. As an actor, he's terrible. He comes across like he believes he's way more charismatic and charming than he his. It's embarrassing. And, not to a total ass, he's got one helluva speech impediment that needs tending to before writing himself another lead role. Didn't anyone warn him away from casting himself?

Betsy and Pat deserve better. Film-making is hard. Not everyone can do it well. Over-reaching ambition, take heed!